MITS Rocket Light Flasher

A tracking light for night launched model rockets. The flashing light would allow the rocket's path to be followed and aid in the recovery of the rocket. The construction article by Forrest Mims appeared in the September 1969 issue of Model Rocketry and the flasher was the first product of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, MITS. In 1975 MITS introduced the Altair 8800, the first successful personal computer.

Mims, Forrest M. (September 1969). "Transistorized Tracking Light for Night Launched Model Rockets". Model Rocketry 1 (11): pp. 9-11. Cambridge, MA: Model Rocketry, Inc.

The Light Flasher is on display at the "STARTUP: Albuquerque and the Personal Computer Revolution" wing of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. The museum allows photography by visitors with no restrictions. (I checked with the Public Relations Manager before my visit.)

Photo by Michael Holley, April 2007.