The Anonymous Beard Rocketry: NAR Level I Certification

“I’m not Jeff Bezos or the government, this is best space program I can afford currently…” – someone on Reddit.

After years away from the hobby, and my passion for space being fueled by the new space race – or whatever you want to call it – between Musk, Branson, Bezos, NASA, and all the other players, I finally decided to pursue my NAR certifications and build my first high powered model rocket. I joined the NAR and found an active section within 90 miles of my home in South Carolina. Below is an excerpt from the NAR website describing it’s purpose:

The NAR was created in 1957 as an advocate of the model rocketry hobby. Over the past four decades the hobby has grown to encompass rocket motor types and performance unavailable to the modeler at the NAR’s inception. In response to this growth the NAR offers a certification process which permits individuals to purchase and use rocket motors whose physical constraints and performance exceed traditional model rocket boundaries. Rocket motors which exceed model rocketry motor definitions and the models that use these motors are collectively referred to as high power rocketry. Certification for high power rocketry consists of three progressive levels:

Level 1 allows the purchase and use of H and I impulse class motors; solid and hybrid. Certain F and G motors may also require Level 1 certification for purchase and use.
Level 2 allows the purchase and use of J, K, and L impulse class motors; solid and hybrid.
Level 3 certification allows the purchase and use of M, N, and O impulse class rocket motors; solid and hybrid.

You can find out more about the certification process HERE.

I chose the 4″ diameter Zephyr model rocket from Apogee Rockets for my level I certification flight. This model is a great first high powered build and flies even better! I 3D printed a custom GoPro mount and added a 48″ nylon parachute for recovery. I also used a Jolly Logic chute release which is an amazing product (but can be really hard to find in stock – pandemic, chip shortages, etc). I ended up flying my cert flight without the GoPro mounted because I left the SD card at home 😦

Level I certification attempt: Successful