Heat and swirls of dust above the cracked earth of northwestern Nevada make any sign of life look like a mirage. In the fall of 2016, photographer Robert Ormerod turned off the road and onto the dried lake bed of the Black Rock Desert in search of a rocket launch. On the horizon he could make out a hazy row of RVs—those of the attendees of a famed amateur-rocketry convention.
在美國(guó)內(nèi)華達(dá)州西北部滿是裂縫的土地上,蒸騰的熱氣和灰塵漩渦使任何生命跡象看起來都像是海市蜃樓。2016年秋天,攝影師羅伯特·奧默羅德離開公路,來到黑巖沙漠干涸的湖床上,尋找火箭發(fā)射場(chǎng)景。在地平線上,他能辨認(rèn)出成排的模糊人影,他們都是參加這場(chǎng)著名業(yè)余火箭發(fā)射盛會(huì)的人。
Since 1991 the Federal Aviation Administration has granted the Tripoli Rocketry Association permission to shoot rockets up to 492,000 feet (93 miles) in the air for the event. It's one of the few times when high-altitude rockets can be safely and legally launched, so 100 to 200 hobbyists gather annually to test their creations. Tripoli calls the event "a venue for projects that should NOT be flown publicly due to safety and legal restrictions." In other words, don't try this at home.
自1991年以來,美國(guó)聯(lián)邦航空管理局就已批準(zhǔn)的黎波里火箭協(xié)會(huì)在該活動(dòng)期間向至多150千米的高空發(fā)射火箭。這是少數(shù)幾次可以安全合法發(fā)射高海拔火箭的盛會(huì),所以每年有100到200名火箭愛好者聚集在此,測(cè)試他們的新發(fā)明。的黎波里火箭協(xié)會(huì)稱這里是“因安全和法律限制而不應(yīng)公開飛行的項(xiàng)目場(chǎng)所”。換句話說,不要在家里嘗試發(fā)射火箭。