Rocket enthusiasts launch porta-potty into the air

Members of the Michiana Rocketry launch a 10-foot, 450 pound... — Members of the Michiana Rocketry launch a 10-foot, 450 pound porta-potty, mounted on rocket motors, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014, from a field in Three Oaks, Mich. Credit: AP / DON CAMPBELL

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSDecember 7, 2014

Mission accomplished! A group of rocket enthusiasts launched a porta-potty into the sky Saturday in southwestern Michigan. It made an arc and almost landed on a spectator's pickup truck, 2,000 feet away.

A group of Michiana Rocketry club members planned the project for more than two years. The club is trying to increase awareness of rocketry as a hobby and prove it's possible to turn a porta-potty into a rocket and launch it successfully.

The Herald Palladium newspaper says liftoff occurred in a soybean field near Three Oaks in Berrien County. About 30 people worked on the rocket, from engineers to sales people who lined up sponsors.

Rocket enthusiast Bob Bycraft says it was carefully planned. He says it wasn't "barnyard engineering."

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