Rocket Racing: A Quick Look at the New Sport

From the creators of the X-Prize, a new sport is born. Rocket Racing, rocket-powered airplanes racing through the sky.

Space entrepreneur Peter Diamandis and former Indy Racing league team co-owner Granger Whitelaw Co-founded the Rocket racing League (RRL). They were tired of racing around and around on the ground. And, they knew the technology was available to design and make a safe rocket racer. At the 2005 X-Prize cup, they showed off the first rocket racer. The RRL debut the second-generation racer, which is bigger and badder then the previous, at the 2006 X-Prize cup Near Las Cruses NM (that is where the X-Prize will be held until Spaceport America is built). They have named them X-racers, real cleaver huh. Exhibition of the new x-racer are expected towards the middle of the 2007. They are still completing test flights.

The RRL is planning a full racing "season"in 2008. Racing event will be all over the US, with the final championship race in New Mexico. If you have driven on I-10 between Las Cruses and Deming NM, you have seen the signs for "The Future Home of Rocket Racing". They couldn't have picked a better spot to put it in New Mexico; the southern part of the state needed some thing like this.

A committee appointed by the Board of Directors of rocket Racing, Inc. will govern rules and regulations.

This is going to be a crazy sport to watch, the burn time is limited, only about four minutes. Therefore, pit stops will be every few laps. Making gassing up a big factor in the race. Pilots can stretch their "flight" time by gliding when possible to save rocket boosts (each lasting between 5 and 30 seconds) for times when they are needed, like to pass someone. They can get up to 15 minutes of flying before having to pit.

Racers will have staggered starts- taking off two at a time, to spread them out over the track. Pilots are competing for the best overall time, racing the clock. However, since they are all "on" the track racing they have to maneuver around the other racers, to get through the "skytrack" as fast as they can. Requiring four pit stops a race, the races are scheduled to be one hour long. I like that, not too short but not too long either.

Early RRL races could only have up to 10 X-Racers participating; I think that should be enough to have a good show. Any more and the track could get crowded. With the staggered starts, only a few out of the 10 racers with be pitting at the same time.

I know you are wondering how they will know where to fly and not crash with each other. Pilots will be guided through the course by Virtual "skytrack". The "Skytrack" is projected in the pilots Head-up display. By using GPS, they have precisely defined lanes to stay in, allowing for passing and high G-maneuvers while keeping the plains separated. Over camera views of the "skytrack" will be displayed for both the home viewers watch on TV and spectators on the ground using Giant Big Screens. I really love that. "We" will be able to see what the pilots see's.

Even cooler news, a rocket racing videogame is in the works. Using the same Lane-Based navigation system and having online races with other players leading to tournaments. Producing champions that go on to compete against some of the real X-racer pilots using real-time data feed from live races. I can already tell that is going to be a BIG hit. I am practicing on the flight simulator game I have now.

The RRL is defiantly taking advantage of technology to make this sport as interactive as it can be. Also safe, they know if pilots or spectators die all the time it will not go very far.

Check out their website to keep updated on what is new with Rocket Racing. We will all have to wait and see how this new sport is going to do. I cannot wait.