On the outside, it looks like any other garage.  But just inside, it's mission control. 

Two Anchorage residents have spent the past year building large rockets in their own homes, working to push the limits of high altitude research. 

Wyatt Rehder is an aerospace engineer consultant.  But although he spends his workday talking about jet propulsion and rocket fuel, he still spends his free time dreaming of flight. 

“This rocket's going to be going more than 3,000 miles per hour at full speed, which is four times the speed of sound,” said Rehder. “ The goal altitude of this is 150,000 feet, which is nearly the top of the stratosphere.” 

Working alongside Rehder on his own rocket is Noah Joraanstad.  Joraanstad is a commercial airline pilot, who said the duo met with a common interest in aerospace, but ended up working together in a collaborative nature. 

“He has some of the engineer side, and I come with the hands-on skill,” said Joraanstad. “ We've kind of blended those skills, and I've helped him out, and he's helped me out.” 

Attached to the top of the projectile is a 360 degree camera.  Rehder said his rocket should be able to capture similar high altitude images above Earth comparatively to a weather balloon, but much more quickly and efficiently. 

Over the past week, Rehder and Joraanstad have packed up their materials, and left for Black Rock, Nevada to finally test launch their rockets.  They said Alaska law prohibits any projectiles flying as high as their planned launch, so they're headed to one of the few locations in the country where it’s legal. 

They said, the rocket fuel will be waiting for them upon arrival. 

“This is a place you can really go out and push ‘em,” said Joraanstad, describing Black Rock on Sept 23 and 24 as a gathering of rocket fanatics. “ Some do explode, and it’s pretty cool.  Who doesn't like a good firecracker?” 

Rehder said, growing up in Alaska, he never imagined having the knowledge to create one of these rockets of his own, but hopes one day his research will be able to make a significant contribution to aerospace engineering. 

“When I grew up, all the people doing these amazing projects were somewhere else, they were always thousands of miles away,” said Rehder. “ I grew up as a commercial fisherman, and now I'm a rocket scientist.  You never know where life takes you.”