The Rocketry Organization of South Carolina at Orangeburg (ROSCO) hosted the National Association of Rocketry’s (NAR’s) National Sport Launch (NSL) 2022 in Dalzell, South Carolina, May 28th through May 30th. NSL is the National Association of Rocketry’s pinnacle sport rocketry event.

We had great weather all three days – mostly clear skies with light winds and temperatures in the low to mid 90s. The club was a little late getting started on Saturday due to the sod farm being crop dusted. We were finally able to access the field around 10:00AM and were flying by 11:00AM. Sunday and Monday were full of flights as well.

Registered Flyers: Saturday 104, Sunday 62, and Monday 34

Certifications: There were (20) certification attempts on Saturday, (5) on Sunday, and (2) on Monday. There were (5) successful Level 2 certification tests.

Total Motors: 530 | Total Flights: 474

The smallest motor used for the event was a 1/2A3-2T and the largest was an M2400.

The vendors on the field over the weekend included: Chris’ Rocket Supplies, JonRocket.com, Merlin Missile Solutions, and Railbuttons.com. They each gave generous raffle prizes. Aerotech Consumer Aerospace also donated raffle prizes. There was also an awesome food truck on the field: Barn Side BBQ.

I flew my custom 4″ SBR Thor on a K535W-14A motor to a maximum altitude of 4,764 feet (ft.) with a maximum velocity of 711 feet per second (fps), or 485 miles per hour (mph). My father and I recovered the rocket about 1,000′ feet away from the launch pad.

I also flew my fully 3D printed 1/60 scale Saturn V on a J435WS-14A without any telemetry data. The simulation data for the Saturn V projected a maximum altitude of 939 ft. and maximum velocity of 214 fps; I think these are reasonable estimates based on the observed flight characteristics. Unfortunately, I did not set the delay charge short enough due to a loose screw on my delay charge drilling tool, resulting in the parachute being ejected too late to fully inflate. The rocket was a total loss, with the exception of the second stage body section.

3D PRINTED 1/60 SATURN V STATISTICS:

Weight: 17.5 lbs.

Height: 7.0 ft.

Total Print Hours: 621.28

Total Hours (including assembly): 723.50

Total Printed Parts: 263

Parachute: 9 ft. Apollo 11 Parachute

Saturn V Images

Saturn V Build Images

NSL 2022 Images