Pigs, Sharks, And Snowmobiles: Kari Byron Talks Hosting Large Dangerous Rocket Ships

Science Channel

As co-host of MythBusters, Kari Byron deals with explosions, rocket sleds and general chaos all the time. But not even that experience could prepare her for the spectacle that is Large Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS), an annual competition-turned-Science Channel special that Byron began hosting 3 years ago. “The first year I went I felt like I was in a warzone because there are rockets going off constantly,” she says. “Every minute, there’s another one launching off. 3-2-1, pew! 3-2-1, pew! I was shell shocked. But now I’ve gotten used to it.”

Each year, LDRS moves to a different, very remote location. “We have to be somewhere far out, because generally they have to close off airspace when we’re doing extra-wild things,” Byron says. This year, rocket enthusiasts converged on Potter in upstate New York. “We’re basically out in a large field,” she says. “Some people have rockets taller than they are, and some have small model rockets, but everybody’s having a good time. There are rockets going up all around you, and you just have to be on your toes and make sure they don’t come down near you.”

The Main Events

This year’s LDRS special focuses on two events: Fastest to 10,000 Feet (that’s what they close off airspace for) and Odd Rockets, where competitors try to turn any object they can think of into a successful rocket—and land it safely. This part of LDRS is particularly fun. “People are always trying to top what happened the year before,” Byron says. “I’ve seen these guys launch port-a-potties and coffins. And this year, there’s everything from pigs to sharks. It's pretty wild.” But the craziest thing she saw get launched into the air was, hands down, a 400 pound snowmobile. “That was pretty weird, because that’s not one of those things I would have looked at and thought Hmm, I wonder if I could make a rocket out of that? But that’s why these guys are out there. They’re geniuses.”

While some competitors launch existing objects—like that snowmobile and a vintage television set—there are others who build their quirky rockets from scratch, an involved process that calls for lots of design, pre-LDRS tests, and troubleshooting. “I really like the challenge of the aerodynamics of the weird things they get into the air,” Byron says. “Anything that’s shaped like a rocket, it’s like, yeah, yeah, of course that’s going to go up! But when you see people fly things like a pig, you’re like, Wait a minute. How do you even go about modeling a pig to try to get over the drag factor from the legs and the ears? They spend so much time just coming up with the perfect skin—maybe they’re just shaping it in this minute way that nobody would notice but them—but it could make all the difference to the rocket.”

Often, the Odd Rockets crash and burn, and that's all part of the fun (at least for people watching on TV). “[These competitors] know they’re trying to launch things that were never meant for the sky,” Byron says. “It’s a gamble. They get disappointed because they do put all that time, effort and love into it, but when it goes wrong, it’s all part of rocketry.” But when those rockets built to go to 10,000 feet fail to launch, that’s a different story. “When those really expensive, beautiful rockets don’t go into the sky,” Byron says, “that’s when I feel bad.”

The More, The Merrier

This was the 31st year of the LDRS competition, and it doesn’t surprise Byron at all that people keep coming back—or that more people want to join in on the fun. “I think everybody’s got a real fascination with space and flight, and being able to create these rockets is this amazing way to touch the sky for a minute,” she says. “A lot of people who are competing are engineers or they’re in aerospace, and [LDRS is] something that’s natural to them. But there are also a lot of kids out there, getting involved and learning how to make these things work." This mission, in particular, is one Byron is passionate about. "I always love looking for new and interesting ways to get kids—and people in general—interested in science, and I think rockets is a great way to do that, because it’s such a flashy thing to be able to explain science with," she says. "The sound of these rockets going up is beautiful—it’s this shoo! It’s fascinating to watch, and being able to create something that goes up that high is amazing.”

And don't forget the sheer fun in creating those increasingly wacky Odd Rockets. Take note, next year's competitors: There's one object Byron really wants you to make into a rocket. “I’d like to see a full-sized car!” she laughs. “I wonder if they could get a car up in the air?”

Large Dangerous Rocket Ships airs Sunday, October 28 at 10 pm on The Science Channel.