Amateur Rocket builder

Ken Walsh was the Communications section manager when I was on GBI in 1958. Ken was also an amateur rocket builder. I understand he launched his first amateur rocket before I went to GBI. I remember the attempted launch of a multi-stage amateur rocket in about December, 1958. The date was somewhere around Christmas of 1958. I think Ken even had a note from Werner VonBraun wishing him luck

Ken built a two-stage rocket. He installed a radiosonde transponder in the nose section and a parachute for reentry. He had a launching rail mounted on a telephone pole setup near the beach. The launch was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon. A person was in the weather station ready to track the radiosonde. Another couple of men went out in a small motor launch to attempt the recovery of the nose section on reentry.

I had just taken my wife and two kids to GBI about two months before. All of us gathered at the beach location to see the launch. Papasan, the bar manager, brought several cases of beer. When the countdown finalized, Ken pressed the button to ignite the first stage of the rocket. The rocket ignited.

Something jammed on the launch rail and the rocket only moved up a about a foot or so before jamming. It sat there blasting away and shaking. The launch rail began to pull loose from the pole. Finally, the second stage ignited with the first stage still on the launching rail. The second stage went up a couple of hundred feet and arced over into the ocean.

The weather radar never acquired track. The recovery team were not able to recover the nose stage of the rocket. We were probably lucky that the launching rail did not pull completely loose from the pole and cause the rocket to possibly come straight towards all of us.

As far as I know, Ken never tried to build another rocket.