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The Rocket Racing League

Written by Alan Bellows on 02 February 2006

Rocket Racing League LogoTwenty years from now, a human pilot may very well be unwanted baggage inside the small, maneuverable fighter aircraft of the future. Unmanned, artificially intelligent and/or remote-controlled drones will likely replace all human pilots once the technologies mature to the point that they are safe and reliable, sparing the lives of pilots from the dangerous wartime skies.

But the men and women who long for the singular thrill of pulling Gs in a compact, high-speed aircraft need not despair… the Rocket Racing League (RRL) is here.

The RRL was founded by two men with some fitting credentials: Granger Whitelaw, the owner of a two-time IndyCar champion team; and Peter Diamandis, who chairs the spaceflight-promoting X-Prize Foundation. Their vision is to host high-speed sky races where pilots navigate a two-mile-wide, 5,000-foot-high racetrack in tiny rocket-powered aircraft.

The first prototype X-Racer was flown last October by three-time astronaut and former Air Force test pilot Rick Searfoss, who described the tiny aircraft’s 1,800 pounds of thrust as “a real kick in the pants.” A single fuel load of the liquid oxygen/kerosene propellant gives four minutes’ worth of burn time, but the craft are designed to thrust in short bursts–vomiting ten-foot columns of flame behind them– while coasting between burns. In order to finish out the 60-90 minute races, the X-Racers will need to make several pit-stop landings to refuel.

Rocket League Prototype RacerEach $1.2 million X-Racer is planned to be built to identical specifications, pitting the pilots’ skill against skill. The League even has its first team– Leading Edge Rocket Racing– which is comprised of two F-16 fighter pilots. A contest is in progress on the RRL homepage to name the first X-Racer, where the winner will enjoy a pass to the first season’s races, a personal tour of the X-Racer, and a Rocket Racing League bomber jacket.

If all goes according to plan, sometime next year the skies above Nevada and New Mexico will be thundering from the noise of X-Racers on virtual racetracks in the sky. The future is coming, and it has rockets.

Further Reading:
Rocket Racing League homepage
Wired article on the RRL
Wikipedia article on the Rocket Racing League
Wikipedia article on the X-Prize

Suggested by Dave Armstrong.

Alan Bellows is the founder, designer, and managing editor of DamnInteresting.com, and he is perpetually behind schedule.
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#1 AZditz 02 February 2006 at 05:05 pm

The racing is OK but what’ll they do when they get there!


#2 white_matter 02 February 2006 at 07:16 pm

So this is what rich folks do in their spare time. As long as they’re competing with military grade vehicles, why not run the gambit?

Today:Jet Racing

Tomarrow: Tank Jousting


#3 Anthony Kendall 03 February 2006 at 06:51 am

At $1.2 million each, these little rockets may be quite short of military grade. This seems more to me like the game F-Zero for the Nintendo platform, or perhaps the jet races in Star Wars Episode 1. This is raw-knuckle racing at far higher speeds than NASCAR or F1 could ever hope for.

I wonder though, how will they make the race exciting for spectators? They can’t go head-to-head because it’s far too dangerous, and the course is so large that it will be difficult to make out details. I’ve never been to an air show that does races, so maybe this question has an obvious answer. If not we’ll wait and see in October!


#4 alipardiwala 03 February 2006 at 08:11 am

It sounds interesting. Gonna be fun too. But it doesnt seem feasible. And it looks very dangerous. I don’t see it taking off.


#5 jchristman 03 February 2006 at 08:43 am

It doesn’t matter how close the racing is on the clock, US fans want to see bumper to bumper action as in NASCAR. US fans don’t follow F1 or a TT event such as Isle of Mann because the nuances are lost on them. It’s quite a shame really. This will most likely be a short-lived event frequented by millionaires looking for thrills. What average Joe could possibly get sponsorship for a $1.2 vehicle keeping in mind that that’s just the tip of the iceberg cost wise.
Just my two cents worth.


#6 Anthony Kendall 06 February 2006 at 08:53 am

I am reading a summary of the RRL on The Space Review right now, and it says that the races will be head-to-head, just that the competitors will be kept in separate “lanes” to avoid collisions.


#7 indra c 15 February 2006 at 02:20 pm

Great article Alan. Great link Anthony. This is just amazing! Now have any of the big gaming companies included racing indy, F1 or rally live against the actual contestants via their home gaming systems yet? That is what the RRL is planning on doing as their major income source. I find the idea so appealing and the technology seems readily available today.


#8 Hayley 11 May 2006 at 01:51 pm

This seems so cool and yet so supremely moronic simultaneously.


#9 Zamemee 01 June 2006 at 09:22 am

Has nobody ever heard or pylon racing? This is going to be awsome.


#10 WolfManDragon 10 July 2006 at 12:45 pm

white_matter said: “So this is what rich folks do in their spare time. As long as they’re competing with military grade vehicles, why not run the gambit?


Today:Jet Racing

Tomarrow: Tank Jousting”

Tank Jousting, now that sounds FUN!


#11 Tincup 20 May 2007 at 04:02 pm

I think this is incredibly exciting for one very simple reason: Racing improves the breed. Any automotive company worth its salt can tell you that, and racing is one principal reason why automotive technology has taken the enormous strides it has over the last century. Competition and commercialization like this will be what bring space flight to the masses, and a $1.2 million this is a bargain compared to such things as open-wheel racing.


#12 Atomizer 27 May 2008 at 11:32 pm

I’m just curious; what enormous strides has automotive technology taken recently? And I don’t mean to sound skeptical. I’m really just curious. Obviously, there are things like ABS, fuel injection, etc., but what are the improvements in performance v. fuel consumption, for example? Have we really made any improvement in that areas like that?


#13 ddonovan 22 September 2008 at 02:58 pm

Corvette ZR1: 638 horsepower, 20mpg. Inconceivable even 10 years ago.


#14 allduerespect88 10 December 2008 at 07:54 pm

If there were plenty of camera’s around the course that could track these, plus maybe on board cameras I would consider watching this on tv


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