Never doubt the power of interns. If you let them, they'll do their job — and build the world's largest amateur rocket.
Just for fun.
That's what United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Ball Aerospace interns have been doing for the past five years, according to Space.com. More than 350 people helped build the rocket, including 300 interns.
On Sunday, their rocket, called the Future Heavy, lifted off from Fort Carson, Colorado, climbing a stack of smoke to 10,000 feet before returning to Earth. (That's quite a distance away from the edge of space, but still pretty darn impressive.)
Before it launched, Future Heavy clocked in at 50 feet and 1,245 pounds, making it the largest sport rocket ever launched.
But just because it was built for fun doesn't mean it doesn't have scientific payloads on it.
Ball Aerospace interns created four payloads for Future Heavy. The rocket also carried science experiments designed by Colorado grade school students. That includes a solar physics experiment created by kindergartners.
In addition to Future Heavy, ULA and Ball Aerospace interns have been building smaller rockets for almost a decade.
Just so you can grasp how big the rocket actually was, here's a photo of the whole team with their towering, record-breaking creation:
Watch the rocket launch in the video below.
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