NARAM Live, Day 7, Friday (The End)

Well, NARAM is wrapped up and I was disappointed on the lack of coverage of the sports range.  By all accounts, it was not nearly as busy as in prior years.  Others have voiced that they hope future NARAMs don't cut back based on this years' experience. I concur wholeheartedly and am looking forward to the day it is once again hosted at Great Meadow.  Anyway, I extend my thanks to Chris for his efforts.  Even without a lot of sport rockets, it was fun to follow.

Friday was for scale!  Plenty PMC jets, lots of Saturns, a cool Buran, and a couple of NARHAMSters. 

Space Shuttle display

This is a display that I put together after the Challenger disaster.  It includes individual mission patches (of the sticker variety) from STS-6 through -51L.  I didn't receive patches for STS-1 through -5 so I grabbed a sheet from the GSFC visitor center.  It also includes photos from the ALT era.  The one with the astronauts is hand signed.  There are a few other miscellaneous stickers and my badge from the Silver Snoopy awards. 

Jeff Taylor and Curt Newport to try for 100K' and the Carmack Prize

Ben Brockert, of Armadillo Aerospace, provided an update on the Carmack Prize, including the rules, the background, and information about the only announced launch attempt.  Jeff Taylor and Curt Newport will fly their Proteus 7 at BALLS (9/30/11-10/2/11).  They are shooting for the 100k ft. and hence claim the $5K Carmack Prize. The Proteus 7 is the latest iteration of their amateur sounding rocket.  Version 6.5 hit 75,000' at last year's BALLS (On-board video embedded at the bottom). [via Armadillo and seen on Rocketry Planet]

PROTEUS 7.0 EXPERIMENTAL ROCKET SPECIFICATIONS
Mechanical:
Length:	15' 9"
Diameter:	6"
Unloaded Weight:	90.5 lbs.
Loaded Weight:	191.0 lbs.
Materials:	6061 aluminum (motor case and airframe), 7075 aluminum (fins), 2024 aluminum (fin mounts), and laminated birch wood with composite covering (nosecone).
Motor:
Propellant:	Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP)
Total Impulse:	Approximately 95K Newton-Seconds
Initial Thrust:	1,736 lbs.
Maximum Thrust:	2,149 lbs.
Burn time:	13.0 sec
Avionics and Recovery:
Ozark Aerospace Electronic Altimeters (two)
Ozark Aerospace Telemetry System: Garmin GPS receiver integrated with a one watt 900 MHz RF down link transmitter
Rouse-Tech CO2 Ejection System using two 38 gram cartridges
Adept Rocketry UHF RF transmitter
Walston UHF RF transmitter
Ballistic Drogue Parachute, 73" X-Form
Aiptek digital HD camera

-Jeff Taylor & Curt Newport

Virtual tour of the NMUSAF

The National Museum of the United States Air Force has a nice virtual tour.  You can find their V-2 in the WWII area, second button from the top in the far left (display # 030).

The Cyclops Saucer

I built this saucer as a night launch rocket. It flew well but the wind blew it into the trees. Never seen or heard from since.

NARAM Live, Day 5 and 6, Wednesday and Thursday

Launch Day 5 included more contest coverage and some sports flights.  Not as many as I'd have liked, but beggars can't be choosers.  I do love those 4" Quaker Oats bins!

Launch Day 6 was posted at the same time and is mostly contest photos.  He has some photos from George Gassaway, which includes some shots of a really nice HPR Little Joe I.

That leaves one more day.

I also see NARAM got some local press: Rocket competition continues in Lebanon (Ohio, that is).

More about my home made cones

Hope this inspires the scratch builder and odd-rocketeer in you.  Clockwise, starting with the big gray one:

1. 5.5" dia., made from two sizes of floral foam cones, glassed with a plastic tip. Never used.
2. 4" dia (sized for BT-101), turned from pink foam, glassed.  Also not used.
3. 4" dia, glass over a card stock cone.  Scavenged from the remains of my V-2-like Grand Whazoo.
4. 3" dia, carved pink foam. The original cone on the Tarkus II.
5. 3" dia, plastic doohickey filled with 2-part foam and tipped with a PML 29mm solid urethane cone.  The second cone used on the Landshark.
6. ~54mm, made from a body tube and filled with 2-part foam, not used [how-to post].
7. 54mm, turned balsa, needs cleaning up. Not ready for prime time.
8. 54mm, turned pink foam.  Needs lots of work.
9. 38mm, made from a daiquiri glass and an seasonal M&M package.  Will be used on my Lost In Space Robot rocket.
10. 29mm, made from a garden spike.  May never be used (?).

3-D printer news

Space.com reports that a company called Made in Space has qualified their 3-D printers in a microgravity environment.  This means the they could be used on, say, the ISS to make custom tools or replacement hardware.  I didn't know until recently that commercial printers can deposit metals.

The first 3-D printed UAV, made by researchers at Southhampton University, has flown successfully. I've seen several articles on this but the latest was on Invention News Daily.  I guess you could make at least the airframe in the field.

"Have mercy, Been waitin' the the bus website updates all day..."

I've been waiting for various amounts of time for:

• The NARAM Live Wednesday update (hope this means it's big and full off odd-rocs).
• The ESL-158 photo gallery (maybe nothing has been submitted).
• Announcement of the June issue of ROCKETS Magazine. It's now July, almost August.

I posted this because in the old days, if I dropped by someone's office and they were out, the best way to get them to re-appear was to hand write a lengthy note.  Often, they would magically show up just as I was finished. I expect these items will all be resolved shortly :)

Hat tip to Billy, Dusty, and Frank for the post title.

Doin' the ol' nose cone shuffle

At the moment, I have nothing on the workbench (actually, its covered with stuff, just no active projects).  My Lost In Space Robot is stalled. I'm happy with the 'head'/nosecone section, but I have decided to start over on the rest. So, I have been poking around the Dungeon, surveying the fleet and sorting tubes, nosecones, and a lots of small parts.  Above is a photo of some of the 38mm - 5.5" cones I have lying around.

Along the way, I replaced the spikey cone (3rd from the right, bottom row) on my Landshark with the cone from the Twice Removed from Yesterday.  The Landshark's new look is shown to the right.  The cone is sort of multi-conical.  It was made from a section of tube but, because I only used  4 sections, it is quite chunky looking.  I guess 'multi-pyramidal' would be a better term.  I  like it a lot more on the Landshark than on the TRFY.  This cone is the second used on the TRFY and the 3rd on the Landshark, hence the post title.

I also somehow got motivated to fly a bunch of my mini-motor-powered fleet.  There's no accounting for what catches my interest.  I will try to drag the following rockets out to the next Goddard launch:

1. Mini-V2 (A10-3)
2. Mini Marz Lander (A10-3)
3. Skinny Mini (A10-3)
4. Mini Patriot (A10-3)
5. Cognis Eenie Meanie (A10-3)
6. Little Joe I paper conversion (A10-3)
7. Flics 13mm (A10-3)
8. Give 'em the Finger foam 'boink' rocket (A10-P)
9. Art Applewhite Saucer (A10-P)
10. Odd'l Birdie (A10-P)

Astronautix.com is back, at least for now

Encyclopedia Astronautica

When model rockets attack real rockets...

The following video is from the July 17th launch at the Goddard Space Flight Center's visitors center.  The video shows a small model rocket kissing the slightly larger Thor Delta.  Boink! [via]

The Goddard public launches are conducted by NARHAMS on the first Sunday of each month at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, starting at 1 pm.  The impulse limits for these launches is 'D' or smaller due to the proximity of rocket eating tress...and the waiver.  Yes, you heard right.  Due to proximity of the launch site to the DC no fly zone, a special waiver is required to fly even small modrocs.  Someday, I have to attend one of these events!

NARAM Live, Day 4, Tuesday

Coverage of the 4th day of flying included Micromaxx (1/8A) streamer and the auction. There are also a couple of interesting FlisKits or Fliskits-like objects from the sports range - the multi-streamer UFFO (Styrofoam cup UFO in case I have the kit name wrong) and a long Styrofoam cup rocket. Too bad there are not more from the sports range as I heard there were many interesting rockets, many of them of the odd variety (e.g. my favorite).  And, yes, auction photos are generally boring.

Detailed recap of the NARAM Manufacturer's Forum

Check out posts 3 - 6 in this TRF thread. Some points I found interesting from the Estes section:

• The Estes rep said the quality of their black powder is not as good as it used to be and this limits the motors they can make and the delays they can offer in the ones they can make. I find this odd.  Seems to me that said quality may be limited by the the price they want to pay their supplier. 
• There's more details on the Asteroid Hunter, which is wedge shape and uses balsa ribs with plastic overlays.  The result is a cool looking, very detailed model.
• I may actually want some of their 'clamshell' plastic motor adapters.
• Big MPR scale kits are coming, as are new igniters capable of igniting composites.
• And...new BP motors capable of lifting 24oz rockets.

NARAM Live, Day 3, Monday

Today saw more contest flying and the town hall meeting. The sport range was slow again...I suppose that will continue.  Too bad, most of the interesting stuff from NARAM has been historically been there. YMMV. (This post was only made for completeness.)

Planning for the Big Brute replacement/clone

When I heard rumors that North Coast Rocketry might be back in business (now projected for an October 1 start), I decided I'd wait to see if they offered this kit.  It appears, however, that they won't offer any of the original designs.  So, I'm once again planning to clone it.  I'll buy an LOC 4" tube, which will be cut in half.  I'll re-use the cone I've been flying on my El Tubo Loco.  This will make the new one ~1/2" longer than the original - close enough!  I saved the motor mount, with the built-it Gorilla shock cord mount.  That leaves the fins.  Luckily, one of the originals survived the nose dive through the tree.  I used that as a pattern and have cut some replacements.  I'll probably wait until Warthog's next build session to proceed.  I'd like to use his table saw on the tube and belt sander to even up the fins.  Not to mention his new fin slotting jig :)

NARAM Live, Day2, Sunday

NARAM Live, Day2 - On Sunday, the NARAM activities included FAI quals, sport flying, and scale turn in.  Chris didn't cover the sports range, which reportedly wasn't busy (again).  I find that odd since that's where I'd be hanging out if I had attended.  Most contest rockets don't interest me, but there is a series of photos showing an interesting Bumper (a WAC Corporal atop a V-2). As you can see from the sample, it looks like the V-2 section is frame construction covered by something like mylar or vellum.  He has a couple of pages of scale stuff too. The rockets that I found most interesting were the fantasy scale PMC items. 

3-D printed parts are coming to a rocket near you

I have made several posts about flying 3-D printed rockets (see post tag).  There is now an interesting thread on TRF about printed parts.  One poster has a link to another thread where he presented a printed transition wrap for his Saturn V.  The source is Shapeways, a 'personalized fabrication service'.  They have a program to design the 3-D files, lots of tutorials, a blog and a user forum. 

NARAM Live, Day 1, Saturday

There are several pages of launch photos and one of the manufacturer's forum.  Saw some NARHAMSters, the TRF banner, the Estes booth, and this big upscale Explorer Aquarius. 

There are now also ground and on-board videos of the Aquarius on his YouTube Channel.

NARAM scuttlebutt

Royatl has posted some info from the NARAM-53 Manufacturer's Forum [via YORF]:

• Quest will have new MicroMaxx starters.
• Quest Thunderjets could appear Fall 2012. (Echoes of NARAM-50...still not holding my breath.)
• BMS will have a small relay launcher packaged in an index card box.
• Chris Pearson is working for LOC/Precision.
• LOC is droppping their clusters.
• AeroTech was talking about their "Propellant-X'.  (Very energetic but suitable for large motors only. Old news for their FaceBook friends.)
• Matt Steele is restarting North Coast Rocketry on October 1 (good news).  The initial 6 new kit designs will be new, 2.6" dia. 29mm, not 3/4FNC (sort of bad news, at least to me...I want a Big Brute!).  Old resources (ie plans) will be available.

Dr. Zooch comments on the state of our space program

Wes Oleszewski, aka Dr. Zooch, has an article on the Aero News Network: Guest Commentary: The Dream WAS Alive - Doubt Replaces the Shuttle. He promises a follow-up article on his experience at the STS-135 press site.

Friday lamentations

• I'm not at NARAM-53
• I'm not at NY Power
• The Shuttle is gone
• It's 105 degrees out but it feels like 115

Atlantis on The Big Picture

Couldn't decide which one to feature....check them all out HERE!

Images of Atlantis

Astro photographer Thierry Legault captured several amazing images of Atlantis/STS0135 and the ISS in solar transit. One photo shows Atlantis a mere 21 minutes before reentry. Here's one sample.

And, the ISS/Expedition 28 crew took the first and last image of a Shuttle during reentry. (Credit: Elena Grothe/NASA/ESA).

Estes catalogs, 1968 through 2011

Estes has hired an intern to scan their catalogs (and a couple from Centuri) back to 1968.  Estes Catalog Archive [found via The Rocketry Blog]

Ninfinger also offers a large selection of scanned catalogs from Estes, Centuri, and many other manufacturers.

STS-135 Landing

width="640"
STS-135 Landing, a photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on Flickr.

'Nuff said!

Sample image from TSA's less revealing scanner software

alt.astronautix.com

Old version of the Encyclopedia Astronautica, circa 2001.

Ankyo234-2

Here's the re-build, ready to fly.  I decided to use a streamer instead of a 'chute.  The streamer is 120' of caution tape with a thin strip of duct tape to beef up the attachment point.  I didn't look up the rules of thumb for streamers to see if this length is overkill. This verion is lighter than the original but probably heavier than necessary since it is unclear what caused the skywriting on the first flight of the original.  Other people have flown them with no nose weight other than a pointy cone. 

Re-building the Ankyo234

As you may have noticed, I flew the Ankyo234-1 last weekend.  This time, it went up nicely and gravity did its thing.  As Neil McGilvray likes to say, "we've never left one up there, yet."  However, it didn't bounce like I had hoped.  Just too floppy I guess.  When I got home, I was going to check the nose weight assembly and found that it is was now quite loose.  Here, I guess the force of the landing permanently compressed the inside wall of foam body (?).  I contemplated just retiring it back to duty as a pool toy but, since I have nothing else on the bench, I am reworking it.  I noticed that most people had converted theirs to actually deploy a 'chute-like object so this is what I'm doing:


Cut a full length T-35 tube; add a 24mm mount on one end; and, steal some Kevlar from a model in my Paul Miller box-o-junk.  Since my rocket's body is twisted, the lug can't sit in one of the natural grooves so I marked a tip-to-tip line on a ridge just above the CP. The nose cone will be half of an orange plastic Easter Egg and couple of inches of Loki 29mm liner tube which fits perfectly in the T-35.  After the current glue dries, about all that's left is to determine if any nose weight is needed.  I reworked the RockSim model and it appears a lot less weight will be needed than on the original.

Rocket girls #90

A big set via http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1249969.

NARAM-53 at T-5 days, 8 hours

The NAR's annual model rocketry contest event, NARAM-53 is now less than a week away.  I haven't heard anything but assume Chris will cover it on NARAM Live.  This assumption is only based on the fact that he has covered the previous 13 NARAM's. If he covers it, I'll cover his posts.

I don't indulge myself with 'away' launches but generally have a small regret that I'm not participating.  TRF will have a hot dog roast and Nick (EMRR) may even make an appearance.The rumor mill is that a 'classic' rocketry vendor will announce their return .  I'm hoping that it is North Coast Rocketry since the original owner has mentioned the possibility several times over the years.  I need a replacement Big Brute!  It would also be awesome if Quest actually released the E and F motors that they teased us with way back at NARAM-50.  I'm not holding my breath on that one!

Launch Report 2011-3

Location: Central Sod Farm, Centreville, MD (MDRA ESL-158)
Weather: clear, mid 80s, wind 5-10 MPH
Total flights: Today - 7; YTD - 28
Total motors: Today - 7; YTD - 40

The weather was nearly perfect today.  Lighter winds would have been better but at least the wind's direction kept the rockets out of the tall corn.  Moving to another launch location also helped.  A scout troop came out and kept the two LPR racks quite busy.  I flew the three rockets that needed these pads in a single round before the scouts were geared up.


My Flights:

1. MRBR-1 on an D24-5 - In spite of my best efforts in RockSim, this was unstable, underpowered, or both.  GIGO I reckon.
2. Never Say Never on an H165-4 - This fat junk rocket really caught everyone's attention.  I'm sure glad it flew well.  Lower than the sim, but successful.  At least the boost and initial recovery were good.  The big 60" parachute inflated on the ground and dragged it a bit.  A little glue on the leading edges of the tube fins and some paint and it will be as good as new.
3. Ankyo234 on a D11-P - For this try, I reduced the size of the forward fins.  It flew nicely but didn't bounce satisfactorily.  Still, an interesting, really simple rocket.
4. Eiffel Tower on an Estes C6-3 -I added a soft foam plug to the semi-sharp wooden tip just in case it was unstable.  It flew very nicely.
5. Birdhouse V1 on a G71-4 - Great flight.  This was my last G71, which are now out of production.  I never noticed any problem with them.
6. Whirlygig-24 on an E9-P -  Always cool!
7. Art Applewhite 7.5" USAF Saucer 9mm on a  G75-P - Nice sparky flight.

Dyna Soar/Titan II drawings for you scale fanatics

Scott Lowther is offering BIG detailed images of the Dyna Soar/Titan II.  Teaser below, details in his posts: Part 1 and Part 2.

How cellulose insulation, aka dog barf is made

[via R2K]

We rocketeers are interested because this is what we use to keep ejection charges from melting/burning our shock tethers and parachutes.  That and reusable Nomex, Kevlar, Nomex/Kevlar, or car airbag parachute protectors.  Or both dog barf and a parachute protector.  Or dog barf wrapped in Estes or Quest flameproof wadding.  That's one of my current favorites for rockets <3" in diameter.  Makes a flame resistant piston of sorts.  Often recovered near the rocket.  If recovered, often reusable (see photo below the video).

Check out this recap of the America's secret space assets

Wired's Danger Room presents a photo gallery of America's Secret Space Arsenal.  Most seem to be known to exist, but that doesn't mean much is known about them. 

Pictured: A drawing from a patent application reportedly depicting Misty. "It could be a figment of the collective imagination of the world's amateur satellite trackers. It could be hype by an author hoping to sell books. Or it could be the world's most secretive spy satellite, an ostensibly undetectable version of the old-school Keyhole orbital camera."

Rocket girl + Canadian billionaire + Soyuz

Couldn't see how to get it embedded...need...coffee...

R2K posts a video - Hot reporter a bit too close to rocket launch.

Apollo Mission Control voice panel

Apollo Mission Control, a photo by RadioKate on Flickr.

I worked on the MCC voice system when I first got out of college. Not what I wanted to do but I learned how the company did business: How to respond to contract task orders and work with the drafting/manufacturing/technical documentation/installation design groups. The voice conferencing bridge was an amazing device. The rest was cables, amplifiers, attenuators and small bridges.

Rocket girls #89 (and a couple of wannabes) (updated)

Added a late entry and buried the whole lot below a page break...

Standard Missile (SM 2)

20110614ran8209535_003.JPG, a photo by seawavesmag on Flickr.

F-104 Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter, a photo by rreis on Flickr.

Good view of the JATO.

Astronautix, the Encyclopedia Astronautica, is down indefinitely

Via Clark Lindsey:

"Due to a persistent denial of service attack" the great space encyclopedia site Astronautix has been taken down. I sure hope it comes back. I've got tons of links to it.

Ditto here.

Death by Sun

The Solar Dynamics Observatory AIA imager (observing in extreme ultraviolet light) actually spotted a sun-grazing comet as it disintegrated over about a 15 minute period (July 6, 2011), something never observed before. The angle of the comet's orbit brought it across the front half of the Sun. Given the intense heat and radiation, the comet simply evaporated away completely. The comet was probably a member of the Kreutz sun-grazer family.
CREDIT: NASA/SDO/AIA

Got them old blog layout blues

Changes 'under the hood' in Blogger have made it difficult for me to find the full list of my blog labels, which I reference occasionally during my posting efforts.  So, I added the full, painfully long list back to the sidebar.  I also ditched the recent posts and recent comment widgets.  Finally, I'm displaying a full week of Rocket Dungeon goodness. I sure wish I could add the tag cloud to a separate fixed page but, alas, it only exists in the sidebar.

In praise of motor blocks

I started with Estes rockets and, of course, they all had motor blocks and hooks.  This was good because there was only one length motor in each motor class and they made life easy.  When I moved up to mid-power, my mind set was that motor blocks were a standard component so I put one in my Big Brute.  This was fine for a while since the 'F' motors I bought with the kit and the AeroTech Econojets all fit fine.  Then I got an issue of High Power Rocketry, discovered Performance Hobbies (local vendor) and moved up to G80s...which, of course hung out of the motor mount. I adjusted and things were still good.  However, I didn't learn my lesson and installed another block or two.  By the time I moved to 38mm high-power with the AT 38/240-480 set, I finally decided that motor blocks in mid- and high-power were evil.  I still generally use them on 18mm modrocs, but have regretted that too when 18mm reloads wouldn't fit.

While I generally still adhere to this viewpoint, I just found a case where they would have been beneficial.  I have a vintage THOY Snipe that flies on 3 x 24mm motors.  While it could use many composite motors, I have flown it mostly on E9's.  The last couple of flights were on D12's.  I use tape thrust rings and a positive retention scheme so it seemed either length motor was fine.  Yesterday, I went to install some E9's for this weekend's launch and found they wouldn't fit!  I immediately thought I knew the issue - ejection charge crud built up in the motor tubes.  I sanded and scraped and sanded some more.  Then I saw the real culprit.  On all three tubes, there were bits of peeling tube where they had partially burned through.

I finally got the E9's in but now think a motor block would have been a good thing. If I had used a block and a spacer made from spent motors, I would have spared the motor tubes.  I have several D/E modroc kits that do this but didn't learn from them.  My mind was stuck in another fixed mode.

The lesson: Keep an open mind about the venerable motor block.  If I fly the Snipe on D12's, I'll have to rig up something.

Space t-shirt of the day

Who ya' callin' a rocket knurd?

Superb Space Shuttle HDR shots

Trey Ratcliff commemorates the Shuttle program with some of his favorite HDR (high dynamic range) shots - Best of NASA.  I repeated three of them below. Check out his blog for even more and for a description of how he works his magic.

Never Say Never complete and ready to fly

To recap, the Never Say Never came to be when I found out that the guts of my crashed Grand Whazoo fit nicely in the big plastic Folger's coffee bins that my son scavenged for me.  Then, I found that the nose from the also defunct Birdhouse, Ver. 2 was the right diameter (overall and shoulder diameter).  Four 9" bins and one 6" bin fit the surplus Grand Whazoo component perfectly.  The next steps included cutting holes in coffee bins, sliding them on and interconnecting them with duct tape. 

The fin configuration is shown in the photos - luan plywood fins and an section of 8" dia. Sonotube.  The fins are thru-the-wall and are attached with Gorilla brand polyurethane glue.  I made a tab on the fin tips and notched the Sonotube pieces accordingly.  However, the tube fins were still quite floppy.  I'll spare you the intermediate thought process but I ended up adding the inside tubes shown in the photos.  These were cut from the inside part of a telescoping mailing tube.  They support the Sonotube fins against both the luan fins as well as the wall of the lower coffee bin. 

 I did no priming and almost no sanding.  The fins were painted with brush-on acrylic and over coated with Krylon gloss clear. El-cheapo all the way.

Loaded with a big parachute but no motor, the stability margin is 1.1.  Loaded with an H165, the margin drops to 0.9.  This shouldn't be too bad considering base drag was not considered.

Air Command's Servo Timer II, it's not just for parachute deployment anymore

Enter the Pan Cam.  They installed a servo, a battery, and a Servo Timer II in a box with a tripod and camera mounts.  Add a remote reed switch and you've got an inexpensive tracking camera. (Existence of a camera and tripod is assumed.)

Atlantis punching through the cloud deck

Another phenomenal shot from Quest for Stars' StratoShuttle (photo source).  Hope they have a video(s) soon.

Turn out the lights, The party's over...

STS-135 launch from NASA KSC (embedding disabled)

It's space month at Thingaverse

It's space month at Thingaverse.  To see all the 'things' in that category, just click on the image in the linked post.  I, of course, am most interested in things that you can stick a modroc engine in, several of which I've already posted about (see the post tag).  There are others, but they either haven't been tested or don't have a recovery system.  I could have missed something.  To save you looking at their mostly contnet-free post, here's the direct link.

The first launch (STS-1)

I was rearranging some files and ran across the packet I received from Ford Aerospace prior STS-1/Columbia.  Most of the material appears to be a part of the press kit.  One day, I'll scan the whole thing.

Sport Rocketry July/August 2011

The issue starts with an series of articles on NARCON 2011, which was held in Seattle.  As usual, there were a number of sessions I'd have liked to have attended:  the 'Early Composite Motor Forum' with Mark Mayhle (?), Gary Rosenfield, Randy Sobczak (?), and Matt Steele; Matt's talk on ATK's launch vehicles; NARHAMSter Tom Ha on 'Cheap Rocketry' (a subject close to my heart); Dr. Roy Houchin's talk on 'USAF Hypersonics from WWII to the Dyna Soar Project'; 'From Brainstorm to Catalog' with John Boren (Estes), Bill Stine (Quest), and Bill Simon (Estes) talking about the early days of model rocketry; and, Mark Bundick's 'Growing Up Wallops'.

And, there's more about Wallops in Allan Williams' Black Brant Engineering Flight at Wallops Island.

Finally, there's a nice, detailed article on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Future of Aerospace rocket.  It was a nicely styled, 280 lb, 'O'-class rocket,  It had a hiccup or two and the 2011 version is in work.  There is a really great launch shot from a high vantage point, maybe a plane.

The last launch

STS-135 launch coverage

As luck would have it, if Atlantis launches on schedule I won't even be able to watch it live.  Watch on NASA TV or get the latest status (and video) from Spaceflight Now.

STS-135 Atlantis Prelaunch (201107070022HQ)

STS-135 Atlantis Prelaunch (201107070022HQ), a photo by nasa hq photo on Flickr.

Stuff we won't be able to do after the Shuttle is retired

Besides the obvious, i.e. the basic ability to fly human spaceflight mission totally on our own, James Oberg discusses the capabilities that we're losing: Six Things We Lose With the End of the Shuttle Program, IEEE Spectrum.

Real-time design

In a prior incarnation, that title would invoke thoughts of hardware, embedded software, interrupts, etc.  Now it just implies that I have a general thought of what I want to build and start cutting stuff up and piecing it together until I'm satisfied.  ('Satisfied' is sometimes too strong a word.)

I am now working on the fins for the Never Say Never coffee bin rocket.  I'll take a photo when it starts to take form.  I cut two fins from luan plywood.  These are filled and are being installed.  I also cut an 8" piece of 8.25" sonotube.  I'm going to cut this in half and mount them on the fins.  How is TBD:

1. Concave, facing inward (like an oblong ring-fin, but not contiguous).
2. Concave, facing outward.
3. On opposing fin tips (so the rear view would look lis the letter 'S').

I'm contemplating notching the tube for a firmer fit.  I'm going to add some supports (dowels?) across the half-tube sections and possible tip-to-tip inside the tube halves.

Stability?  In one plane, option #1 should provide stability approaching that of an ~11" ring fin.  In the other plane, it will be more like an 8" ring.  RockSim9 says the 8" version is more stable than the 11".  GIGO?  I'm not going to swing this thing nor can I make a full scale cut out.  So, I'll start with a RockSim design (two actually), add margin, and possible add some fins perpendicular to the 'skinny plane'.  Real-time design!

Nose cone-from-tube experiment

I didn't completely follow the method outlined in the video attached to this post.  Here's what I tried, what worked, and what didn't. 

EMRR's 2010/2011 Design the Spaceship Contest

The 2010 Design this Spaceship contest was delayed by the sale of EMRR but has been resurrected as the 2010/2011 Design the Spaceship Contest. Most entries are up and voting should commence later in the month.

Two teasers: Peter Stanley's Velvet Ant and Jim Bassham's The Blue Fighter.

Twilight of the Shuttle reference posts (updated with part 3)

Wayne Hill has started a nice series of posts on the Space Shuttle:

1. Twilight of the Shuttle, Part 1 - The Beginning and Stats; Notes on early Shuttle concepts and statistics about the one that was built..
2. Twilight of the Shuttle, Part 2 - A Shuttle Modelers Reference; This is really what caught my eye. From kits, past and present, to paper models (as you'd expect from Wayne) and scratch build references.
3. Twilight of the Shuttle, Part 3 - Does the story end?; Memories, reflection and photo journals.

My Estes Shuttle (#1284) is pictured.  Read my full review here.

For added reference, check out my stats post (Washington Post info-graphic).

The Texas Gulf may yet see its spaceport

Parabolic Arc reports on a new (?) player in the saga of the South Texas Spaceport: Mystery Company Could Build New Spaceport on Texas Gulf Coast.  The last time the possibility of a South Texas Spaceport came up was back in 2008 (see tag, below).  Back then, there were funding and flyover issues.  There was discussion of launching from a barge and the company/entity involved was Space Access.   The source of the story, a judge in Willacy County, TX, can't name the company at the moment, but dropped a bunch of clues.  Doug Messier tries to follow the clues and evokes the name of SpaceX.  I don't know but, being an expatriate of the Great State, I'll be watching.

30 years of Space Shuttle missions

Sources: NASA, RSC Energia, White House Office of Management and Budget, SpaceX. By Alberto Cuadra - The Washington Post.

Rotary Space Ship

This photo was uploaded by a reader. I mostly wanted to try embedding from Picassa.

Are you flying your flag?

Eat grilled meat, drink beer, watch fireworks, give thanks.

More info on the Brown Mfg. Rotary Space Ship (monocopter)

A few years ago, I posted about the Rotary Space Ship, a fireworks-powered monocopter manufactured by Brown Manufacturing of Clinton, MO in the 1950's-60's.  Today, a great niece of the owner, Lawrence Brown, commented on my post. She provided some additional background and will provided a photo of her Rotary Space Ship.

Did you know the original name of Chinese Checkers was Chinker Chex? 

How to make a nosecone from a body tube

Chris Michielssen found this nice how-to video (from RocketmanBKK).  Like Chris, I have also done something similar.  Mine didn't turn out as nice either. 

Oops!

I fixed the oops here but, if you follow my blog on a feed reader or Twitter, you'll see it anyway.  I'll explain.  I plan my flights on draft posts that later become my launch reports.  This evening I hit 'publish' instead of 'save draft'.  I hate it when I do that.

Never Say Never fin ideas

In no particular order:

• Clear - Probably the most expensive because I'd have to but some Lexan.
• 'Manta Bomber' style (pods on two wings, each of which has a ring fin at its base) - Most likely to break on landing.
• Framed foam board - Light, cheap.  Some damage possible on landing.
• A long piece of thin PVC - This is 4th of July weekend, after all.  (Nah, not likely).
• A big a$$ ring fin - My Sontube isn't nearly big enough :eek:

Never Say Never update

Amazing.  The guts of the Grand Whazoo was a perfect fit.  The top bin is a ~6" tall version (the typical grocery store size).

This is what the business end looks like.  The Grand Whazoo's fins extended far below the body so having the retaining hardware hang out made no difference.  My fin style (TBD) will have to allow for this.  Shouldn't be a problem.  I just have to find something odd and trashy.

Here's the whole thing.  The pink thing on the base is a piece of foam to protect the retaining hardware.  It is 43" high and 6.25" in diameter.  Now what to do about fins?  I went to the 'Re-Store' to search for junk but found nothing.