These are my pictures from the Civilian Space Exploration Team (CSXT) space shot at Nevada's Black Rock Desert in September 2002. I'm presenting this page as a bit of my personal adventure to assist CSXT as a volunteer. I was one of three volunteers from California who came to help with security (pre-launch) and tracking/recovery (post-flight).
The rocket was launched this time. But unfortunately the flight failed - the solid-rocket motor apparently burned through to its casing and caused a "cato", or in-flight explosion. Tracking which I came to do turned out not to be necessary. But I helped all day with the cleanup effort, and every available person was needed for that.
For the official word on the launch, I'll leave that to CSXT and the launch sponsors which include a media company (Pinnacle Video.) Understandably, they'd like to have the primary opportunity to tell the story from the launch they helped pay for.
I considered it a privilege to be allowed to assist with CSXT's space launch attempts in June and September 2002. I made a lot of friends there. Even though all of us in rocketry know that we sometimes have to learn from failures and continue, I feel for them with the huge effort that went into this huge rocket. I wish my friends at CSXT the best to recover, rebuild and succeed.
| date | description | pictures |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, September 17, 2002 | guarding Trego entrance, scrubbed launch, bicycle ride, group photo | 34 |
| Wednesday, September 18, 2002 | guarding 3-mile entrance, scrubbed launch, Double Hot Springs | 21 |
| Thursday, September 19, 2002 | guarding 8-mile entrance, launch, cleanup | 12 |
| all days (tue/wed/thu) | 67 | |
Related links:
Back up to "What a month! Sept 2002"
Back to Ian's Black Rock Pictures
This page is copyright (c) 2002 Ian Kluft