The is a proposed
Racing league that would use
Rocket powered
Aircraft . The formation of the league was announced by
Peter Diamandis , founder of the
Ansari X-Prize , on
October 3 ,
2005 , in partnership with the
Reno Air Races . According to Diamandis, the purpose of the league is to "inspire people of all ages to once again look up into the sky and find inspiration and excitement."
Projected to be an hour in length, the races would be between proposed '' with rockets", and draws heavily on experience from the
Car Racing world. RRL CEO
Grainger Whitelaw is a venture capitalist and former
IndyCar Racing League team owner.
While still in the planning stages, an exhibition race is tentatively scheduled for October
2006 , with league competition starting in 2007. If league competition begins, Diamandis indicated tournament semifinals would be held each September in Nevada, with finals each October in New Mexico at the
X Prize Cup competing for a $2 million championship purse.
Races would take place on a
Race Course two miles long, one mile wide, and 5000 feet in the air. A typical race would take about one hour, and fans would be able to see multiple camera views, including cockpit, "on-track," "side-by-side" and wing-angle views.
Additionally, a computer game is planned which will interface with racer position data in real time over the internet, allowing players to virtually compete with the rocket pilots.
A typical Rocket Race begins with a staggered start. Pilots take off in pairs a few minutes apart, they will be competing against the clock but will maneuver around each other much like NASCAR. The pilots will be guided by a virtual three-dimensional "track" projected in their
Heads-up Display . Each racer will have a separate track to follow but the courses will be close together to build the excitement.
The first team in the Rocket Racing League was announced on
January 30 ,
2006 .
Leading Edge Rocket Racing , co-founded by
F-16 pilots Robert "Bobaloo" Rickard and Don A. "Dagger" Grantham, Jr. will take possession of their Mark-1 X-Racer later this year.
As noted above, XCOR Aerospace has been flying its
XCOR EZ-Rocket rocketplane for several years.
Another attempt to do rocketplane demonstration flying was initiated by Ed Wright circa 2002 when he purchased a surplus Russian
MiG-21 jet fighter intending to convert it to rocket power. Though he has formed
X-Rocket corporation and is operating high altitude flights with the jet, the rocket conversion has not happened to date.
Commercialization Of Space
- Rocket Racing League
- Rocket Racing Forums and Wiki
- XCOR page on RRL
- Leading Edge Rocket Racing - First Rocket Racing team
- Rocket Racing League announces first team (January 30, 2006)
- ‘Rocket racing league’ gets its start (MSNBC, Oct. 3, 2005)
- Sci-fi to sky high: rocket racers set to leave Formula One in the pits (The Times, Oct. 5, 2005)
- Team Started! (Yahoo, Jan. 30, 2006)
- NASCAR in the Clouds (Wired, February 2, 2006)
- Images of XCOR Flight-Testing Rocket Racer Airframe (February 15, 2006)
- X-Racers, Start Your Rockets! (Popular Science cover article, February 2006)
