‘Where ideas will literally take flight’: RCS Rocket Motor Components hosts grand opening in Cedar City

Written by Jeff Richards
July 2, 2024

CEDAR CITY — The recent grand opening of RCS Rocket Motor Components’ new facility in Cedar City brought out plenty of VIPs, including the governor, all of whom expressed optimism and pride in what this endeavor could mean.

L-R: RCS founder and president Gary Rosenfield and executive vice president Dane Boles prepare to welcome attendees to the grand opening event of RCS Rocket Motor Components’ new facility in Cedar City, Utah, June 27, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“This state-of-the-art facility is not just a building. It represents our relentless pursuit of innovation, our dedication to excellence and our unwavering commitment to shaping the future of hobby and professional rocketry,” said RCS founder and president Gary Rosenfield as he and others prepared to cut the ceremonial ribbon on Thursday.

Approximately 200 people attended the event, including company officials and employees of RCS and its divisions, which include AeroTech and Industrial Solid Propulsion, and members of their families. Joining them were a few pioneers in the field of model rocketry, along with civic and community leaders and members of the public.

Gov. Spencer Cox, in a videotaped message, congratulated the company on its growth and expansion.

“As your governor, and on behalf of your fellow Utahns, thank you for the work you are doing with the U.S. military to keep individuals and families safe and help our research enterprises and institutions explore space,” Cox said. “I know your work with education, STEM in particular, has inspired thousands of young people and adults to pursue their dreams in science, technology, education, math and manufacturing.

Attendees tour the museum and retail shop in the front lobby of RCS Rocket Motor Components’ new facility in Cedar City, Utah, June 27, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“The career opportunities you provide to people in Iron County are vital to the health and well-being of the local economy. So thank you for your work, for your contribution to the state and for your support of your local partners.”

The program’s featured guest speakers included Lee Piester, founder of Centuri Engineering, who spoke about the early days of hobby rocketry and the development of composite propellant motors, and Bob Sanford, who designed the highly popular AeroTech Initiator model rocket, a giant replica of which stands outside the new RCS facility.

Another guest speaker was Jonathan Freedman, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah and a consul to Ukraine, who spoke of Cedar City’s important role in the aerospace industry.

“Cedar City has always been known as a technology and innovation hub and manufacturing community, from the early days of the iron mine,” Freedman said. “Thank you so much for your leadership in showing the very best that comes from Utah.”

Dane Boles, executive vice president and general manager at RCS, noted that RCS has become the world’s largest producer of solid composite propellant model rocket, mid-power and high-power hobby rocket motors.

A week before the grand opening, workers install rockets inside the museum and retail shop in the front lobby of RCS Rocket Motor Components’ new facility in Cedar City, Utah, June 20, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“When a young rocketeer or student launches one of our composite propellant model rocket motors, they are using the same family of aerospace-grade solid composite propellant as NASA’s space shuttle boosters, military missiles, sounding rockets, and NASA’s new SLS moon rocket boosters,” Boles said.

One of the new facility’s highlights is the small museum housed in the front lobby, where rockets, memorabilia and informational placards are on display, spanning more than six decades of the history of hobby rocketry.

Rosenfield said the Museum of Composite Propellant Hobby Rocketry “does not simply pay homage to those who have gone before us. It is a living history that will educate and inspire the next generations of rocketry enthusiasts.”

In his remarks just prior to the ribbon cutting, Rosenfield summarized the company’s achievements:

Over the past 42 years, AeroTech and ISP have consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible, with composite propellant rocket motor technology, from developing cutting edge, single use and reloadable hobby rocket motors, to pioneering advancements in off-the-shelf and specialized technologies for commercial and defense applications. Our journey has been marked by remarkable achievements and groundbreaking innovations. This new building symbolizes the next chapter in that journey, a chapter filled with promise, potential and limitless possibilities.

RCS is located just west of Airport Road at 2053 W. 850 North in Cedar City. The museum, which is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes a retail shop that offers rocket kits, supplies, T-shirts, hats and other merchandise.

Company officials said to watch for a full-size replica of a Patriot Missile mounted atop a flatbed trailer being towed by Rosenfield’s Tesla Cybertruck in Cedar City’s Fourth of July parade on Thursday.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons and one granddaughter. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!