Author: xenonrocket

Greetings everyone. 

ROCstock is a go.   The lakebed is in great condition.  Thanks to Vice President Mike Ostby for making the trip out to the lakebed to check the conditions first hand.  

Range setup will begin Thursday and will be open for launching Friday morning. Weather conditions will be cool with temperatures in the upper 60’s during the day and low 40’s overnight.  Campfires are permitted in above ground containers and you must have a California Campfire permit to have a one or use a propane stove outdoors. The permits are very easy to obtain and you can get one here https://www.readyforwildfire.org/permits/campfire-permit/. The BLM and fire department do come out and check so please get your permit as the fine is not worth the risk.

We are expecting to have the range open at approximately 8am each day with night flights from 8 – 10pm Friday and Saturday. Remember to bring your ROC membership card to launch for free and your NAR / TRIPOLI card to show certification level. New 2023 ROC membership cards will be available for pickup at Registration.  ROC will also be hosting a fun Easter egg hunt Sunday morning for everyone in attendance. 

Looking forward to a great launch and seeing everyone on the playa!

Gary Schneider 

ROC President 

Standing water on the lakebed, as well as additional precipitation in the forecast will prevent the January launch from being held. Given the heavy rains we’ve seen this season, be sure to keep a close eye on the forecast and our media channels for the February launch.

All,

The December launch will be held on Saturday December 10th.  It will be the standard monthly launch, one day, with launching beginning at approximately 8am.  We will also be holding our annual members meeting at noon with launching resuming after the meeting.  The location will be at the launch site range head. Reminders will be announced throughout the morning.  If the weather begins to deteriorate listen for announcements for a change of time for the meeting to be held earlier. Should the launch be cancelled, we will schedule a virtual meeting for all to participate. The meeting agenda is below. 

Gary Schneider 

ROC President 

All,
The ROC Board has met and has made the hard decision to cancel ROCstock.  Unfortunately, the rain overnight has made the lakebed unsafe to pass with standing water at the road entrances and very soft in other areas.  The other deciding factor is that per our BLM permit we must provide facilities when holding an event such as our launches and our facilities provider can’t safely deliver either.  See their reply to us regarding delivery below.

Since we will not be able to hold our annual membership meeting at the launch, we will be holding an online election process to vote for the three candidates who submitted their self-nominations for the three open Board of Director seats. 

A message to members will be going out soon with the details.  After the election we will announce the results via an online (Zoom) meeting or at the December launch.

Also, we will be coordinating with BLM and the FAA in regard to holding ROCstock in December.  No guarantees but we will be working on it.
We apologize for this inconvenience and hope to see everyone in December.

Gary Schneider

ROC President

The October launch is a go.

[Previous post below]

Greetings,

We want to let everyone know there is a chance that the October launch may be cancelled.  Our BLM permit expired in September and despite having sent in all the usual paperwork in early spring the BLM is still processing it.  We have been in touch with the BLM and have been told that it is in process, but they are backlogged and will do their best to expedite our permit paperwork.   Until we have a permit we cannot hold an organized launch.  We will post updates as we receive more information.  

Regards,

Gary Schneider

ROC President