Rocket fans cheer as porta-potty blasts off

THREE OAKS, Mich. — 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, “The Throne Thrusters,” 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."

This story was originally published December 8, 2014 at 8:12 AM with the headline "Rocket fans cheer as porta-potty blasts off."