Title	Shooting for the Stars
Subtitle	No subtitle set
Description	Alex is a brilliant high school student who knows how to dream big.
Alt text	Alex holds rockets that take weeks to plan, engineer and assemble.
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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.

Alex's Astronaut Dream

The decision to travel into space came early for this high school student.

Amateur rocketry is a fun diversion for some and an all-consuming passion for others.

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Dreams Take Flight

Photographer Neill Whitlock follows Alex as she builds a high-tech rocket and attempts to launch it.

Alex chooses blue and gold, her school’s colors, for her model.

Alex, a junior in high school, threads wiring for the motor in her model rocket.

McKinney High School’s engineering club assembles model rockets by hand in their on-campus lab.

These rockets are the result of weeks of sketching, planning, engineering and assembling.

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.

Like grandmother, like granddaughter: Precision is key.

Alex dreams that one day she’ll be able to go to Mars – and send her mom a selfie.

Jack Sprague, president of the Dallas Area Rocket Society, shows off his minimalist, all-white model rocket.

DARS members look on as Alex steps up to the launch pad with her model rocket.

Jack has a passion for helping kids discover rocketry. Here, he helps Alex prep her model for launch.

Alex and Jack finalize the wiring on her model rocket just before launch.

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?

Jack loves experimenting with rocket shapes and sizes. Despite this rocket’s wonky shape, it shoots straight up — he’s clearly a pro.

Cub Scouts from a nearby town pose with friends at the launch pad.

A row of small models built by the Dallas Area Rocket Society are prepared for liftoff.

A DARS member assists a local Cub Scout with his small model rocket before launch.

It can fly! A young rocketeer watches his successful launch from the control panel.

Alex’s model rocket ignites and takes off from the launch pad.

The bigger the rocket, the bigger the smoke trail. Alex’s rocket takes flight.

Alex, DARS members and local Cub Scouts watch Alex’s rocket take off over a hayfield in Gunter, Texas.

Shooting for the Stars