Pictures from the Paragon space launch attempt, Sept 14-18, 2003

Monday, September 15

Images of Paragon Astronautics event and equipment displayed with permission.

Monday morning was the first of four launch windows. The winds were out of tolerance with a weather trough coming in. (And the presence of a front within 6 hours of Black Rock was a violation of the launch criteria itself.)

After the launch was scrubbed, everyone had to figure out what they would do for the afternoon. Some of the crew went to explore Black Rock Hot Springs and Double Hot Springs. Ben, Jeremy and I flew to Reno for two things. Ben needed to refuel his plane and have a hose replaced for the manifold pressure guage. I had also forgotten the power cable for my HF Ham Radio so we went looking for a replacement cable.

All those things were taken care of at Aviation Classics Ltd at the Reno Stead Airport. Ben was happy with the quick and reasonable service by the A&P mechanic. And their avionics shop guys even made the power cable for me, since they were interested in helping with the space launch attempt. Many thanks to Lynn, John and Eric at the avionics shop for going out of their way to help us with that. (And yes, we're deliberately advertising for them with this statement because they were so helpful.)

Ben let me fly the plane enroute to Reno. Jeremy flew on the way back.

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(1536x1024 2066K) (500x333 24K) Monday morning before dawn at Camp Stratofox.

(1536x1024 1903K) (500x333 18K) Monday morning before dawn at Camp Stratofox. These clouds will be the downfall of this morning's launch, and most of us are already pretty know it. The FAA space launch license requires that there must be no weather fronts within 6 hours of Black Rock at the time of launch, and this shows that there is. A satphone call confirms a trough is will arrive at 11AM.

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(1536x1024 1979K) (500x333 18K) The Paragon flight line and Camp Stratofox.

(1536x1024 2134K) (500x333 19K) Ken arrives from Empire in his Piper Archer. He'll be doing pre-launch aerial surveillance to make sure no people are in the downrange area. (Both aircraft planned to be involved in a post-launch search if the rocket had launched that day.)

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(1536x1024 1629K) (500x333 16K) Ken's Piper Archer is briefly parked before Paragon and OEX people board it for the pre-launch downrange surveillance flight.

(1536x1024 1941K) (500x333 21K) The sunrise shines on Camp Stratofox. Dave is standing near the tents.

(1536x1024 1982K) (500x333 32K) Dave and Sean scramble some eggs and cook some bacon for the crew. Rafael needs to hurry since he's going to go downrange with Mark Caviezel KC0JHQ, an acquaintance of Paragon's Kevin Sagis who came to help with tracking. Mark and Rafael will be a new team using the callsign Stratofox 6.

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(1536x1024 1892K) (500x333 21K) Vic Sagis (Kevin's father) stands at the entrance of the Launch Control Center.

(1536x1024 1831K) (500x333 18K) Ken, Kevin and Jerry take off to check that the downrange area is clear.

(1536x1024 1940K) (500x333 23K) After the launch was scrubbed for the day due to the incoming weather trough, Ben gave some rides in his plane.

[picture]
(1536x1024 1909K) (500x333 25K) Some of the aerospace engineers on the site help Ben check why the engine manifold pressure guage started giving erratic readings. A problem was found in the sensor hose. A quick repair is done on the site so that the hose wouldn't leak. But the next flight will be to a mechanic to have the hose replaced.

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(1536x1024 1947K) (500x333 29K) Some of the aerospace engineers on the site help Ben check on his plane.

(1536x1024 1894K) (500x333 20K) We're now taking off enroute to the Reno Stead Airport.

(1536x1024 1834K) (500x333 14K) Climing out over the Black Rock Desert enroute to the Reno Stead Airport.

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(1536x1024 1919K) (500x333 26K) The town of Gerlach is seen from the plane where the railroad tracks meet the land between two playa crossings.

(1536x1024 1930K) (500x333 23K) The Reno Stead Airport still has numerous antique aircraft since the Reno National Championship Air Races just ended the previous day.

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(1536x1024 1645K) (500x333 20K) A Boeing Stearman biplane and a Lockheed Electra on the ramp at the Reno Stead Airport. The grandstands in the background must have been full during the previous week's air races.
We stopped at Aviation Classics for the work on Ben's plane. Ben was very satisfied with the mechanic's quick work. We can't say enough good stuff about these guys. When they heard we were also going to look around Reno for a power cable (which I forgot to bring) for my Yaesu ham radio, they made one in their Avionics shop in order to help with the rocket launch effort. (The launch was no secret to aviators because of the airspace closures.) Many thanks to Lynn, John and Eric from the avionics shop.

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(1536x1024 1904K) (500x333 27K) On the flight back to Black Rock, now I'm in the back seat. Ben is letting Jeremy (a student pilot) fly. It's only fair, since Ben had let me fly the plane to Reno.

(1536x1024 1940K) (500x333 37K) An aerial view of the Paragon flight line and Camp Stratofox. Unfortunately, the camera auto-focused on some dirt on the plane's window.

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(1536x1024 1943K) (500x333 44K) In this photo, you can see the Paragon flight line, consisting of Camp Stratofox (left) and the OEX launch control center trailer (right). The rocket is on the launch rail 1/4 mile in front of the flight line.

(1536x1024 1997K) (500x333 26K) Team Stratofox has recovered a rocket! Justin smiles while he holds this model rocket which he found miles up the playa while we were in Reno. The rocket had a phone number in the East Bay Area which we decided we'll call in an attempt to reunite it with its owner/builder.

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(1536x1024 1884K) (500x333 24K) Justin holds the model rocket he recovered next to the Stratofox magnetic sign. This find leaves us hopeful we'll recover a rocket every day we're out there. (i.e. hopeful that Paragon's rocket will launch on Tuesday.)

(1536x1024 1564K) (500x333 18K) Surprise! Justin went for a bike ride in the dark (which can be done on the flat playa) he didn't see me walking around until I turned on my headlamp so he wouldn't run into me.

Back: Sunday, September 14 Up: Paragon Space Launch 2003 Next: Tuesday, September 16

(1536x1024 2066K) (500x333 24K)	Monday morning before dawn at Camp Stratofox.
(1536x1024 1903K) (500x333 18K)	Monday morning before dawn at Camp Stratofox. These clouds will be the downfall of this morning's launch, and most of us are already pretty know it. The FAA space launch license requires that there must be no weather fronts within 6 hours of Black Rock at the time of launch, and this shows that there is. A satphone call confirms a trough is will arrive at 11AM.
(1536x1024 1979K) (500x333 18K)	The Paragon flight line and Camp Stratofox.
(1536x1024 2134K) (500x333 19K)	Ken arrives from Empire in his Piper Archer. He'll be doing pre-launch aerial surveillance to make sure no people are in the downrange area. (Both aircraft planned to be involved in a post-launch search if the rocket had launched that day.)
(1536x1024 1629K) (500x333 16K)	Ken's Piper Archer is briefly parked before Paragon and OEX people board it for the pre-launch downrange surveillance flight.
(1536x1024 1941K) (500x333 21K)	The sunrise shines on Camp Stratofox. Dave is standing near the tents.
(1536x1024 1982K) (500x333 32K)	Dave and Sean scramble some eggs and cook some bacon for the crew. Rafael needs to hurry since he's going to go downrange with Mark Caviezel KC0JHQ, an acquaintance of Paragon's Kevin Sagis who came to help with tracking. Mark and Rafael will be a new team using the callsign Stratofox 6.
(1536x1024 1892K) (500x333 21K)	Vic Sagis (Kevin's father) stands at the entrance of the Launch Control Center.
(1536x1024 1831K) (500x333 18K)	Ken, Kevin and Jerry take off to check that the downrange area is clear.
(1536x1024 1940K) (500x333 23K)	After the launch was scrubbed for the day due to the incoming weather trough, Ben gave some rides in his plane.
(1536x1024 1909K) (500x333 25K)	Some of the aerospace engineers on the site help Ben check why the engine manifold pressure guage started giving erratic readings. A problem was found in the sensor hose. A quick repair is done on the site so that the hose wouldn't leak. But the next flight will be to a mechanic to have the hose replaced.
(1536x1024 1947K) (500x333 29K)	Some of the aerospace engineers on the site help Ben check on his plane.
(1536x1024 1894K) (500x333 20K)	We're now taking off enroute to the Reno Stead Airport.
(1536x1024 1834K) (500x333 14K)	Climing out over the Black Rock Desert enroute to the Reno Stead Airport.
(1536x1024 1919K) (500x333 26K)	The town of Gerlach is seen from the plane where the railroad tracks meet the land between two playa crossings.
(1536x1024 1930K) (500x333 23K)	The Reno Stead Airport still has numerous antique aircraft since the Reno National Championship Air Races just ended the previous day.
(1536x1024 1645K) (500x333 20K)	A Boeing Stearman biplane and a Lockheed Electra on the ramp at the Reno Stead Airport. The grandstands in the background must have been full during the previous week's air races. We stopped at Aviation Classics for the work on Ben's plane. Ben was very satisfied with the mechanic's quick work. We can't say enough good stuff about these guys. When they heard we were also going to look around Reno for a power cable (which I forgot to bring) for my Yaesu ham radio, they made one in their Avionics shop in order to help with the rocket launch effort. (The launch was no secret to aviators because of the airspace closures.) Many thanks to Lynn, John and Eric from the avionics shop.
(1536x1024 1904K) (500x333 27K)	On the flight back to Black Rock, now I'm in the back seat. Ben is letting Jeremy (a student pilot) fly. It's only fair, since Ben had let me fly the plane to Reno.
(1536x1024 1940K) (500x333 37K)	An aerial view of the Paragon flight line and Camp Stratofox. Unfortunately, the camera auto-focused on some dirt on the plane's window.
(1536x1024 1943K) (500x333 44K)	In this photo, you can see the Paragon flight line, consisting of Camp Stratofox (left) and the OEX launch control center trailer (right). The rocket is on the launch rail 1/4 mile in front of the flight line.
(1536x1024 1997K) (500x333 26K)	Team Stratofox has recovered a rocket! Justin smiles while he holds this model rocket which he found miles up the playa while we were in Reno. The rocket had a phone number in the East Bay Area which we decided we'll call in an attempt to reunite it with its owner/builder.
(1536x1024 1884K) (500x333 24K)	Justin holds the model rocket he recovered next to the Stratofox magnetic sign. This find leaves us hopeful we'll recover a rocket every day we're out there. (i.e. hopeful that Paragon's rocket will launch on Tuesday.)
(1536x1024 1564K) (500x333 18K)	Surprise! Justin went for a bike ride in the dark (which can be done on the flat playa) he didn't see me walking around until I turned on my headlamp so he wouldn't run into me.