Membership

The RRS provides a unique opportunity for the Southern California experimental rocketeer. It is a California registered, educational 501(c)3 non-profit, experimental rocket organization composed of members sharing a common desire to supplement theoretical studies with actual rocket construction and launches. Safety has always been of paramount importance in the pursuit of these activities. The involvement of experienced members, as well as the guidance provided by the licensed pyrotechnic operators, has allowed the Society to conduct thousands of live fire tests since 1943 without a single accident resulting in injury. Research field trips are made to the MTA an average of roughly 4 to 5 times per year for launches, static tests, and work parties.

The RRS is a society of amateur scientists sharing their interests, experience, and expertise. They volunteer their time and labor for the educational benefit of the Society and its members. As a result of this continued collaboration, RRS members are free to begin and explore any project of his or her choosing. There are no restrictions aside from those required by the California State Fire Marshal’s office. The RRS is home to many talented people of like interest who can help a project succeed. The thrill of a hot fire test has proven to be one of the most powerful educational motivations imaginable over our long history spanning 75 years. Even failures encourage more attempts to try again and successes generate the enthusiasm for new and more sophisticated projects.

Application for membership into the Society is open to anyone over 18 years old living in the Los Angeles area. We want our members to be a regular presence in the society and to share their experience and efforts with others. Our monthly meetings are on the 2nd Friday of each month at the front office of the Compton/Woodley Airport unless otherwise specified. We encourage new members to attend our meetings as we are a social group and like to promote collaboration.

Younger students can also participate in Society activities if they are sponsored by an adult member, parent, or guardian. Today’s Reaction Research Society is a vibrant, active, experimental amateur rocketry organization dedicated to the advancement of the aeronautical sciences and to the educational value of study in this field.

If you want to join the RRS, the application form for membership is available at the link below. Fill in the application, print and sign the form and include the yearly membership fee. The RRS post office box address to mail the application is on the top of the form. We are working on an online application process, but as of yet, we still use the plain paper form.

Reaction Research Society
8821 Aviation Blvd., 
P. O. Box 90933
Los Angeles, CA, 90009-0933

All membership applications must be submitted to the society president and will be reviewed by the executive council.
president@rrs.org

Scanned membership applications are accepted, but all information must be verifiable. Please make all of your contact information clear. We also strongly desire each applicant to attend our monthly meetings at the front office of the Compton/Woodley Airport on the 2nd Friday of each month.

Our yearly membership fee is $40 USD. This can be made by check and submitted to the society post office box with your membership application and indemnification form. This website also has a “Donate” button that links to Paypal. Membership dues can be paid here, but please make a note that includes your name and that you are paying “Membership Dues”.

Membership Application

If you’re accepted as a member of the RRS, you can access member content from the web site. To do so you need to be registered as a member on the website. To do this you must first register as a “Public User,” on the registration page and then send an email to the web master at reactionresearchsociety@gmail.com. Put “RRS” in the subject line and let us know you’re a member and we’ll change your registration to “RRS Membership” so you can access the member content.

Before you consider applying for membership, you must read, understand and accept all parts the indemnification portion below. Indemnification is part of being an RRS member. The indemnification form is required to be submitted to the society president by all members and applicants.

Indemnification:

Rocket propulsion experimentation involves many potential hazards.  All personnel attending Reaction Research Society rocket activities will be in the proximity of hazardous chemicals, pyrotechnic devices, electrical equipment, tools, and machinery. Attending an RRS event involves serious risks and each attendee is accepting all of these risks to their person or property by being present. The building and testing of such experimental rocket motors always presents some risk, however small, of fire, explosion, thermal or chemical burns, toxic poisoning, fragment impact, or electrical shock, just to name a few.  The danger associated with these activities is such that testing must be conducted at a remote location.  This limits access to the type of emergency medical assistance that would normally be available within city limits.  In addition, the time required for such assistance to arrive on scene might be considerably longer than normal, or an injured person might need to be transported to the nearest medical facility directly by others on scene.  Participants must also be aware that the actions of others attending these firings might result in an emergency situation causing injury to those in the immediate area.  While the Reaction Research Society has never had an accident resulting in injury to any participant in almost 80 years of amateur rocket operations, participants attending RRS activities must be aware that the risk of injury or death does exist when engaged in rocket fabrication and test operations.

Indemnification Agreement