The Original Rocket Dungeon

Stuff that keeps me from rocketry - the latest

2009-12-17T18:05:00.000-05:00

Freezing temperatures and up to 24" accumulation :eek:

On the plus side, I've started finishing the Frankenstein MLAS, so hopefully when a warmer, dry launch opportunity presents itself, it will fly in style. That is a good thing since it may only fly once :eek:^2

Doing the Orion attitude control dance

2009-12-17T14:48:00.001-05:00

Via SpaceFellowhip:

NASA, Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and Lockheed Martin performed a ground test of a full-scale attitude control motor for the launch abort system of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The test was conducted at ATK's facility in Elkton, Md. The motor operates to keep the crew module on a controlled flight path in the event it needs to jettison and steer away from the Ares I launch vehicle in an emergency, and then it reorients the module for parachute deployment and landing. Together, the eight-proportional valves can exert up to 7,000 pounds of steering force to the vehicle in any direction upon command from the crew module.

Extreme JATO - Operation Credible Sport

2009-12-17T00:50:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist cross posting (from High Power Rocketry) these YouTube videos of C-130 cargo planes equipped with rocket motors pointed in most every direction that could possibly make sense (and apparently some that don't). I had previously posted one, but these are much better. I'll leave the history stuff to the descriptions associated with the videos and to Wikipedia.

Steampunk rocket lamp

2009-12-16T23:20:00.002-05:00

Steampunk rocket lamp, originally uploaded by RiverOtterWidgetStudios.

Inspiration for my third Michael's rocket birdhouse (?) I added 'studs' to the window on my Raygun Gothic Birdhouse and think more would be better. Michael's has got to have some suitable studs. Sounds crafty to me.

Rockets - a catalyst for the personal computer revolution

2009-12-15T22:22:00.001-05:00

In an article written for the San Antonio-Express News, electronics guru Forrest Mims III recounts how work on small rockets led to optical flashers and then to the formation of MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems). Although MITS was initially formed to produce flashers and telemetry transmitters for model rockets, it is best known for the Altair 8800 microcomputer, which in 1975 started the home computer revolution. This is worth a read!

Stuff that keeps me from rocketry - update

2009-12-15T20:14:00.000-05:00

The head cold is better and the bleeding has stopped but I'm still busy on Saturday and the weather of Sunday will suck. The current forecast for Price, MD is mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow and highs in the upper 30s. Too cold for me. Maybe things will change and the precipitation will slide out a day, but I'm not holding my breath.

Stuff that keeps me from rocketry

2009-12-14T15:28:00.000-05:00

a head cold (sniffle, cough, sneeze)...a hole in your thumb that won't quit oozing blood...a rescheduled dentist appointment...cold weather...rain...sleet...snow

Any launch plans I had for Saturday are scrubbed. Sunday is up in the air (no pun intended).

Crap.

Proton/GLONASS-M launch photos

2009-12-14T12:34:00.000-05:00

Someone sent me this link with launch photos, so I thought I'd pass it along:

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=8580

Another Russian rocket spiral

2009-12-12T13:37:00.001-05:00

Phil Plait posts about a second spiral missile track that was spotted over Russia. Reportedly, this one was made by a Topol missile, the land-based version of the Bulava that caused a stir earlier this week. It was widely thought that the earlier spiral track was due to a failure in the missile, but now some say this may be a feature not a bug. Either an artifact of the stabilization mechanism, a method to spoof missile warning systems, or even a payload deployment sequence. (Some of this speculation came from the subject post and I forget where I read the other.) I wonder if the visible ejecta could merely be a method to aid in optical tracking or analysis.

Frankenstein MLAS inching forward

2009-12-11T17:27:00.000-05:00

I bought some new West System epoxy today and, after transplanting the pumps, weighed out just enough leftovers to add another 8 oz of noseweight to the MLAS. What's left:

Test pack the chutes so I don't have to figure it out in the cold on site.
Decide on how much powder I need. There is basically only a few inches to pressurize but I need enough to separate two heavy parts.
Paint it. I plan to use white plastic primer as the base coat (since the huge cone is plastic) and a mix of vinyl pinstriping and black Krylon H2O for the nose roll patterns and fins. With the weather the way it is, it will likely fly nekkid if it flies before spring. The Nozzle Exit has links to plans that include all the markings so I can make stickers.
Hope for good weather on the weekend of the 20th.
If the weather is good, hope there is a motor vendor on site.

A good day surfing for the WaveRider

2009-12-11T13:18:00.000-05:00

Aviation Week reports on the captive flight of the US Air Force Research Laboratory's X-51A WaveRider. The first of four free flights is schedule for March 2010. The X-51A will be accelerated to Mach 4.5 by a solid rocket booster when the scramjet will take over. It will then run for ~ 5 minutes and propel the X-51A to Mach 6.

Second iteration of the Frankenstein MLAS sims

2009-12-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

The following was posted as a response to the previous post on this subject, but I decided to make a new post too.

Both KenKzak and Tim Wilson recommended a bigger motor than I was planning. I mulled over the recommendations and conceded that a bigger motor should be used. I'm still worried about my sim as, even after I added 8 more oz of nose weight to accommodate a Loki H motor, Rsim says a G71 would work. At 4.5 lbs, I don't think so. So, methinks I'll add the 8 oz and wait until I can get an H144 or better yet and H160. If the weather improves (ie isn't sleeting or snowing), I'll try to drag my carcass, along with the MLAS, to the next MDRA launch. And hope a Loki rep is there. Thanks again for the input, dudes.

I sputtered and dribbled but still got hard

2009-12-09T17:40:00.000-05:00

OK, no crude comments on this crude title. You KNOW it is about rockets!

I have had my West Systems epoxy for around 8 years. Last Monday, I dispensed 3 pumps of epoxy and hardener to mix with the lead shot in the nose of my Frankenstein MLAS. I noticed a few minor sputters mid stroke on the epoxy itself and the hardener seemed fine. Yesterday, I decided to add a bit more epoxy since it appeared the cone sat at an angle when the original batch set. This left some of the shot just slightly wetted out and I could poke the shot free. This time, mid stroke, the epoxy sputtered and went dry. I pumped again and got less. Repeat several times more. I seldom apply good sense and decided I'd try to use this last batch up. When I tried to pump the hardener, I got one full pump but that was it. Thereafter, all a got was a drip. I kept at it until I thought I had enough. Against my better judgment, I stirred it up and poured it into the cone. I had visions of unset epoxy sludge in the cone, but to my delight, it set just fine. Whew, dodged that one!

Mysterious corkscrew (rocket plume) over Norway (updated)

2009-12-09T17:10:00.003-05:00

This photo is too cool and odd to pass up. I first saw this photo on the Bad Astronomy blog. At first glance, it looked photoshopped to me too but he pointed to several sources that reported on the event. I bought in to Phil's explanation of a rocket on a corkscrew trajectory. He later updated his post with the following YouTube video showing a simulation of spiral ejecta from a tumbling rocket stage:

This Rocketry Planet thread also has more info, including embedded videos.

Update: This was not worth a new post, but reportedly the Russians have now confirmed that this was a failed Bulava missile.

Cool launch photo of a RBS 15 Mk 3 missile

2009-12-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

This photo came from Flickr user larryzou@.

More on this missile can be found on Wikipedia. I only looked at a couple of the links in that article and didn't find many details on this bird. It appears to be a turbojet powered cruise missile with two side mounted liquid boosters. The photo is not detailed enough for modeling, but those mach diamonds are cool.

Propellantless quantum vacuum propulsion

2009-12-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

I recently posted about the possibility of black hole propulsion and dark matter propulsion and today I read about another theoretical, highly exotic concept - quantum propulsion. The short version is you can derive a propulsive force by manipulating the momentum of the electromagnetic field within the quantum vacuum. OK, I admit I don't understand much of this since my quantum mechanics-fu is weak. Clark Lindsey points to two sources and the third is what Wikipedia has to say about the quantum vacuum.

A Blueprint For A Quantum Propulsion Machine - Physics arXiv/Technology Review
A magneto-electric quantum wheel - by Alexander Feigel - arxiv.org - Dec.5.09
(Quantum) Vacuum State - Wikipedia

Remembering the Pratt Hobbies D-Region Tomahawk

2009-12-08T23:57:00.001-05:00

Memories of this kit popped into my mind for no obvious reason. This small 25"L x 1.8"D scale kit was unique in that it flew on motors from A through G. This rocket on a G? This isn't Sparta, this is madness! It included all the necessary motor adapters and recovered on a 'caution' tape streamer. I didn't test the kit on the full motor range...only from C to G. I flew it initially on a C6-5 just so I'd get a 2nd flight on it. At the time, I built quite a few 'disposable' rockets that only got one flight. Imagine my shock when I got it back after a G35 ride :) The third flight on an F10 proved too much and it was never seen again. Not bad for paper and surface mount plywood. By the time I went to get a replacement, it was OOP. You can read full reviews of this great kit here.

Unreasonable experiment opportunity

2009-12-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

Old rockets, ya' can't trash 'em and ya' can't give 'em away. Or at least that seems to hold for Paul Breed's Blue Ball. In his latest blog post, he announced that he can get it flight ready with about 8 hours of work and will apply for a waiver for a flight to between 10K and 30K ft. He is accepting requests for the payload space. If there is more than one, we bloggers will get to vote on what will fly. Cool. The payload requirements: weigh less than 5 Kg, power it yourself, and make the results open source.

First iteration of the Frankenstein sims

2009-12-08T11:55:00.001-05:00

There is good news on the Frankenstein's sims. I put an early guess of CG and mass into RockSim and added a couple of pounds of nose weight. This moved the CG to approximately the point where Tim Wilson set his (I believe his sims as he worked on the real McCoy). I said approximate because his is a little bigger and I eyeballed the conversion between sizes. But it should be close. What's important is the weight is at ~~~3.75~~ 4 lbs, well withing the lifting capability of the G185. I thought it would take more weight than that. I can fit up to a 38/480 case, so it's not like I don't have options, but I'd like this one low and slow for its first flight.

The sims don't exactly add up. For example, one says I should get 344 feet on a G71R-5. The -5 delay seems too long for that heavy a rocket of that diameter. The G185 sim says 468 ft with a delay of also around 5 seconds.

The Frankenstein MLAS

2009-12-07T20:45:00.001-05:00

It was resurrected from the dead and is made out of leftover parts, so I think the name is appropriate. Lets see, what is there to say?

38mm + 4 x 24mm (the 38mm does the work, the 24mm motors would mostly add smoke), separated directly by a piston (piston is hard mounted to lower body), nose and body to recover separately, parts don't fit all that well but good enough (yeah, it's a kludge), it's a tad over 2 lbs before nose weight, fin attachment points are mounted through bottom CR

I need to decide on the extended fin units and then tackle the nose weight. This sucker will be heavy! Even more so if I went without the fin units.

Retro rocket science resources

2009-12-07T17:51:00.000-05:00

R2K features the book Retro Rockets - Experimental Rockets 1926-1941, a Dr. Robert Goddard patent, and a "quick history of the early rocketeers."

Another cool rocket car project: Aussie Invader 5R

2009-12-07T11:45:00.000-05:00

click here for the full size image

The Aussie Invader 5R rocket car, in competition with the Bloodhound SSC, is on a quest to beat the current land speed record of 763 mph. In fact, both projects want to break 1000 mph. The rocket motors are being developed by New Zealand's Rocket Lab who is also developing the Atea sounding rockets. The Invader's four H2O2/JP5 bio fuel biprop engines will produce 62,000 lbs of thrust (200,000 hp). (hat tip to Clark Lindsey).

Things that make me say, hmmmm...

2009-12-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

This weekend's returning visitor count is the lowest this year, even less than Thanksgiving weekend. Since my regulars are rocketeers, I'd have thought a good weather and a national or large regional launch would have produced the loweset. Maybe they are flying in the snow? Holiday shopping? Shoveling that snow?

V-2 camo paint job

2009-12-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

Despite all my rumbing about using masks to create the camo pattern for the Hostile Projectiles V-2, I went a little stir crazy and just started sprayin'....

Making a list and checking it twice...

2009-12-06T15:16:00.001-05:00

Warthog just announced the date for build session 2010-1 so I've started my list of what to bring and what to build. The theme is intitiator dipping and a swap meet. So, wires are on the list and I've got to see what I'd like to trade. My main build project will be my Hostile Projectiles Delta X-15 so all my usual building materials will go, from knives to glue to sandpaper. I also want to cut some slivers from used 29mm casings for use as 24mm-29mm adapters. I don't cut many but these are a PITA to cut with a razor saw or Dremel. So, hopefully I can cut a bunch. The casings are short and may require your fingers to come perilously close to the spinning saw blade so maybe a pair of vice grips should be on the list.. I also would like to cut a couple of 2" - 3" pieces of Sonotube for future ring fin action. Now, that's what I call a good start!