The Original Rocket Dungeon

Feed reader stars and interesting links

2012-01-31T13:54:00.000-05:00

2012 Team America Rocket Challenge, NASA Hack Space - Or, visit the TARC homepage.
Apogee Newsletter 305: Why Should You Airfoil Your Fins? by Doug Hennin - The link is currently on the top of the page. If you wait until the next issue is out you'll have to scroll down. Or, just read the current issue, which will be just as interesting. Or read both. Or read all of them.....
Aerojet promotes Solar Electric Propulsion for exploration architecture, RLV and Space Transport
A Realistic Interstellar Explorer, High Power Rocketry - Solar sails beat out nuclear pulse propulsion in this 1999 report by JHU/APL. File under, "Hey! Where is my________?"

Rocket girls # 96

2012-01-30T21:50:00.001-05:00

No interesting professional or sport rocket items tonight, so....

Hat tip to reader Roger Smith for the pointer to the first photo.

Curiosity of the day: a fractal antenna

2012-01-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

MAKE describes a uniquely shaped, DIY antenna for digital TV. References: Instructables, Wikipedia, patent (viewer req'd). There are plenty of links about these things, including a how-to video.

Feed reader stars and interesting links

2012-01-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

Oddroc of the day: Kinder Surprise Rocket, on Sascha Grant's Flickr photostream
Armadillo flies STIG-A to 137kft, makes "hard landing", RLV and Space Trasnport - via Jeff Foust via NM Spaceport Authority; propulsion...check...parachute's....D'OH! (noting the STIG-A v. Stiga naming issue remains)
Big A$$ rocket of the day: Steve Bayak's and Dan Michael's Upscale Fatboy; no link, join Facebook and friend Dan; "A central N2000W, three (3) M1315W's, three (3) M1297W's & three (3) K700W's. An average of 11936ns @ lift-off, for a total of 57,551ns! At 5:1, we are good for 536.45 lbs. of rocket!! This rocket will weigh between 375 to 400 lbs." - Red Glare XII, be there or be square!

Feed reader stars and interesting links

2012-01-28T11:06:00.003-05:00

Can a lighter-than-air spacecraft enter orbit?, High Power Rocketry - Intriguing concept. JPA is more qualified than I on all all accounts, so I won't bother rambling about it. The website as an .pdf and animation describing the concept.
NASA Wallops Flight Facility in 2011, RLV and Space Transport - Includes a link to the .pdf-format recap of the year at Wallops. Includes ULSI support and the Wallops Rocketry Academy for Teachers and Students. I had forgotten that the Shuttle could have been diverted to Wallops in an emergency.
NEWS FROM THE FUTURE – Drone Pilot Discovers “River of Meat Blood”, MAKE - A Dallas area hobbyist spotted a river of blood flowing from a meat packing plant. I saw this story a few days ago but, when I went to read the entire report, I found it had been pulled. Apparently, the authorities are investigating. MAKE has a photo that was ostensibly taken by the drone in question. Have we seen the progression from citizen journalism to citizen surveillance? High tech neighborhood watch.

PVC pipe fittings...by Estes

2012-01-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

I was browsing the 'Coming Soon' section on the Estes website and ran across their new 29mm motor retainer. A pair will list for $8.99. I guess that will save you from cutting and grinding a pair from a 3/4" compression coupling ($3.67 at Home Depot). Actually, for a couple of extra bucks a rocket, it might be worth avoiding the mess. Ground PVC shaving get everywhere.

Feed reader stars and interesting links

2012-01-27T17:24:00.000-05:00

Atlas 5 rockets smash into bridge - Space.com (Well, they were in a barge at the time.)
Remembering the Apollo 1 Fire (Infographic) - Space.com
Rocket (and sci-fi) girls have invaded the rocketry forums

Tank Girl on TRF
Dr. Amy Mainzer (and other female scientists) also on TRF
Hot Ladies of Sci-Fi on YORF

The Seven Best Auroras From the Biggest Solar Storm in Seven Years - Gizmodo

Reader stars 'n' interesting links

2012-01-26T17:14:00.000-05:00

Seems like this is becoming a regular feature for those things I found interesting....but not interesting enough to make a dedicated post.

Project High Jump Boosted Dart - High Power Rocketry (Discussion, photos, video...CATO.)
Nuclear Katyusha Launching - Next Big Future (NBF reviews his proposal for a one pulse, Orion-style nuclear powered rocket. It would be constructed in, and launched from, a 3.5km deep hole in a salt dome. A 150kT nuclear bomb would accelerate the ship to escape velocity. Interesting, but not likely to ever happen. "Launch people and delicates the regular way. ")
NASA Aerospace Advisory Panel's annual report - RLV and Space Transport (Evidently the NASA safety bureaucracy isn't happy with the Commercial Crew Program. Clark points our that both the Atlas V and Falcon 9 will have dozens of flights under their belt before a human climbs aboard. Unlike the Shuttle or SLS.)
Project Bifrost: Return to Nuclear Rocketry - Centauri Dreams (Sounds like another study on the state of nuclear rocketry today; building on Project NERVA, which was finally canceled in 1972. The question remains whether we as a society are ready for nuclear powered rockets.)
Dale Windsor is rumbling about bringing back LawnDart Rocketry. Note the new URL as Sunward bought his old one after it lapsed: http://www.lawndartrocketry.info/. He says, "Lots of new stuff in the pipeline (can you say X-planes?), though I'm reluctant to make any announcements."

Zombie-X AK-47

2012-01-26T16:01:00.001-05:00

Zombie-X AK-47, a photo by jurvetson on Flickr.

Day of Remembrance, 2012

2012-01-26T11:42:00.000-05:00

Apollo One, AS-204, lost January 27, 1967

Lt. Col. Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, USAF
Lt. Col. Edward H. White II, USAF
Lt. Roger B. Chaffee, USN

Challenger, STS-51-L, lost January 28, 1986

Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, Commander
Michael J. Smith, Pilot
Judith A. Resnik, Mission Specialist
Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist
Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist
Gregory B. Jarvis, Payload Specialist
Sharon Christa McAuliffe

Columbia, STS-107, lost February 1, 2003

Rick D. Husband, Commander
William C. McCool, Pilot
Michael P. Anderson, Payload Commander
David M. Brown, Mission Specialist
Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist
Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Mission Specialist
Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist

Minimum diameter fiberglass build tutorial

2012-01-25T23:42:00.000-05:00

Over on TRF, Crazy Jim is describing how to build Wildman's minimum diameter Space Cowboy kit. This 54mm fiberglass kit features surface mounted, diamond airfoil fins. These fins are capable of handling any 54mm motor with no added fiberglass reinforcement. The kit reportedly will break Mach 2 and hit 20k ft. The methods of prepping the fins and tube are interesting and should be applicable to any MD kit, even the cardboard and wood variety.

Blame it on too many rockets

2012-01-25T18:58:00.005-05:00

At the last build session, Warthog asked about the status of my F-104 Starfighter. I respond that it suffered some damage on the last flight and that some of the plastic joints needed to be re-glued. Today, I pulled it out to do the minor repairs. Well, it appears that I had already repaired it. Sigh, the mind is the second thing to go (and I can't remember the first thing). What I did do is add a separate shock tether for the tail section. So, in the spring I'll fly her on a G138-4 and recover her on two 'chutes. The fast short burn will hopefully minimize the soaring action and lead to a slower horizontal velocity at apogee and the two 'chutes will minimize the chances of the wings being sheared off by the shock cord.

Hey! How can I be expected to remember the status of each of the 220 rockets in my active fleet?

The daily feed reader stars and links post

2012-01-25T15:12:00.000-05:00

Starships Inc. status update - RLV and Space Transport (They plan to launch sub-orbital nanosats this year and orbital payloads within a year. I love F-104s. Update via NASA.)
50-man Space Base Crew - Beyond Apollo (Another unrealized space station plan.)
Rocketarium released four oddrocs - X-shaped Vorlon's in 18mm and 24mm, a hexagonal saucer and an octagonal saucer. The Vorticos spin on the way up and autorotate down without inverting. These sound interesting but I get my saucer and spinning fixes from Art Applewhite.
While talking about Art, I see he is offering his 36" Delta Saucer as a kit.
There is a TRF thread discussing an interesting failure mode seen in a CTI reload. The rocket will boost, quickly burn out and then there will be a second boost phase. The thread has 2 videos and a discussion of the phenomena. While there, check out the cook futuristic HPR design.

Delta-IV WSG-4

2012-01-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

Delta-IV WSG-4 (8), a photo by Mike_Killian on Flickr.

I referenced this photo when it was featured on Space.com. I love the composition.

Reader stars and other links of the day (CME update)

2012-01-24T14:59:00.003-05:00

1958 - Missile Designed with HITCO in Mind - High Power Rocketry (Ad from an early composites company. The original is for sale on EBay.)
Strange Forgotten Space Station Concepts That Never Flew - Wired (via Clark Lindsey)
I was going to post about the current auroral activity, which NOAA says is the strongest since 2003. However, Space.com is annoying me and NOAA's site is ~~unreachable~~ back up. UPDATE: I decided to post a link other than those noted before. Here's what NASA had to say about today's CME event. M8.7 Solar Flare and Earth Directed CME.
Apogee video on how to fix a zippered tube. I don't need no steenkin' video to fix my zippers, but this serves as a good reminder about Tim's cool video series.
Romanian Rocketry; They are also on Facebook and have a YouTube Channel.

SpaceX's next-gen rocket

2012-01-23T23:38:00.001-05:00

SpaceX just posted a simulation showing a 'next-gen' Falcon 9/Dragon capsule launching and then autonomously returning to its launch site. This includes the capsule and both booster stages. Cool concept. And ambitious. But that's one thing SpaceX isn't short of.

Roll your own with 'RolaTube'

2012-01-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

This may not make it to your workbench or range box, but I found it quite interesting. British company RTL Materials has developed “bistable reeled composites”, which roll like a tape measure but unfurl into a rigid round tube structure. Here's a demo by Mike Judson of Altius Space Machines. (via MAKE)

Under v. over expanded flow

2012-01-21T17:47:00.001-05:00

Via Ben Brockert's Twitter feed:

If you compare the plume shape and mach disc locations on Twitpic #1 versus Twitpic #2 and reference Aerospaceweb.org you can see the [Stiga's] nozzle is now over expanded, whereas before it was under expanded.

Warthog build session 2012-1

2012-01-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

Warthog successfully conducted his first build session of the year despite Mother Nature's attempt to ice us in. He provided his signature pulled pork BBQ and a coleslaw that was as good as I've ever had.

He helped set up his plunge router so I could make some rings for my Fat 6" Crayon Bank. I successfully made three 6" rings with 38mm holes in them. Two will hold the motor mount and one will hold a tube with nose weight in it.

Don worked on his big 29mm-powered SR-71 rocket glider and began fixing his POW/MIA rocket. Jim worked on a Semroc kit and tried to convince Don into continuing to convert the SR-71 for RC control (kinda). Don decided that he wants his first RC project to be something that's easier to control. That sounded like a reasonable idea to me. Finally, build session newbie but MDRA veteran Glen came to observe and talk rockets.

I took a vote on whether to use clear fins on my Crayon or go with something odd. It was tied 50-50 but, including Itchy's absentee vote, I guess clear fins it is. Unless something changes. Such as the local availability of Lexan or my mood or whatever.

Feed reader stars - TGIF edition

2012-01-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

PWR [Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne] ad zaps SpaceX - RLV and Space Transport News (PWR has a good track record but that alone won't fend off the Falcon 9.)
"Britain's Got Talent" could win ride on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo - Cosmic Log (I think they should record a track while up there.)
Photographer Mike Killian took the best photo of yesterday's Delta 4 launch - Space.com (This is really good. Load the large version.)
Three strikes and Kodak's out - Mashable! (How inventing the digital camera, providing the first WiFi support in a digicam, and pioneering photo printers wasn't enough.)
The Week That Killed SOPA: A Timeline - Mashable! (It seems to me that is isn't dead but rather is on a Congress-induced coma. But that may be close enough.)

RS-25D Engines at KSC

2012-01-19T20:53:00.001-05:00

RS-25D Engines at KSC (NASA, Space Launch System, 01/12/12), a photo by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on Flickr.

The 15 remaining SSME's are ready for shipment to Stennis Space Center, Mississippi for re-use in NASA's Space Launch System.

SOPA Soap Opera

2012-01-18T21:04:00.001-05:00

SOPA Soap Opera, a photo by jurvetson on Flickr.

"Number One Rocket Man"

2012-01-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

Modern Mechanix features an article about Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard from the May, 1938 edition of Scientific American: Number One Rocket Man - A Silhouette of the Shy Massachusetts Physicist Who Pioneered in Rocket Research . . . Much to His Distress He Broke into the Noisier Newspapers; G. EDWARD PENDRAY, Past President of the American Rocket Society and Editor of Astronautics.

Christmas Tree Launch 2012: The official video

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Or at least as official as it gets: Christmas Tree Launch. You may also enjoy the other videos and photos.

Project Mercury scans

2012-01-17T21:44:00.001-05:00

dec61 (33), a photo by leeshelp on Flickr.

This Flickr user has posted a set of photos that he scanned from original slides. Very nice!

JSC donates Space Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer

2012-01-17T18:44:00.001-05:00

It appears NASA JSC is donating another Shuttle training resource. The Fuselage Trainer will be given to the Seattle Museum of Flight later this week. (PRNewswire) Glad to see more of the Shuttle support equipment going to good use.

Saturn V business end, up close and personal

2012-01-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

Found via Hobby Works on Facebook.

Christmas tree launch 2012

2012-01-16T10:58:00.002-05:00

I wimped out and stayed home. Brrr. Now, I see next weekend will be in the 50's here. The rocket gods must be angry at me to bracket a freezing launch weekend with two unseasonably warm weekends. Oh well, I'll be in Warthog's garage next weekend anyway.

I hear despite the cold and high winds there were two L3 certs and several K's and L's. And, of course, the TREES! Two photo albums of this past weekend's festivities have already appeared on Facebook, and MDRA's Disaster_Guy has graciously granted permission to repost his photos (for MDRAers only). So, there are three nice shots before each became really cool. I like the first one, which has a L666 sparky on the tip of the tree. I'd like to see a photo of the aftermath. BG.

Brass Propellant Discs

2012-01-15T14:31:00.001-05:00

Watch what happens when you ignite wafer thin brass discs. Steve and co. are using the brass in an EX project. The discs are the leftovers.

Brass Propellant Discs a video by jurvetson on Flickr.

Hacking a Titan 1 at Moffett Field

2012-01-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

I just spotted this project. A group of people, including NASA Watch's Keith Cowling, are restoring a Titan 1 missile at NASA's Moffett Field. You can read about the Titan 1 in general and this one in particular on the NASA Hack Space blog (which also isn't a NASA site). Here's a photo of Nancy Conrad inspecting the project's progress. The project is also on Twitter.

Lego Space Shuttle

2012-01-14T20:38:00.001-05:00

Lego Rocket, a photo by livewoods on Flickr.

Since the Saturn V was so popular.

Rocket gals # 95

2012-01-14T17:47:00.003-05:00

~35 degrees + wind >10 mph = launch scrub + rocket girls

This is supposedly Carrie Fisher and her stunt double.

Funky carrier aircraft of the day

2012-01-13T16:26:00.001-05:00

Space Shuttle Program, a photo by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr.

Dated 8/19/70.

JATO of the day: Teledyne Ryan UAV, Drone, RPV

2012-01-13T16:10:00.001-05:00

Teledyne Ryan UAV, Drone, RPV, a photo by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr.

San Diego Air and Space has restored their Space Shuttle history photos. At least some of them. Flickr is acting funny right now (new photos aren't showing up at the front of the set they're stored in) so I'm still looking. Meanwhile, this photo caught my eye.

Lego Saturn V

2012-01-13T11:39:00.001-05:00

Me next to the Saturn V, a photo by TheBrickMan on Flickr.

Check out this almost 19' tall model made from around 120,000 Lego bricks!

I think I destroyed Flickr (or at least part of it) UPDATED

2012-01-11T19:04:00.002-05:00

I was just favoriting a bunch of retro Space Shuttle concept photos on the San Diego Air and Space Museum's photo stream and successfully embedded a couple. Then, all of a sudden, they were gone. The photo set that they were in is there but the series of photos are AWOL. I mostly mention this in case the photos embedded in my previous two posts go blank.

Please ignore this message if additional concept photos are subsequently posted.

UPDATE: I gave myself too much credit. They left off the metadata and will repost when that is populated.

When 6 engines are better than three

2012-01-11T18:48:00.001-05:00

Interesting Space Shuttle concept

2012-01-11T18:46:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting concept with the 'shuttle' being surrounded by two canted tanks.

Title: Space Shuttle ProgramDate: 11/12/70Description: shows concept art of a cargo transfer from the space shuttle to a proposed space station

NASA Rocket Successfully Launched January 11

2012-01-11T15:05:00.001-05:00

NASA Rocket Successfully Launched January 11, a photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.

Nova Class I, II, and III

2012-01-11T11:24:00.000-05:00

Scott Lowther presents NASA's Nova concepts in a series of Aerospace Project Review blog posts: Class I, Class II, and Class III. I've attached a lo res copy of the Class III page, mostly because of the cute, stubby, air-breathing ram-jet or maybe a ram-rocket (on the left). You can get high res copies of the images by ordering issues of his Aerospace Projects Review (APR), as identified in the sources above.

If you aren't familiar with the APR, you can read about one that I purchased here.

Just for the record, I wanted to clarify that Nova is not an acronym, although I have presented the name in all caps several times (I'm not going to bother fixing this error). I have also referred to the Nova as a solid rocket heavy lift vehicle. That is not incorrect but it also not the entire story. If you look at all my posts on the subject, the vehicles have a wide variety of form factors. That's because Nova refers to a whole series of design options for the unrealized Saturn V follow-on. These designs understandably included a wide variety of propulsion options. The following links provide the historical background.

80 rockets in about 30 seconds

2012-01-10T22:57:00.001-05:00

I count two banks of 40 rockets being fired in the first 30 seconds or so. Hat tip to R2K's High Power Rocketry.

Sunday links and the like, on and off topic

2012-01-08T18:55:00.000-05:00

Back in the 1970's, before there was Mike's Hard Lemonade or Zima, there were cheap flavored wines such as Ripple, Boone's Farm, and Annie Green Springs. These were actual wines vs. malt beverages. Today, even the drinks marked by liquor companies such as Smirnoff or Bacardi are malt based. Enter single malt Scotch in a can. For those who can't abide the fruity malt concoctions, you will soon be able to buy Scottish Spirits' 3 year old single malt Scotch whiskey in handy dandy 12 oz cans. At 80 proof, that's the equivalent of eight beers and is supposed to be shared not guzzled. I am not sure what to think about this and I'll let you decide for yourselves.

Scott Lowther presents some more artwork of some proposed NOVA vehicles, circa 1963. (Follow the tag below for more information on the NOVA Class, heavy lift, solid propellant rocket designs.)

Check out some awesome Mojave sunsets over at Parabolic Arc. Some photos of a model of the XCOR Lynx too.

Yesterday, we got to 68 degrees, today a nice 52 or so. It appears this was Mother Nature teasing me. Wunderground predicts 34 degrees at Price for next weekend's MDRA Christmas Tree launch. Unless this changes, the 2nd flight of the Flaming Christmas Tree of the Apocolypse will have to wait until later in the year. But, I really did enjoy this weekend!

Sport Rocketry, January/February 2012

2012-01-07T17:26:00.000-05:00

I was glad this issue arrived after the previous issue went AWOL and had to be replaced. I feared there was a hiccup after renewing my membership but any worries I had were unfounded.

This issue starts with a nice two-fer build article on a Dark Star Lite.and a Talon. Boris Katan has an article on his Lightning Cluster Box. It provides lots of test data and some cool launch shots but neglects to provide a schematic and parts list. MDRA has a Cluster Buck so I don't really need my own. If I did, I'd pull out the ROCKETS issue that provided the details for the Cluster Buck. Then there's an article detailing how to build a rocket than can fly a mile high. Next up is a build article on building a 3x18mm Der Red Max. Or any number of Der 'xyz' Maxes. There's a one pager on the rocket display at the National Science Teachers Association and a description of the Classic Model competition event. Finally, Larry Brand deviates from his signature tube fin design to review the Mad Cow Lil' Goblin.

Wallops launch alert

2012-01-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Via Maryland Weather, of all places:

NASA is hoping to conduct a test flight of a suborbital rocket from Virginia's Wallops Flight Facility on Jan. 11. The two-stage vehicle, with the friendly sounding name Terrier-Improved Malamute, is being developed to support NASA science missions. Liftoff is expected between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., with backup launch days on Jan. 12 and 13. The Wallops visitor center will open at 6:30 a.m. for public viewing. You can follow the mission at: sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast. Launch status also is available at 757-824-2050.

I got all excited until I saw the AM part. I was hoping to watch another night launch from my front yard.

Rocket girl links and nuttin' but links

2012-01-07T00:05:00.000-05:00

Samantha from Tripoli Western Australia

Modeling the ModelRocket.us models

Kari choking a chicken at LDRS-29 (Yes, an actual chicken. Well, not a real chicken.)

SpaceyChick - Space Historian

Pillownaut

North American AGM-28B

2012-01-06T23:46:00.001-05:00

North American AGM-28B, a photo by james_gordon_los_angeles on Flickr.

I'm a couple of days early for Elvis' birthday, but..."You ain't nothin' but a Hound Dog. "

Reminds me of the Millenium Falcon and the Death Star

2012-01-06T19:07:00.000-05:00

CREDIT: NASA

Well, if the X-37B is spying, we still don't know on what

2012-01-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

In his blog post entitled Bloopers in Space, Jim Oberg responds to a recent article in Spaceflight, the magazine of the British Interplanetary Society, which claims the X-37B's mission is to spy on China's newly launched Tiangong-1 space station. Nice try, but no cigar. The answer lies in the differences in the RAAN (Right Ascension of the Ascending Node) of the two craft. Despite having similar inclinations and altitudes, their planes are nearly perpendicular and two craft will pass each other at some 8000 meters per second. So, the X-37B is hardly tracking the Tiangong-1. He also points out that it would have been a pretty neat trick to have anticipated the Tiangong-1's orbit back when the X-37B was launched.

Rocket girl explores Russian rocket factory

2012-01-06T11:12:00.001-05:00

Lana Sator, urban explorer, blogger, and now official rocket girl reportedly snuck into an NPO Energomash rocket factory outside of Moscow. The factory makes engines for the Soyuz, Zenit 3SL, Angara, Baikal, and even for the first stage of the U.S.'s Atlas V. Evidently, the facility didn't have much security. Say what?!? I posted a photo of the rocket girl herself and one that looks more like a sci-fi movie set (Nostromo? a Death Star?) than an actual functioning factory. Makes me wonder if it is legit. Well, at least she is a girl and the photos are cool.

Found via R2K. Article with more photos from Gizmodo. You should also look at Lana's Livejournal blog. She has many more photos and some history. Translator required.

Phobos-Grunt, imaged from Nice, France

2012-01-04T17:18:00.002-05:00

Thierry Legault once again has spun his magic and captured ground images of the Phobos-Grunt. His web page indicates that the Phobos-Grunt is not spinning but is moving backwards with respect to the Sun and it's solar panels. His page goes into great detail on the equipment he used and why it is a a challenge to capture photos of a satellite that is ~5 times smaller than the Space Shuttle. The Phobos-Grunt is expected to come down some time around the middle of this month. I found the YouTube version of Thierry's video via Phil Plait.

Indexing every rocket kit ever made

2012-01-02T22:10:00.001-05:00

The Rocketry Forum and Rocketry Online's InfoCentral have collaborated to develop "a comprehensive catalog of all rockets offered to the public in kit form, RTF or plan. All of them." This is a big undertaking and the first iteration is now available in .pdf form: The Rocketry Index. This link is to the TRF thread where you can find the latest version of the file. The catalog is organized by manufacturer or source in the case of plans. It includes lots of information about the manufacturers and then individual entries for each kit. The kit entries will include all the pertinent details and photos. The file is currently over 600pp long and there is a lengthy intro describing the details of its organization, which includes constructs like family groups and patriarchal families. Luckily, pdf's are searchable!

Rocket name change and a prediction for 2012

2012-01-02T01:17:00.000-05:00

In this months Fire and Smoke, rocket blogging friends Verna and Randy give their perspective on our impending doom in 2012. That is, it won't happen and we should focus on the really important things in our life, such as family. Then, they proceed to discuss the Flaming Christmas Tree of Death. I'm happy that they recognize my evil genius and, since the Tree is lumped in with the Mayan Calendar, Nostradamus, and Hollywood, I am herewith renaming it the Flaming Christmas Tree of the Apocalypse. I predict the end of the world will occur on Saturday, January 14th, some time between 10 AM and 4 PM. Unless it snows, is very windy or is totally freezing.

PS - While on their site, check out an actual flaming rocket on the Photo of the Month page.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T12:58:00.000-05:00

The content and sentiment have little in common. For this first post of 2012, I thought I'd list the last few items I 'starred' in my reader, but didn't post about. I only included the reasonably on-topic items.

Alternatives for Boost Phase Missile Defense - High Power Rocketry (Links to a study on Google Books.);
Boris Chertok's Rockets and People - Rocketry Blog (Boris, an icon of the Soviet space program, recently passed. His book is now available via the NASA History program.);
NASA's GRAIL-A Goes into Moon orbit - Spaceports; UPDATE: GRAIL-B is in lunar orbit too!
Star Flight Concepts Over the Years - HobbySpace (Star ship history in fiction and science.);
Shift Register Hacks - MAKE:blog (I have no use for this now, but I used to love this kind of stuff..);
NASA Marshall's Skylab Reuse Study (1977) - Beyond Apollo;
ModelRocket.us New Kit Releases - Rocketry Online;

PS - Have you had your black eyed peas?

A bunch of free scale plans

2011-12-31T15:04:00.001-05:00

Lacrosse dims, a photo by p_c_alway on Flickr.

Peter Alway has published a new batch of scale plans to his Flickr account. I embedded the Lacrosse as an example but you can click through to find the following: Redstone Block II Tactical Missile, Nike Hercules, Sidewinder AIM-9B, Sidewinder AIM-9B nose details, Atlas D, Hawk, Corporal, Atlas A, Blue Scout Jr SRV.

Last look inside Atlantis before the lights go out (plus more)

2011-12-30T19:47:00.000-05:00

collectSpace has posted a series of cool photo's inside (and below) the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I thought I had heard that NASA had already powered her down, but evidently the lights were on as of December 19th. If I were in charge at NASM, I'd get with NASA and find how to provide external power and then mount cameras at strategic spots inside. It would even be cool to let visitors zoom and pan the cameras.

In my earlier post about the Shuttle Motion Simulator being moved to Texas A&M, I asked rhetorically whether there were other Shuttle-era resources that were going to be used operationally (vs. ending up in a static display). Tonight, I learned about one. The news played a story from a Houston TV station about the current and future use of the training pools at JSC. Since the ISS is complete, the pools are idle. An oil exploration training company is using them to train rig workers how to survive things like helicopter crashes.

50th Anniversary of the Space flight of Belka and Strelka - 2010

2011-12-29T22:45:00.001-05:00

50th Anniversary of the Space flight of Belka and Strelka - 2010, a photo by audiopineapplepostcards on Flickr.

Shuttle memory

2011-12-29T14:27:00.004-05:00

When I started at JSC, the landing imagery on the Shuttle motion base simulator wasn't computer generated (I assume it was at the end of the program). Instead there was a multi-story model of the landing area. There was a TV camera on an Y-Y-Z drive that would display the scenery in the simulator. On the other side of the camera system was a huge bank of bright lights to ensure there were no shadows. It was pretty impressive set up. A quick search found nothing about this.

The Shuttle Motion Simulator finds a new home

2011-12-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

CollectSpace reports that the Shuttle Motion Simulator (SMS) has been donated to Texas A&M University where it will be used to develop new space equipment and operations procedures. It reportedly will be available to all majors as well as the public. I find this so awesome. This is the first Shuttle artifact that I've heard about, including the orbiters themselves, that will be more than a museum artifact. I wonder if there are any other items that will stay 'operational'?

Using the SMS will be no small feat. It is a complicated piece of equipment. There will be hardware maintenance and operations will be non-trivial, both inside the simulator and at its controls. I wonder how many lines of code are involved? Maybe they will contract with the current NASA support contractor(s) to keep it going? In any event, even if it was free it might be costly.

Monocopter Mk2

2011-12-28T11:11:00.001-05:00

Monocopter Mk2, a photo by Alexander Kroll on Flickr.

Check out this cool carbon fiber monocopter. If you click through you will find additional photos. You can also read all about it here.

Best of the Rocket Girls, Volume 5

2011-12-28T00:38:00.000-05:00

I decided to move up this installment of the BOTRG to coincide with the new year. As with my top ten, if something new appears in the next few days, I will update this post!

Julie and Laura Shepard after the Apollo 14 splashdown, 2/9/71


Kari Byron and Katie Deutsch working on Discovery's	LDRS-30 show (via Liberty Launch Systems)

The Flaming Christmas Tree v1.1

2011-12-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

The newly revised recovery system is complete, as shown in the attached photo. As I mentioned before, the upper portion is connected to the lower via two plastic tubes. These are not optimal, as plastic doesn't like hot gasses. However, it was designed (and I use the term loosely) to work once. I just hope that, if the upper chamber blows apart due to over pressurization, that enough of said pressure is conveyed to the parachute tube below. In any event, the rod will be oriented to send it away from the flight line. Now I'm hoping for relatively warm mid-January weather!

The Dungeon's Top Ten of 2011

2011-12-27T16:30:00.000-05:00

In no particular order....

Early in the year, I completed transferring reviews from the old EMRR (see the My Rocket Reviews Page). I transferred (and updated) all but eight and, while I was at it, added a few exclusive reviews. I've since added a few more, some of which were also sent to the new EMRR. As of the end of 2011, the total number of reviews posted here is 231, with 20 that you will find here and only here.
While on EMRR, the new site has shaped up well. There are some things I still miss from the old site but there are many new features that make it fun: Photo albums; personal pages with 'who's-who' bios; a running timeline (take that Facebook!) of blog posts and your personal data; a well populated and sorted video archive; and, a new combined motors tool. There are other new features, but these are the ones I have used the most.
I have to note the passing of the Space Shuttle Program. The Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) were underway when I entered the workforce and I was involved off and on for many years. I was fortunate to see several Shuttles on their 747 carriers. Once on the ground and in the air three times. However, somehow I never made a launch. That makes me sad. Here's the roll-out of Enterprise's and the landing of Atlantis/STS-135:

STS-135 Landing, a photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on Flickr.
I didn't build much this year. I guess I am as happy with the Goony P-51D as any.

The Big Brute is dead.
Long live the Big Brute!

Bob Utley twisted my arm into compiling/writing the Product News section of ROCKETS Magazine. My first installment appeared in the issue that was published at the end of November. You can check out my recaps of all the issues here.
My Big V2 History post became my most popular post of all time, having been #1 for almost a year. And, it yielded what I consider my best banner too.
MDRA hosted the launch of two humongous 1:9 scale Saturn IBs. I had to be out of town so I missed the launch. Still, I'm proud of my club.
I've continued to enjoy new- and old-space alike. Armadillo continues to be one of my favorites and the X-37B is pretty darned cool. And, at the 11th hour, Stratolaunch burst onto the scene.

Now, if something crops up in the next 4 days, I'll add a number 11!

SC Precision airfoil rail guides

2011-12-23T20:50:00.003-05:00

I just got sample set of SC Precision's new 10-Series Airfoil Rail Guides for 1" rails. Thanks Scott! The larger 15-Series guides debuted at Red Glare XI and seemed to be a hit. Scott's rail guides are CNC machined from black Delrin to a true NACA airfoil shape. This shape is more aerodynamic than standard buttons and are lower profile as the mounting bolts are counter sunk. A pair of black socket head screws are included. The pointy back end is reported to make it easier to mount your rocket on the rail, a claim I will test at the next launch! I stole a photo of the loose buttons from Scott's site and added a photo of the buttons mounted on my Landshark 2.0.

Stiga post mortem

2011-12-23T16:14:00.002-05:00

Armadillo employee Ben Brockert has posted a ton of details about the Flight of the Stiga. The Stiga was 32' tall, 15.25' dia.and weighed about 1,600 lb. It pulled 3.85 G's on its way to Mach 2.47 and 135,400' AGL. Their report was very transparent, providing the good as well as the bad. It suffered a hard deployment which lead to a zipper in its 0.090" thick aluminum body tube, partially separated the body above the motor, and led the bottom being a bit crunched. All and all, I'd say that was at least nominal :) Here's a shot of the zipper. That's one strong recovery harness!

R2K noticed this blog post and graciously gave me a link back. To return the favor in a somewhat circular fashion, I'll quote some of his comments, which I think are significant and an omission in my original (very) short recap:

The rocket shut down more than 10 seconds early because it had passed a pre-arranged downrange distance. That is a great safety feature, and also means that it could have broken mach 3 and gotten closer to 200,000 feet if it burnt the tanks dry. (The last 10 seconds would, assuming no throttle or great loss in motor isp at high altitude, the best 10 seconds of all.)

Flaming Christmas Tree upgrade is underway

2011-12-23T15:54:00.002-05:00

I searched high and low and didn't come up with the 'U' shaped tubing that I needed. The radius was just too small. So, I built an enclosed cavity above the motor mount in question using piece of an old cardboard yarn bobbin. It is roughly a quarter of a conical section and follows the tree's hypothetical contour. I am mounting a BT-60 parachute tube below the motor mount in question. The two parts will be interconnected with 2 flexible plastic tubes. That's kludge a on top of a kludge!

The yearly NORAD Santa tracking post

2011-12-23T10:59:00.001-05:00

You and your kids and their kids and so on can track the Jolly Old Elf's progress here. Merry Christmas!

USAF jet collides with Santa's sleigh

2011-12-22T20:16:00.001-05:00

USAF jet collides with Santa's sleigh, a photo by wortenoggle on Flickr.

NOTAM FAIL? Revenge by the family whose grandma got run over by a reindeer? Or, just a cool display between Easton and St. Michaels!

Space launches infographic

2011-12-22T18:47:00.002-05:00

Via visual.ly. Spotted on the Unwanted Blog. Look below to whet your interest but follow the link to explore the details.

via

So, how will Stratolaunch stack up?

2011-12-21T19:36:00.003-05:00

Parabolic Arc just posted this cool graphic to compare Stratolaunch with other US space launch systems. The graphic is sorted by LEO lift capability. Visit the Arc for the actual numbers and a similar graphic that includes international launchers. As you see, Stratolaunch is a bit apples and oranges. But, at least the apples and oranges are to scale.

Holiday wishes from Mr. Sulu

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Just has to share this. I grabbed it from George Takei's Facebook feed.

Video of the Flaming Christmas Tree

2011-12-20T16:46:00.000-05:00

Although not published on the main page, the photo gallery for MDRA's ESL-163 is being populated. You'll find Peter's video of the Flaming Christmas Tree of Death (and a still photo, too). W00t! There's also a video of the G64 CATO in the Hat of Death. No w00t here :(

Stratolaunch, what is is good for?

2011-12-20T15:56:00.002-05:00

Some would say , "Absolutely nothing. Uh-huh!" When I heard about Stratolaunch Systems and its founders, I was excited largely because it would just plain be cool for such a system to exist. The reactions I've read have been varied, however, it sure seems like the naysayers far outnumber the advocates. Is it just me or haven't the number of people who seem to take glee in bashing things increased over the last twenty years or so? The Internet must be to blame (?)

Transterrestrial Musings has an interesting article which points out what I viewed as the system's main attribute: operational responsiveness. It will will able to be quickly called to duty, launch preps will be hidden under a solid roof, roll out can be scheduled any time, and most if not all orbit inclinations can be supported. Rand further explains how this be an ideal carrier for the X-37...and other secret missions. His article ties all this together nicely.

VJ-100 manned rocket

2011-12-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Retro Mechanix relates the story of Stanley Hiller, Jr, an award-winning helicopter genius who also designed a manned rocket. The source article originally appeared in the March 1950 issue of Mechanics Illustrated. It reports that a sub-scale model of the VJ-100 used a Rolls Royce turbo-jet engine and an unspecified 5,000 lbf rocket. It was being tested at Wright Field, Ohio but obviously never went much further. Those are some crazy forward wings/fins.

Noticed in ROCKETS Magazine

2011-12-19T23:47:00.000-05:00

I noticed an interesting ad in the latest issue of ROCKETS. An individual is advertising inert, cold war era soviet missiles and liquid rocket engines as follows: SA-6 Gainful, SA-2 Guideline, SA-5 Gammon and the liquid engines. Good for museums and private collectors alike. Only an email addy is provided and I am not inclined to promote these items. But it does bring up the issue of real rocket hardware. I'd kind of like to collect some but, like Level-3 motors, it is surely out of my hobby budget. Except for maybe a Smokey SAM. But, I can always dream.

Reworking the FCToD

2011-12-18T16:11:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in the launch report, the Flying Christmas Tree of Death survived to fly another day. For the up part, there isn't much to change. I'll hope for less wind and maybe slightly angle the rod with it. However, it is clear that I need another way to get a 'chute out. My first thought is to nestle a piece of BT-60 below one motor mount. This tube diameter should be big enough to hold the 'chute and still stay away from the exhaust. The only rub is how to get the ejection gas from the top of the motor mount to the parachute tub below it. That means it needs to make an abrupt u-turn. If it can do that, I can figure out how to get it to the BT-60. The good news is that the main goal is not to make a robust, often flown rocket. A material like thin PVC would be good but rubber might be OK. Ideas?

Avro Blue Steel missile

2011-12-18T10:41:00.001-05:00

Avro Vulcan with Blue Steel missile, a photo by Lonely01 on Flickr.

The Blue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear stand-off missile. I find it's lines quite pleasing. There are plenty of photos out there. A good subject for a stubby model rocket (less than 10:1 L/D). Front winglets would require lots of nose weight. Upscaling the fins wouldn't hurt the look.

ROCKETS Magazine, August 2011

2011-12-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

I'll first address the timing of this issue - it's late. The guys at ROCKETS have had some glitches and have gotten behind. However, they report no serious problems and expect to catch up in 2012. Next, I'll point out the highlight of this issue - I have begun supporting the magazine by submitting material for the Rocketry News section! The untimely passing of the owner of Rocketry Planet, Darrell Mobley, left the editors without a steady flow of material. Bob cornered me at a launch and, knowing that I wasted my time on this blog, twisted my arm. So, I volunteered to help out. Since I wasn't plugged in to many HPR vendors and wanted an outlet for any excess material that I acquired, I reached out to Rocketry Online via my old relationship with TRF (ROL is run by TRF mod Kevin Trojanowski). [BTW, Darrell also was the original developer of ROL.] Now that this is out of the way...on to the contents of this issue.

The first feature is the final installment of Frank Hermes' series on his Coast Optimization System. He describes actual flight tests of the completed system, which includes a RocketTiltometer integrated with a Raven flight computer. Next up is launch coverage of NERRF 7, which was held this past summer at METRA's Pine Island, NY launch site. NERRF, like Red Glare, is a regional, 'indy' launch that gathers participants from far and wide. The action then moves from NY to Colorado with a report on the exploits of United Launch Alliance (ULA)/Ball Aerospace student interns. How I would have loved to have been able to intern with high power rockets! The student teams built some cool rockets and payloads. Their Stars 'N' Stripes flew on an 'N' motor and featured reverse mounted 'H' motors to limit its altitude. This is an idea worth copying. Moving further west, we hear all about the Northwest Xtreme Rocket Show 2011 in Brothers, Oregon. Finally, Wes 'Dr Zooch' Olezsewki explains BiNCS (Bite N Crumple Syndrome), and how to avoid it. I call BiNCS 'Estes Smiles'. Even when they are on other vendors' kits.

Launch Report 2011-8

2011-12-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Location: Higgs Farm, Price, MD (MDRA ESL-163)
Weather: mostly cloudy; high was 41; wind 10+ mph
Total flights: Today - 5; YTD - 62
Total motors: Today - 8; YTD - 80

I broke my standard rule of not flying when the temperature isn't 50 degrees or so. I wanted to see if my FatBoy29, which I thought I had lost at Red Glare XI, had been found. Plus, I had a magazine to pick up from Bob and the Flaming Christmas Tree of Death was itching to be flown. It was cloudy on the drive over but, as I turned off of US301, the sun was out! Well, it didn't last long and the brisk wind made it nippy. Nevertheless, I accomplished all three of my goals :) I was shocked at how many rockets live in the lost and found trailer.

My flights:

Flaming Christmas Tree of Death on 4 x E9-4 - The boost started fine but it quickly weather cocked. This was pretty much expected because of the huge fin surfaces. It was on the way down as the motors ejected and the kluge parachute mechanism didn't work. I assumed it would be a pile of junk but, to my amazement, the only damage was to the foam Santa, who was impaled and squashed (see photo below). Videographer extraordinaire Peter Abresch caught the flight and should submit it to the MDRA gallery.
Hat of Death on an G64-P - In the oddest...er...flight of the Hat, the G64 hopped out leaving the rocket on the rod. The front closure burned through, which caused the motor to eject. The motor spun wildly and landed about 6 feet from the pad. Both closures are dead, the case is iffy, but the Hat itself was undamaged.
TLP Rapier on an F24-7 - The rocket boosted with the wind and I anticipated a very long walk. Luckily, the delay was quite long and I had reefed the 'chute. Thus, the walk was tolerable.
Quest MLAS on an Estes C6-3 - Nice flight but one fin cracked.
Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb on a D12-5 - Nice flight. With the weather cocking, the delay was a little long. Even with the wind, it stayed on the main field.

LAUNCH Mag On-Line Edition - updated?

2011-12-17T08:53:00.002-05:00

My news reader had a half dozen or so hits from LAUNCH this morning, including Walt Cunningham's op-ed, "A Tribute to Happy Warrior." This was at least new to me. If interested, you might poke around the site. No time now...off to MDRA...

Mercury 7

2011-12-16T15:32:00.001-05:00

Mercury 7, a photo by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr.

Test Site-Sycamore

2011-12-16T14:55:00.001-05:00

Test Site-Sycamore, a photo by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr.

General Dynamics/Convair Astronautics
Test Site at Sycamore Canyon - Atlas 2D Firing at S2

Test Site-Point Loma

2011-12-16T14:48:00.001-05:00

Test Site-Point Loma, a photo by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr.

General Dynamics/Convair Astronautics Test Site on Point Loma. Click through for additional photos of the facility.

Mohr Rocket

2011-12-16T14:35:00.000-05:00

As spotted on High Power Rocketry.

"Engineer Ernst Mohr of Wuppertal, under the auspices of the German Rocket Society, developed a sounding rocket that was designed to reach altitudes of 50 km. A solid rocket motor with 7800 kgf would take the separable payload section to a speed of 1200 m/s. The booster had a diameter of 0.30 m, a length of 1.7 m, a total mass of 135 kg including 75 kg of solid propellant. The payload dart was 56 mm in diameter, 1.25 m long, and had a total mass of 15 kg.

Payload: 5.00 kg (11.00 lb) to a 50 km altitude.
Status: Retired 1959.
Gross mass: 150 kg (330 lb).
Payload: 5.00 kg (11.00 lb).
Height: 2.95 m (9.67 ft).
Diameter: 0.30 m (0.98 ft).
Thrust: 76.00 kN (17,085 lbf).
Apogee: 50 km (31 mi). "

Via Astronautix.com

Fantasy aircraft Friday

2011-12-16T13:58:00.000-05:00

Found on TRF. Source links with photos. I'd like to see someone try a flying version of these.

Via Paper Modelers forum

Via the paperhobby blog. Plan link included.

World's first permanent hobby rocket launch site!

2011-12-16T00:02:00.000-05:00

Rocketry Planet user Rocketball lets us know that nearly 2 years ago, the Australian Rocketry Association (ARA) section 6 successfully established the world's first permanent model rocket and high power launch site. Rockets can be launched 7 days a week during daylight hours with a altitude limit of 8,500' MSL and with no NOTAM required. Awesome! Way to go ARA6!

Rumors of Lovejoy's death have been greatly exaggerated

2011-12-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Spacey stuff on Thor's Day

2011-12-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

Both of these come from Geeked on Goddard: Ho-Ho-Hubble for the Holidays, and Comet Lovejoy plunging into the sun. Check out the Hubble cosmic angel:

Photo gallery: new-space, new-old-space and old-new-old-space

2011-12-15T10:27:00.001-05:00

DRB's latest gallery (as of post time, of course) features photos of Active Space Programs in Iran, Brazil, India, Japan, China, Israel... is it going to get crowded even without USA or Russia?

As the title implies, this features photos from the 'new-old' (i.e. state sponsored) players in the space game. Some of these projects aren't that new, hence the 'old-new-old' in the title. Finally, there's mention of Space Ship 2/White Knight as an example of new-space. Of course, the latter is European ('new-old' ?) funded and U.S. built ('new') so it could have its own category. Is your head hurting yet?

Any orbit, any time

2011-12-13T17:32:00.000-05:00

That's the tag phrase of Microsoft founder Paul Allen's newly announced space venture, Stratolaunch Systems. Their twin boom mothership will use six 747 engines. The 1.2M lb beast will, along with it's rocket system, be capable of delivering manned and unmanned orbital payloads weighing up to 13,500 lbs. They also allude to cargo transport missions with a 9,200 mile range. (via Space.com; video spotted via High Power Rocketry)

Scaled Composites + SpaceX...what a combo!

Higgs Boson fever

2011-12-13T12:42:00.001-05:00

The search for the Higgs Boson has been in the news a lot lately and my feed reader exploded with reports today. Evidently, this spike was spurred by a big reveal by physicists at Europe's Large Hadron Collider. Here's a just a smattering of what popped up this morning.

WARNING: If you read all the following reports and follow all the related links, then your brain may explode like protons hitting each other at 99.999999 percent of the speed of light. Warning does not apply to particle physicists.

Credit: CERN

Sport Rocketry November/December 2011

2011-12-12T21:21:00.001-05:00

The main theme of this issue is NARAM-53, which was held last summer in Cincinnati, OH. As with most contest coverage, I mostly liked gawking at the photos of the sports range and, in this case, PMC models. There was also more NASA SLI/USLI coverage and a report on a grade school rocketry program in Massachusetts. There is a nice build article on a Der Red Max variant and and excellent build article on Boris Katan's awesome Turbine Rocket Saucer. This spinning saucer features 8 slightly canted and 4 highly canted 24mm mounts. I am in awe of Boris' work.

BTW, I received this issue about a month later than expected. I've subscribed to Sport Rocketry for many years and, for the first time, my original issue never appeared. After three weeks, I emailed NAR HQ using the address provided on their website. Marie got back to me within a week and the replacement arrived less than a week later. If you have problems with your membership, don't hesitate to contact them. Their staff is small so you may see delays due to illness, vacation, holidays, etc.. However, be patient and they will take care of you.

Only The Shadow knows

2011-12-12T18:19:00.000-05:00

Air Command's The Shadow includes custom fiberglass tubing and nose cone, lots of machined parts, rail buttons, a custom launcher, and home grown electronics. Sounds a lot like your typical state of the art HPR kit. But, you won't find any pyro compounds inside - it's a water rocket. The tubing had been tested to 300 psi (and maybe higher since I haven't read all the recent updates). Can't wait for the video!

"Black Ceremony"

2011-12-11T17:14:00.001-05:00

This is likely the best daytime pyro show that I've seen. (I actually am not sure I've ever seen anything like this.) The show commemorated the opening of an exibition of the work of Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang at the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar. (hat tip to wikkit on Twitter)

Thinking out loud

2011-12-11T12:04:00.001-05:00

I have no rockets actively being worked on. But, there are a bunch of stalled projects that I have lost interest in. Someday, I'll get a train transformer to finish a big hot wire cutter and I'll restart the Bulbous Foam Rocket. I need to scrounge some more 'found items' to continue my Lost in Space Robot. My plans for the treads haven't worked out to my satisfaction. I need to revisit the MRBR-1 to see if it'll be stable on an E or F reload. I was unstable on a D24, but it could be that it just didn't get enough speed for the fins to work. It also need a new tip on the nose cone. My Barbie Ejection Seat died off for lack of a pilot. It had almost zero chance of success and wasn't worth the $2.50 to get said pilot. I have four LPR kits lying around. The MLAS is a temporary collectors kit. Temporary until my active MLAS dies or I get the courage to beef it up for a bigger motor. I have a BT-5 Semroc freebie, but don't need another 13mm rocket in the fleet. The Baby Bertha is waiting for a future kitbash idea and I haven't wanted to tackle the SR-71 Blackbird. My original plans for the big Crayon that Skycopp gave me have been scrapped. I have decided to cut some ply rings at Warthog's next build session. I'll probably use clear fins. I haven't decided on the mount but likely will go with 29mm. If it gets too heavy/draggy for a satisfying H165 flight, it will be another candidate for a larger 29mm motor. I've been thinking about a 5-G CTI case. The Never Say Never and Too Rolling (Red)Stoned are already in this category. Sigh.

Huge cloaked spaceship by Mercury, or...

2011-12-11T11:22:00.001-05:00

In this video, taken by the SECCHI suite aboard STEREO, it looks like an object appears adjacent to Mercury as the CME passes by. The poster deduces that it must be manufactured (ie alien-made) and cloaked. While this explanation would be the most interesting, instrument scientists at the NRL explain that this is merely Mercury's wake in the interplanetary dust and the artifact is removed when an averaging filter is run. Still, a cool video and an interesting story. (via Yahoo News)

Ignoring the NOTAM

2011-12-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

Paul Breed's autonomous(?) helicopter hovering over the FAR launch site....

Mythbusters FAIL, NOT

2011-12-10T23:52:00.001-05:00

Untitled, a photo by paranoidroid on Flickr.

SpaceAholic

2011-12-10T22:31:00.001-05:00

I also added SpaceAholic.com to my list of aerospace modeling links. The site presents the owner's extensive collection of space artifacts and includes a lengthy list of releated resources.

My preeminent objective is in the preservation of America’s early space heritage. As such I am proactively engaged in acquisition of spacecraft flight vehicle components, subsystems (both prototype and production representative flight hardware), launch system flight hardware, rocket propulsion systems, models and documentation from the U.S. Space Program.

Heroicrelics

2011-12-10T11:22:00.001-05:00

I just added heroicrelics.org to my list of aerospace modeling links. This site is mostly dedicated to the '60's space race but also has some info on missiles and WWII airplanes. It has tons of photos taken at many aerospace museums around the country. I haven't really explored much of the content - there is so much there. I love the navigation buttons, which are based on the lighted PBI's (push button interlocks, a.k.a. switches) that were used on the mission control consoles at JSC. I used so many of these in my first assignment after college! (My apologies to Heroicrelics for my original mis-spelling of their name. That was more than a simple typo...I slipped more than one bit on that one!)

Apollo Mission Control, a photo by RadioKate on Flickr.

The Original Rocket Dungeon

Feed reader stars and interesting links

Rocket girls # 96

Curiosity of the day: a fractal antenna

Feed reader stars and interesting links

Feed reader stars and interesting links

PVC pipe fittings...by Estes

Feed reader stars and interesting links

Reader stars 'n' interesting links

Zombie-X AK-47

Day of Remembrance, 2012

Apollo One, AS-204, lost January 27, 1967

Challenger, STS-51-L, lost January 28, 1986

Columbia, STS-107, lost February 1, 2003

Minimum diameter fiberglass build tutorial

Blame it on too many rockets

The daily feed reader stars and links post

Delta-IV WSG-4

Reader stars and other links of the day (CME update)

SpaceX's next-gen rocket

Roll your own with 'RolaTube'

Under v. over expanded flow

Warthog build session 2012-1

Feed reader stars - TGIF edition

RS-25D Engines at KSC

SOPA Soap Opera

"Number One Rocket Man"

Christmas Tree Launch 2012: The official video

Project Mercury scans

JSC donates Space Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer

Saturn V business end, up close and personal

Christmas tree launch 2012

Brass Propellant Discs

Hacking a Titan 1 at Moffett Field

Lego Space Shuttle

Rocket gals # 95

Funky carrier aircraft of the day

JATO of the day: Teledyne Ryan UAV, Drone, RPV

Lego Saturn V

I think I destroyed Flickr (or at least part of it) UPDATED

When 6 engines are better than three

Interesting Space Shuttle concept

NASA Rocket Successfully Launched January 11

Nova Class I, II, and III

80 rockets in about 30 seconds

Sunday links and the like, on and off topic

Sport Rocketry, January/February 2012

Wallops launch alert

More stars from the feed reader

Rocket girl links and nuttin' but links

North American AGM-28B

Reminds me of the Millenium Falcon and the Death Star

Well, if the X-37B is spying, we still don't know on what

Rocket girl explores Russian rocket factory

Phobos-Grunt, imaged from Nice, France

Indexing every rocket kit ever made

Rocket name change and a prediction for 2012

Happy New Year!

A bunch of free scale plans

Last look inside Atlantis before the lights go out (plus more)

50th Anniversary of the Space flight of Belka and Strelka - 2010

Shuttle memory

The Shuttle Motion Simulator finds a new home

Monocopter Mk2

Best of the Rocket Girls, Volume 5

The Flaming Christmas Tree v1.1

The Dungeon's Top Ten of 2011

SC Precision airfoil rail guides

Stiga post mortem

Flaming Christmas Tree upgrade is underway

The yearly NORAD Santa tracking post

USAF jet collides with Santa's sleigh

Space launches infographic

So, how will Stratolaunch stack up?

Holiday wishes from Mr. Sulu

Video of the Flaming Christmas Tree

Stratolaunch, what is is good for?

VJ-100 manned rocket

Noticed in ROCKETS Magazine

Reworking the FCToD