Less than two weeks ago, Derek Deville and his team launched a rocket from the Nevada desert. The following video shows highlights from the trip, which includes a top speed of Mach 3 and peak altitude of 121,000 feet.
On September 30, 2011 at 11:08am, Derek Deville’s Qu8k (pronounced “Quake”) launched from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to an altitude of 121,000′ before returning safely to earth. Above 99% of the atmosphere, the sky turns black in the middle of the day and the curvature of the earth is clearly visible. The rocket motor produced 4,000 lbs of thrust for 8 seconds accelerating the vehicle to over Mach 3 at over 10,000′. After that, momentum carried the rocket skyward for another 84 seconds to a peak altitude of 121,000′.- d3deville
Link: Qu8k Launch
[via Wimp]
