The Rocket Racing League announced this week that their first Exhibition Race would take place at the famed Oshkosh AirVenture EAA Airshow in Wisconsin August 1-2. Two racers will be on the course which combines the thrill of motorsports with the power of rocket engines in flight. The Rocket Racing League will also hold Exhibition Races this year at the Reno Air Races, at Aviation Nation (also in Nevada), and at the X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Teams can also now opt for rocket engines provided by Doom and Quake creator and president of Armadillo Aerospace, John Carmack. The engines will run on liquid oxygen (LOX) and ethanol and include a special dose of salt water to make the rocket engines flare all the more visible from the ground (think colored smoke from an aerobatic plane). I can't wait to see one in person.

The two planes will race around a two lap course in the sky using heads up displays to see the virtual gates in the sky they must fly through at each checkpoint. Over 700,000 people are expected to watch the races at Oshkosh alone.

The Rocket Racing League was create in 2005 by X Prize Chairman Peter Diamandis and two time Indianapolis 500 winning team partner Granger Whitelaw. There are six teams in the league including former U.S. Navy pilots and former Air Force pilots and the league itself boasts former Space Shuttle Commander Rick Searfoss as a pilot.

The goal? "To advance the technology and increase the publics awareness of space travel." Having a couple dozen more people with extensive day in and day out knowledge of rocket engine design, maintenance, and operation would probably do a lot for aerospace. That is the kind of experience base we are going to need to be a space faring civilization. Then maybe all those video games you have been playing will pay off...

Rocket Racing League Announces First Exhibition Race [Rocket Racing League]

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Photo courtesy of Rocket Racing League (c)