A payload-carrying rocket blasts off the launch pad

A payload-carrying rocket blasts off the launch pad and zooms up a launch rail, March 28, 2018, at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California, during the STARBASE Los Alamitos STARBASE 2.0 program participation in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) competition. TARC teams required two successful and safe launches for consideration in the TARC national competition. Launches were scored based on proximity to targeted metrics including flight duration and altitude, and the top 100 scoring teams nationwide were invited to Washington. STARBASE Los Alamitos' team Fire Boltz missed the top 100 team scoring cutoff by two points. STARBASE Los Alamitos is one of two Department of Defense STARBASE locations facilitated by the California Military Department. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Crystal Housman)