Early on, the skies were threatening, but not enough to prevent a multiple rocket launches on The College of New Jersey campus Wednesday.
A little rain might not have been much of a problem anyway. These rockets were fueled by the chemical H2O.
As part of an annual tradition, freshman students in Professor Romulo Ochoa's orientation to physics class created personalized two-liter bottles rockets.
They were shooting for the most "hang time."
For a few students' entries, aesthetics seemed to take precedence over aerodynamics, but most employed such serious implements as nose cones, fins and parachutes.
The student whose rocket spends the most time airborne from launch to landing wins. This year, the winner was Dominick Vapsva, from Berkeley Heights.
TCNJ junior Cynthia Reynolds, who won the competition in her freshman year was on hand in a mentoring role, kiddingly proclaiming "I'm trying to make a comeback!"
But she made a rocket too. Her creation, "Grapefruit Seltzer," was an elegant blend of form and function, employing an eye-catching cover design and rocket fins.
Rich Fiorillo, lab manager in the college's physics department, said: "There's a simple momentum conservation law that dictates their (the rocket's) initial speed. From then on it's all aerodynamics based on how they build the bottle."
"It's more to inspire and to have fun," he said of the event.
Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmancuso