GRITS 2026 Recommendations

The Following Applies to Everyone, Including Spectators.

Everyone is welcome to come out and watch us fly. However, rocketry is an inherently dangerous activity – objects often fall from the sky, sometimes at a very high speed. We have rules and procedures to make this activity as safe for everyone as possible, but bad things can happen. Everyone attending must understand and follow the following to ensure safety: 

  • Before you come to Turkey & GRITS , please read the information on the Launch Site page about the weather and conditions we expect. 

  • Bring plenty of water and sunscreen. If you think you’re bringing enough, bring more. If you don’t need it, your neighbor might. Take it easy during rocket recovery, use a buddy system or stay in communication while recovering a rocket. 

  • Check in at Registration as soon as you arrive. 

  • Pay attention! Every flight is potentially dangerous to you and your family. If the Launch Control Officer (LCO) calls “Rocket Not Safe” and everyone starts pointing in the direction of the rocket, please take it seriously! 

  • Parents, please keep your children under compassionate control and be sure they understand these rules. 

  • Please stay behind the safety tape barrier unless you are putting a rocket on a pad or going to recover a rocket.  If you are taking family out to the pad, be considerate of others.  Taking 45 minutes to take “wedding like” photos of your level 2 attempt will get a reaction from the launch director. 

  • If the LCO announces a flight as a “Heads Up” flight, that means get on your feet and pay attention until the rocket has returned to the ground. 

  • EVERYONE IS A FIRE SPOTTER. If you think you spot a fire on the field, call it out loudly and point in its direction. If a fire is forming and you’re the first to see it, you’ve saved us valuable seconds to get it contained and put out by calling it out. If a fire isn’t forming, then we pause the launch for a second while we verify, then move on. Err on the side of calling wolf rather than let a potential fire spread.

  • Do not attempt to catch any rocket as it lands. Even a small rocket can cause an injury. 

  • Do not pick-up or move any rocket that is not yours, unless you have the owner’s permission. 

  • Park your car behind the line marked on the ground, and please do not park in any areas designated for vendors or for launch administration. 

  • Please drive 5 MPH or less as you approach the launch area, and within the launch area. A vehicle moving any faster can raise a surprising amount of very annoying dust! 

  • Please use only the port-o-lets/port-o-johns/portable restrooms as port-o-lets…don’t not throw trash into them! 

  • Please keep control of your trash and carry it off when you leave. 

  • The Launch Director has license to make executive decisions pertaining to safety and conducting the launch. They have the final say on any matter that lies in or outside these guidelines.

Media Information 

All members of the press are invited to use the Contact Us Form for inquiries on Turkey & GRITS. 

Photographers Information 

Professional photographers who desire access within the flight line perimeter must be registered but you do what you do for free.  We will provide a registration wristband and a yellow vest.  

Media/photographers on the flight line are subject to the direction and control of the on-duty Range Safety Officer and the Event Director. Failure to comply with their direction can result in the immediate revocation of photographer’s privileges. 

If you want a specific place in Vendor Row or along the flight line to set up, you must coordinate this with the event well in advance. We request that reservations for commercial space must be made before 10/07/2024 (no less than 45 days before the event starts). Late arrivals will be invited to take a place at the end of vendor row or at the end of the flight line. 

Turkey & GRITS reserves the right to limit the per-company number of photographers and the number of photographers on the flight line at any given time. 

All of the above has been implemented to promote the safety of everyone attending the event to keep the flow of the launch running smoothly, and avoid unnecessary delays or inconvenience to flyers.