Events at this location

(Black Rock Desert, Nevada)

BALLS is THE premier Experimental Rocket Launch in the Continental US. The event spans 32 years however this year will be the 30th time it is held in the Black Rock Desert, North of Reno, near Gerlach, Nevada. There was no event in 2001 because of 9/11 and no event in 2020 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BALLS brings together dedicated rocketry enthusiasts devoted to the leading edge of non-professional rocketry activities for the best demonstration of experimental design, using today’s best technologies, and probably the largest non-professional rockets seen anywhere.

BALLS is a venue for projects that should NOT be flown at other events or locations due to safety considerations. This may include, but is not limited to, LARGE rockets, complex staging or clustering, metal rockets, self-designed and/or fabricated rocket motors and new technologies being developed or proven. Black Rock Dry Lake has always been the site of large rocket launches. Its wide-open vastness is unparalleled for its high altitude recovery record. Through the years BALLS has grown into non-professional rocketry’s show place of the best there is. The quality, craftsmanship, sheer size, power and technological edge cannot be compared to any other launch anywhere. One of the best aspects of BALLS is the exchange of new thoughts and methods that are presented openly to anyone who asks. This launch will be primarily for Research Motors and/or Dangerous projects. Only Tripoli, and NAR Members with reason, will be permitted to be present out on Pad Areas and Away Cells. This will be strictly enforced.