Recollections of the CSXT Space Shot 2004

May 20, 2009 (for 5th anniversary)
updated May 17, 2012 (for 8th anniversary)
Stratofox Aerospace Tracking Team

See pictures of the preparations, launch, search expedition and recovery of the spacecraft by members of the Stratofox Aerospace Tracking Team. In 2011, Eric Knight KB1EHE's book about the CSXT Space Shot experience called "The New Race To Space" was published. Eric was the CSXT Avionics Team Lead. He went to great effort to credit all the volunteers who participated.
 
Promo video for documentary that never aired 		 
Booster recovery by Stratofox in Granite Range
 
Launch video from press release 		 
Launch video by one of the builders of the motor
On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the CSXT Space Shot 2004, the first amateur rocket launch to space, Stratofox has gathered more information which had not been posted before as well as some new reflections on the event 5 years ago. We hope and expect that space enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates the history will enjoy this.

See also:
CSXT SpaceShot 2004 - First Amateur Launch to Space, May 2004
Mystery Solved: Stratofox Recovers CSXT Booster, Nov 2004
Re-entry boom analysis, Dec 2004
ARRL News: Ham Radio-Carrying Rocket Exceeds Goal; Avionics Recovered Intact

Search Areas Covered

In February we posted the Locations of search and recovery for the CSXT Space Shot 2004 in preparation for the 5th anniversary.

Recollections by team members

We now have some personal recollections written at the 5-year point.

Ian Kluft KO6YQ
Steve Palmer KA6DHU
We'd like to encourage more recollections of the event to continue to record the history. They'll be posted here as they're received.

E-mail discussions

The e-mail discussion from during the event has also been collected and posted. In addition to the recollections above, these recorded e-mail discussions from the time show another side of the event as the team converged on the desert and other team members who couldn't attend waited for news.