Shooting for the Stars
Shooting for the Stars
Alex is a brilliant high school student who knows how to dream big. She’d love to be on Mars by the time she’s 30 but will settle for a manned mission to the International Space Station. Watch her discover the world of amateur rocketry and attempt to launch her self-made, high-tech model rocket.
1 / total Alex chooses blue and gold, her school’s colors, for her model.
2 / total Alex, a junior in high school, threads wiring for the motor in her model rocket.
3 / total McKinney High School’s engineering club assembles model rockets by hand in their on-campus lab.
4 / total These rockets are the result of weeks of sketching, planning, engineering and assembling.
5 / total A pickup truck comes in handy as Alex and her dad pack up tall model rockets for the Dallas Area Rocket Society’s (DARS) monthly launch.
6 / total Like grandmother, like granddaughter: Precision is key.
7 / total Alex dreams that one day she’ll be able to go to Mars – and send her mom a selfie.
8 / total Jack Sprague, president of the Dallas Area Rocket Society, shows off his minimalist, all-white model rocket.
9 / total DARS members look on as Alex steps up to the launch pad with her model rocket.
10 / total Jack has a passion for helping kids discover rocketry. Here, he helps Alex prep her model for launch.
11 / total Alex and Jack finalize the wiring on her model rocket just before launch.
12 / total It’s Alex’s turn on the launch pad, and there’s just one question on everyone’s mind: will it fly or will it die?
13 / total Jack loves experimenting with rocket shapes and sizes. Despite this rocket’s wonky shape, it shoots straight up — he’s clearly a pro.
14 / total Cub Scouts from a nearby town pose with friends at the launch pad.
15 / total A row of small models built by the Dallas Area Rocket Society are prepared for liftoff.
16 / total A DARS member assists a local Cub Scout with his small model rocket before launch.
17 / total It can fly! A young rocketeer watches his successful launch from the control panel.
18 / total Alex’s model rocket ignites and takes off from the launch pad.
19 / total The bigger the rocket, the bigger the smoke trail. Alex’s rocket takes flight.
20 / total Alex, DARS members and local Cub Scouts watch Alex’s rocket take off over a hayfield in Gunter, Texas.
