Would you look at the date: October 23rd. In 1970, that was the day that Gary Gabelich strapped into the wheeled missile that is the Blue Flame at Bonneville, lit the candle and quite literally rocketed his way into history, getting the world records for the flying mile (622.407 MPH) and flying kilometer (630.388 MPH, or 1,014.511 km/h). The Blue Flame looked like a lawn dart with just enough space for a human and had been inspired by a hydrogen peroxide rocket dragster. Built by Reaction Dynamics, the engine was capable of 22,500 lb/f of thrust, which equates to something like 58,000 horsepower, but for the record runs the thrust was halved with modifications so that Goodyear, the makers of the tires on the LSR machine, wouldn’t have to worry about a speed above 700 miles per hour. On a run, Gabelich would drive the car full-speed through the first mile trap, burning a mixture of liquid natural gas and hydrogen peroxide, then coast the rest of the distance.

What you are about to see is footage narrated by Dick Keller, one of the men behind the construction of the Blue Flame with lots of footage from back in the day and plenty of technical know-how behind the record that stood for thirteen years until Richard Noble’s Thrust 2 surpassed it in 1983. take note of something: how young a lot of these people actually look, especially when you see them utilizing NASA equipment while the vehicle is chained up for some test runs.