Ok, the first few moments are absolutely amazing.
The rest, though, is pretty sad.

One question remains: Will they try again?

well, as far as I remember parts of the construction were balsa wood, which might probably have been just a tack too weak. Carbon is not so hard too manage if you laminate it like in custom surfboard construction and a bazillion times stronger yet not necessarily much heavier. Well, just my 10 cents of it, but yet I don't really know anything about their construction, so I'm basically just an obnoxious know-it-all... ;-)

They were cheering!? It blew apart and they were still cheering! After the time I put into my hobby projects I would have been seriously pissed if that happened. Maybe they just didn't design it that seriously.

Gold Five to Red leader, I Lost Tiree, Lost Dutch. They came from... behind!

Called it! (well, pretty much).

what we may see coming out of this is model rockets in the likeness of cool stuff rather than just your standard issue vibrator. Awesome vid - yet sad.

aaaaats a shame.... really is.

At least the pilot parachuted down back to Earth, I mean the "Rebel forces base". Only the Empire pays out on life insurance so that guy's family would be out in the cold if he died.

You worry about those fighters, I'll worry about the towers!

@whiteknight: They were cheering because it was spectacular!

I'm sorry it didn't get farther, but it was still a great effort.

Thanks for following up with the video, Gizmodo!

@zarchitect: yes, and then we'll see even more of them disintegrate.

It wasn't just the construction at fault, it was also the design. I'm not rocket scientist but even I know there's a reason that all proper rockets are 'vibrator shaped'.

Still, I must admit it did better than I expected - I didn't think it would take off.

But it looked so sturdy!

In noo way will Luke Skywalker will be able to use his force powers to get out of this situation.

Sad after all that hard work. Look good for a second.

Fan-freakin-tastic!!!!! That was so worth it. The dreamers keep dreaming, the critics keep critiquing and here I am just slap happy theres people out there just damn well doing it. ROCKet ON my geeky brethren!!!!

The Top Gear Space Shuttle was more impressive, and more technically challenging!

[youtube.com]

Skip to 7:30 if you just want to see the launch.

- I got a little cooked, but I'm okay.

LUKE
I don't believe it.

YODA
That is why you fail.

So Effing Cool!
So it blew up mid flight...
How many of you packed your model rockets with firecrackers hoping they would go off when the engine blew out the chute?!
I sure did. I had a blast doing it! I cheered too!

the force is NOT strong in this one
/rimshot

If your going to fail, fail big.

Maybe they should make the next one out of something stronger than balsa wood.

since when do x-wings take off vertically?

@erockO: I imagine since hover-capable propulsion mechanisms have not been invented yet to counteract the poor aerodynamic design of the X-wing fighter.

When I first heard about this guy making the X-Wing a few days ago, I thought that they meant it to be a manned vehicle. LoL.

I love the "Holy Shit" at the end. I don't think that was in any of the movies...but it should have been!

Awesome! SImply awesome! Te fact that it got off the ground is great. Now they just need to redeisgn it with stronger materials...

@Elliuotatar:

Of course it was better, it ended up been a bomb.

I love them kind of stunts they do on Top Gear, makes it more interesting then the other car shows.

They will have to take a year off while they investigate the cause of the accident. I heard their was frost at the launch site that morning, and it seems the could have interfered with the solid rocket booster.

Fantastic stuff, regardless.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."

Apparently it doesn't bind balsa wood together.

@David Flores: that was a Y-Wing...which is fundamentally different than the X-Class fighter system...(pushes up taped glasses)...you have offended me.

jk. lol

go with throttle up

Can someone help me... I can't see any pictures in the main page of gizmodo (I only see a white space with the red X at the corner). What plugin do I need to install? I have java and flash already... same thing happens in kotaku. Thanks

He should have made a stronger metal frame. Especially for the wings.

@Step666: Well, if the rocket engine is strong enough, I'd say the shape of it the vehicle is a rather secondary question.

@beramodk: Same thing on Kotaku.

@beramodk:

same thing is happening to me. probably just a server side bug or something because I can see pictures from yesterday.

@beramodk:
me either, looks like what is not stored on the giz server is gettin lost somewhere
i tried both ie and firefox, same results
its a waiting game till they fix it

I think the builders mentioned they did not expect it to last... So if I was a spectator I'd just be glad the debris field was in that direction it was.

We'll, it didn't explode on the launch pad, which was what my money was on.

PS = Photophile wins the thread.

They should just paint an X-Wing profile on a more aerodynamic design. We all know George Lucas never went to an aeronautical design school.

porkins died flying a y wing didn't he?

Hmm, perhaps the reason they used wood is weight and cost. Especially weight, if you know anything about rockets you know that the more weight you have the more oomph you need to lift it. Gladly do a better job if you think you can and are willing to sink the money into such an endeavour. I think it's pretty cool though.

sure they can rebuild the x-wing fighter, but how do you replace that poor r2 unit?

@Milkham: no. He was an X-Wing pilot, Red Squadron.

It looked to me like there were people standing much closer to the launch point than is safe--particularly the two guys standing closest in, who appear to be well within the distance the rocket's engines could move it. What if it had fallen over sideways at launch and headed straight towards them? Don't get me wrong. I think this is a great project and great lark and congratulate the team on pulling this off. I just hope that they'll learn from the experience of past rocket designers and keep people further back at any future launches .. and keep posting the video online!

Beyond the construction materials reason for it breaking up... it also looks like the rockets weren't all firing at either the same speed or completely the same direction... which this design is probably the harder thing to do (synchronizing 4 separate rockets...)

Doesn't he know the X-Wings never spread their wings until they're in space?!?!

On a side note, I love how that kid on his daddy's shoulders is pumping his arm while it breaks apart.

Sure..sure...it wasn't Darth Vader...finally! Vengeance is ours!

Jobs must have been nervous with all the rumors that there was going to be a boom bigger than his.

he (and his ego) can finally breathe a sigh of relief

My Estes X-wing had a similar fate. But it only cost me 6 bucks, and I was 9.

Of course they were cheering. Any time you launch something that big, it's cool, even if it blows up spectacularly. (Heck, blowing up in a spectacular fashion is probably the second best result you can get!)

maybe try a more realistic science-fiction space vehicle for the next attempt? perhaps something more sleak so it has less resistance. i remember doing a blackbird rocket when i was yonger, it had many succesfull flights and still looked good.