Electronic Rocketeer—What's Happening in Rocketry

Message from the NAR President

Fellow NAR Member,

As we are working with our insurance provider to get quotes for our 2026 policies, let’s remember that safety is our top priority. You and your local Sections can set an example for all to follow regarding safe flights:

• As you prep your rocket, make sure that it is safe and will perform as expected
• Construction techniques are consistent with the motors you intend to use
• Your recovery system is robust and will deploy as you plan
• For complex or new rockets, you use a checklist to ensure that you are not skipping a critical assembly or prep step
• Make sure your motor is certified and that it is the right motor for the task at hand
• Perform rigorous safety check-in for all rockets
• Set launch angles for a safe flight trajectory and recovery that are away from people and vehicles
• Have working fire suppression gear ready in case you need it
• Make plans to delay your flight if conditions are not right; don’t succumb to launch fever. How can you make your rocket safe to store for a flight another day?
• Review our Model Rocket Safety and High-Power Safety Codes

We continue to look for short videos to use on our website and YouTube channel. If you have a good quality video that you can share with us, please send to communications@nar.org.  We can’t promise to use all that are submitted but will do our best.  Remember, please send videos that adhere to our safety codes and are showing the positive aspects of the hobby.

I hope thoseof you who are mentoring teams for ARC or NASA Student Launch are working hard with your students to help them succeed.  I know that two of the teams I mentor are headed in the right direction as they were able to fly successfully without me last weekend.

Let’s remember to have a safety briefing with your local club this coming month. It is always a good practice to review your safety practices, make adjustments when needed, and check out your safety equipment.

Stay safe, have fun and pay it forward.

 

 

John N. Hochheimer

NAR President

NAR 74537 L3

For over three decades, NYPOWER has been the Premier Northeast Rocket Launch at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo NY.  It is hosted in May on the three-day Memorial Day weekend.  During that time MARS (Monroe Astronautical Rocket Society – NAR Section 136) has host the National Sport Launch three times. We are pleased to welcome the NAR back for another amazing weekend of launches on the Legendary Geneseo Field.

Geneseo NY — 8,000′ AGL Waiver
May 23 – 25, 2026 (Saturday – Monday)

The field is a WWII era grass airfield which is now home to the National Warplane Museum. You have a 1 mile x 1 mile mowed grass recovery area and if you exceed that the staff at NSL will do its best to help you recover your rocket.

NSL-East 2026 is operated under NAR rules. Tripoli (TRA) high-power certifications will be honored, but Tripoli members must fly under NAR rules (i.e. no research motors). Please contact your certifying organization with any insurance questions.

Saturday – Registration opens 9a, Launch Range operates 10a to 5p; Night Launch starts at 8:30p
Sunday – Launch Range operates from 9a to 5p
Monday – Launch Range operates 9a to 3p

Saturday Potluck Dinner: Bring your favorite dish to share with friends and fellow rocketeers in our community potluck (before the Night Launch)

Night Launch: Don’t miss our thrilling night launch on Saturday at 8:30p

Experience the magic as rockets light up the sky! CLASS-1 Rockets (Low-Power) ONLY!
(Weather dependent – could be moved to Sunday night)

Children under 18 fly low-power rockets for FREE.

Pre-registration ($50) continues until May 1st. On-field registration will be $75 ($25 per day). 

Visit the NSLE-2026 Website

Get Ready for Summer Flying 

Many areas of the United States suffered through high temperatures and drought this past summer and there is no reason to expect the summer of 2026 to be any different.  As spring and summer arrive, we need to make sure that we can prevent launch range fires and be ready to combat them if they occur.

Launch fields may have been overgrown with grass and weeds during the flying hiatus and weather conditions may have been sufficiently wet to promote excessive growth.  Spend the time to remove unwanted vegetation, especially around the launch pads.  Consider talking with your site owner to see if the use of pre-emergent herbicides or weed killers are options to control growth.  If using herbicides, use personal protective equipment to protect yourselves from these potentially toxic chemicals.  There are some “natural” alternatives, e.g. a mixture salt, vinegar, and dish detergent, that may be preferred but even natural alternatives may have undesired effects.  

Note the ground clearance requirements in the safety codes for high power launch pads and remember that additional clearance is required for sparky motors.  Give considerable thought to whether your field conditions are sufficiently non-flammable to permit sparky motors.  Before flying check with the local fire department to determine if "burn bans" are active in your area.  If there are you may not be able to fly as rocket flights are typically prohibited by burn bans.

Give your firefighting equipment a checkout before heading to the field.   Are your water filled fire extinguishers and Indian Pumps leaking?  Can pressurized water fire extinguishers be pressurized and hold pressure?  Do your Indian Pumps shoot water a significant distance?  Do your A:B:C fire extinguishers indicate adequate pressure?  Are straps, harnesses, and handles undamaged so you can easily transport heavier pieces of firefighting gear?  Are nuts and bolts tight on your flappers, shovels and other firefighting tools?  Is a firefighting training session for your section members required to instruct folks how to use the firefighting equipment?  Finally, does your section need replacement or additional firefighting equipment.  If so, consider putting the purchase of new firefighting equipment on your 2026 request for a NAR section grant.

Fly safely!

 

Stephen Lubliner

NAR Scholarships and Grants 

Did you know that if you are a NAR member between the ages of 17 and 22 attending college or vocational school that you may be eligible to receive a $2000 scholarship from the NAR? Or that young women majoring in STEM fields are eligible for a $3000 scholarship sponsored by the Estes family? Or that students majoring in aerospace engineering (or mechanical engineering in colleges without a separate aerospace program) are eligible for a $3000 scholarship sponsored by Trip and Tina Barber?

Are you a teacher who uses model rocketry in the classroom? You may apply for a $500 Robert L. Cannon Educator award. Do you run an after-school program involving model rocketry? You are welcome to apply for a $500 NAR Extracurricular Activity Grant to support it.

At NARCON 2018, Vern Estes announced the Gleda M. Estes Scholarship for the Advancement of Young Women in STEM. High school seniors and college freshmen majoring in STEM fields are eligible to apply for this $3000 award. A separate application is required for the Estes Scholarship. You may apply for both the NAR Scholarship and the Estes Scholarship, but recipients of the Estes Scholarship may not receive a NAR Scholarship in the same year. 

Long-time NAR couple Trip and Tina Barber created an endowed scholarship in 2025 to demonstrate their commitment to helping young people take the path to an aerospace career. High school seniors and undergraduate college students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering (or mechanical engineering in colleges without a separate aerospace program) who apply for the NAR Scholarship will be automatically consid­ered for this $3,000 scholarship.

Scholarship applicants who major in aerospace engineering are automatically considered for the Leonard Fehskens Memorial Scholarship, a $2000 endowed scholarship honoring the memory of longtime NAR member Len Fehskens. High school seniors and college freshmen planning to study science or engineering are automatically consid­ered for the Jay Apt Scholarship, a $2,000 scholarship generously endowed by veteran astronaut and 50+ year NAR member Dr. Jay Apt.

Click here for more information and application instructions. The deadline for applying for all awards is June 1st. Awards will be announced during the online NAR Town Hall on July 8th.

If you have questions regarding scholarships or grants, please e-mail scholarship@nar.org.

NAR Section News 

New Sections – The NAR would like to welcome the Lehi Experimental Aerospace Program (LEAP) Section #1012 out of Lehi, UT, the Space Pickles Rocketry (SPR) Section #1013 out of Fremont, CA, and the Chatham Troop 8 Rocketry (T8 Rocketry) Section #1014 out of Chatham, NJ. For more about these Sections or to find the one closest to you, visit the NAR Club Finder page.  Want to charter a new NAR Section? Please fill out the Submit a Local Club form.

Charter A Section – Do you enjoy launching rockets with other like-minded people? Would you like to be able to offer FREE liability protection to your launch site landowner? Could you use some help dealing with a local bureaucracy to be able to launch your rockets? Charter as an official public NAR Section now and take advantage of the numerous benefits and resources! There are no fees involved and only two (2) active NAR members are required (at least one of those must be a senior NAR member) for the initial chartering and five (5) NAR members by the second renewal.

Organizational and Private Sections have similar requirements. You can find more information on the Starting a New Section web page or simply send an inquiry to the SAC Chairman.

Section Charter Certificates – The 2026 Section Charter Certificates were emailed to all Sections that successfully completed the Section renewal process. If your Section did not receive your certificate, please contact the Section Activities Chairman to receive instructions on what is needed to renew your Section. Please include your Name, your role in the Section, and your Sections Name and Number in the message.

Section FAQ #19 – Question: When does my Launch Site Insurance Certificate(s) expire?  Answer: Unless noted otherwise on the certificate, all insurance certificates (Section & Landowner) run from April to April of each year (not January to December).

Section FAQ #20 – Question:  Do I need to resubmit my launch site each year for insurance purposes?  Answer: No, renewal of the insurance certificates is automatic and new certificates will be sent via email to the Section Contact before the older ones expire. If a site is no longer being used, please notify the Section Activities Chairman so it can be removed from the insurance database.

Section Member Affiliation – Are you a member of a Section? Please log into your NAR account, go to your Member Profile page, and scroll down to the “More Member Options” box. Click on the “Clubs/Additional Members” link to add the Section(s) with which you are affiliated. We will soon be conducting an audit of Section memberships to ensure each Section is meeting the minimum NAR member requirements for their Section type so make sure your name is counted!

Please Note: Adding a Section to your NAR Member Profile does not automatically make you a member of that Section. You are responsible for reaching out to the Section that you are interested in for details on how to become an actual member.

Do you have any Section related questions? – Check out the Section FAQ's for answers to most commonly asked questions.  If you don’t find your question listed there, simply contact the Section Activities Chairman.

Respectfully,

Chuck Neff

SAC Chairman

Contest Rocketry News

Competition Zoom Meeting

I will be hosting a monthly zoom for members who would like to talk about competition. This is an open meeting for any NAR member who wants to see what is going on in competition. The next meeting will be held on Saturday March 14th at 9pm (ET). I would like to get member input on future NRC and NARAM events. If there is a topic you would like to include, please send me an email. Join in and meet with competitors from across the country.

Please register here.

Read more about it at the NAR latest competition news.

Competition Meetings, Join Us! - National Association of Rocketry

Mentoring and Outreach

In conjunction with the increased selection of FAI events for NRC and NARAM, the contest board is actively trying to recruit, provide resources to and help train contestants to build and fly FAI and NRC models. I am putting together a mentoring list so that anyone who needs some competition help can get in contact with someone who is willing to help.  Please add your name and contact info to the following spreadsheet if you would like to be contacted by those in need of competition help.

If you would like to get help with competition, then send me an email and I will see what we can do to help.

NAR Competition Mentor List

NRC Scoreboard

Check out the latest results on the NRC scoreboard!

Al de la Iglesia

NAR Contest Board Chair

narcbchair@nar.org

aiglesia@gmail.com

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