First Public Flight Deemed "Amazing Success" The Rocket Racing League did it! They flew Tuesday, and they flew up a storm. And make no mistake about it, this was no taxi test. Just after 2:30pm, former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Rick Searfoss took off for a demo flight. Despite threatening clouds which imposed a 2,000-foot ceiling on what was supposed to be a 4,000 foot vertical climbout after takeoff, Searfoss did a nice job improvising a "low show" to show off the rocket racer's turns and burns for the crowd. More demos are scheduled later this week for Friday and Saturday. Founded in 2005 by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team owner Granger Whitelaw and aerospace pioneer and X PRIZE Foundation founder Dr. Peter Diamandis, the Rocket Racing League (www.rocketracingleague.com) is the only entertainment sports league that combines the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines, fully satisfying our universal love for power and flight through the thrill of Rocket Racers. To be held at venues across the country, the Rocket Racing League will feature multiple races pitting up to 10 Rocket Racers going head to head in a 4-lap, multiple elimination heat format on a 5-mile "Formula One"-like closed circuit raceway in the sky. The Rocket Racer pilots see the "raceway in the sky" via in-panel and 3D helmet displays. For the hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance, they will witness the racing action live and in real-time display on multiple large projection screens. For the millions of fans watching on televisions and PCs at home, they will experience the thrill of the Rocket Racing League via unique remote and rocket-mounted cameras that give at-home fans the sensation of riding right alongside famed League pilots. Aero-TV Zooms Towards The Heavens With The Rocket Racing League FMI: www.rocketracingleague.com Copyright 2008, Aero-News Network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved.
