Spaceport Midland Rocket Launch Facility
Gates open
5:00 AM*
The gate opens at 5:00am.
NOTE: Concessions and the ESRA Merchandise Store will be opened, and items will be available for purchase during this time.
Morning Flyer Meeting
6:00 AM - 6:30 AM
Any remaining teams who would like to fly at the 2026 IREC must attend.
Range open for launch operations
7:00 AM - 12:00 noon
ESRA anticipates both staff and students being prepared to support launches no earlier than 6:00am. Launches will not commence until the sun rises and the RSO has officially approved launches can proceed.
High Altitude Waiver OPEN for flights in the 45k’ category and for high altitude demonstration flights at 8am and the WAIVER and launch operations close at 12 noon.
IMPORTANT: The final remaining rockets ready to fly must be on the pads by 11:00am. All flights must be launched before 12:00 noon when the waiver officially closes.
IMPORTANT: Teams who fly on Saturday may not receive a score for their flight due to delays in getting the data to the judges. Data Recovery must have your flight apogee data and status before 12:00 noon in order to provide it to the judges committee for consideration.
Any team who has not cleared RSO inspection and the Final Checkpoint by 10:00am Saturday morning will not get to launch. Any team showing up to quarantine or to the Range-head with your rocket at 12:00 noon for inspection will be turned away.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE FINAL DAY TO LAUNCH!!!
7:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Livestream coverage active from 7:00am - 10:00am today.
Range Close and Site Cleanup
12:00 noon - 3:00 PM
ESRA will start packing up any non-essential resources. This includes any rails and launch equipment that will not be needed, ESRA tents, etc.
ESRA will be asking for volunteers from the teams over the PA system to help make this quicker. ESRA asks that each team provide one or two people to assist in range tear down. The goal is to leave the area in better condition than when we arrived!
*Times are given in Central Time (CT).