First HPR meeting of 1999

March 1999 saw MARS attending the first high power rocketry launch meeting of the year, hosted by the Thrust Rocketry Group at Garlands Shooting Range in Staffordshire. MARS rocket launches were undertaken by Iain Colledge, Richard Osborne, Greg Spivey and Ben Jarvis, with an impressive LOC Mini-Magg rocket drag race between Ben Jarvis (using an Aerotech I300T motor) and Greg Spivey (using an Aerotech H128 and 2 x Rocket Services D15's)

A MARS amateur hybrid rocket was to have been launched at the event, however, a glitch with the onboard altimeter electronics prevented this, since the electronically deployed recovery system is dependent on an onboard altimeter.