The Original Rocket Dungeon

Great painting weather

2009-12-02T00:34:00.000-05:00

However, it was also good yard and gutter cleaning weather. Unlike the forecast for Saturday's NOVAAR launch - 30% chance of precipitation and a high of 38 degrees. Now if the rain would only shift out one day...

EMRR reviews and a new contest

2009-12-01T11:04:00.001-05:00

I have four reviews in today's update:

Nick also announced a new contest entitled, Roam the Site. To be consistent with the theme, I'll make you roam his site to find the details.

PS - I plan to play, but just for fun. It wouldn't be fair considering I am a site helper.

MLAS aerodynamics appears in the Nozzle Exit

2009-11-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

The Nozzle Exit blog describes how the Cp of the actual MLAS was determined, how the Cp of his micro-MLAS model was determined, and why model rocketeers buy sim programs instead of wind tunnels.

V-2 status (and nuttin' else)

2009-11-30T19:05:00.000-05:00

It was raining so no additional painting happened. So, I took a photo.

Iridium's NEXT satellites to carry science payloads

2009-11-30T17:00:00.000-05:00

Iridium's next generation of satellites will increase the available data rate on their system to over 1 Mbps and will utilize IP protocols vs. the current voice-based format. They will also allocate space and power to science payloads, which would most likely used by Earth resources applications. Although the resources will be small, around 50 kilograms and 50 watts, and their orbits aren't optimized for science applications, this is a first. It will be interesting to see who flies what on them. (via IEEE Spectrum)

V-2 status (and other stuff)

2009-11-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

Well, a little sanding and a re-coat did the trick. Trying to sand the base of the cone actually lifted all the primer. I sanded the exposed areas good before the re-priming. My dilemma is how to proceed to apply the other colors. I did a good job (IMO) on the free-form camouflage for the AquaBottleBat and El Tubo Loco. But I'm not sure how this will work out on a smaller rocket. I'm wondering if I should make masks with some random shaped holes and hold these an inch or so from the rocket as I spray?

I'm also putting the final touches on the stretched Nike Smoke. Needs paint and a shock cord.

I hate raking leaves and hate raking pine needles even more. But I love turkey sandwiches and pie so today hasn't been that bad :) I was going to photograph the primed V-2 but don't want to drag my carcass down into the Dungeon.

I read the instructions for the Delta X-15 and decided I'll save this for the next building session. Note to self: scrub the crap out of that resin cone. Again.

Nike Smoke cone work (and other stuff)

2009-11-28T20:29:00.002-05:00

After two days of eating and visiting with family, I ventured back down to the Dungeon. First up was priming my Hostile Projectiles V2. I chose Rustoleum red-brown primer since it would not only prime but serve as one of the colors in my planned cammo pattern. Well, one instruction I thought that I had heeded was to scrub the nose and tail cone with steel wool to get the mold release off. I scrubbed until I thought it would be good...and then scrubbed some more. It appears I was not uniform in this process because spots formed on one quadrant of the tail cone and around the base of the nose cone. I let it dry well, sanded and have re-coated. I probably should strip it and try a Dremel brush on it...nah...just press on. I've recovered from this condition before and can strip two layers as easily as one if it doesn't work. I'll report back tomorrow.

Then I decided I might as well touch-up the MLAS cone after its mud bath. I coated the whole thing with Future and put three coats on the cone. Here, the brush on paint still doesn't look that good, but is shinier.

And to the star of this show...my attempt to make a functional Nike Smoke cone. That is, one that will spew tracking powder as it boosts. You can see the guts in the photo. An Estes lug in the tip will feed air into the First Fire igniter tube. The holes in theis tube will then hopefully blow the powder out a vent, which isn't cut yet. I found that a plastic cap donated by Warthog (aka Don B) that fits almost perfectly in the shoulder. The vent will be on the short transition section just above the plastic insert. The ear plug protruding from the end will be replaced with a plug that extends to the bottom of the lower hole.

I plan to add the tracking powder with the cone separated It will be held together with tape for its test flight. If it works, I may glue the two halves together and fill it from the tube that protrudes out the back. But that's a BIG IF.

Black Friday

2009-11-27T10:05:00.000-05:00

When Black Friday comes
I'll stand down by the door
And catch the gray men
When they dive from the fourteenth floor
When Black Friday comes
I'll collect everything I'm owed
And before my friends find out
I'll be on the road
When Black Friday falls you know it's got to be
Don't let it fall on me

No point, I just like Steely Dan.

Dark matter propulsion

2009-11-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

OK, if black hole propulsion wasn't enough, now we have dark matter propulsion - Dark power: Grand designs for interstellar travel, Marcus Chown, New Scientist, 25 November 2009. (According to the article, this proposal predated the one on black hole propulsion.) Unfortunately, physicists don't really know what dark matter is and not all even agree it exists. But if it does as many believe, there is plenty of it. Thus, the propulsion system could scoop up its fuel as it goes. The article of course goes into much more detail and even presents a nice simple diagram of how dark matter and black hole propulsion would work.

Mach diamonds

2009-11-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

Click, then zoom and check out the mach diamonds on the Long March:

Hostile Projectiles update

2009-11-24T20:26:00.002-05:00

Here is the V-2, flight ready and waiting for primer. I ended up laminating the fins with paper since I couldn't get the fin template off the balsa. The instructions have you attach the template with 3M Super 77 spray glue and methinks I went a tad heavy on it. I was worried that the method of embossing the fin panel lines wouldn't work...but it did. This technique requires some practice as my panel lines are not anywhere near of uniform depth.

I meant to add nose wight to get it balanced for up to AT D24 reloads. After a couple of brain farts I found I added too much nose weight and a flight on a C6 is very iffy - anyone got a 100" 1/8" rod? So, it will now fly on D13's and D24's.

While on the subject of screw-ups, I managed to totally melt the decals for the Delta X-15 with a coat of Future. The instructions told me to use a specific decal product, but I tried the Future. If the model flies well, ~~I guess I'll see if Steve will sell me a new set~~ get some decal paper and print a new set using the file provided with the instructions.

Solar tsunami!

2009-11-24T19:59:00.000-05:00

Maryland Weather has a couple of interesting animated gif's of a solar storm "of hot plasma that is 62,000 miles high, travels at half a million miles per hour and packs the power of 2,400 megatons of TNT." I'm impressed. These were generated from images from NASA's STEREO spacecraft.

New details on the X-37B

2009-11-24T11:27:00.000-05:00

Spaceflight Now has some new details on the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and its pending flight atop an Atlas5/501. It is scheduled to fly from the Cape Canaveral in April 2010. (via Clark Lindsey)

Bow to my power (Red Glare 7 update)

2009-11-23T22:50:00.001-05:00

Earlier today, I lamented the lack of photographic evidence from Red Glare 7. It looks like I jumped the gun. I'm sure my post had no role in facilitating the update....or did it...

I felt I could lament the issue but I can't complain since my photos and one video are here.

Rocket magazine's album is also up (at least for Sunday).

Blue Origin quietly marches forward

2009-11-23T17:12:00.000-05:00

Clark Lindsey reports that Blue Origin has selected four research payloads for their New Shepard suborbital vehicle.

Pushing Reg Glare 7 off the queue

2009-11-23T15:42:00.000-05:00

What I mean by that is that the first post today will push my Red Glare 7 flight report off my top page (it is obviously still there, but visitors will have to look for it). I was hoping to replace it with a post that pointed to the MDRA photo gallery. Unfortunately, the web site hasn't been updated.

(It is obviously a slow day....)

Breaking news: the Dungeon is bombarded by Hostile Projectiles

2009-11-22T17:33:00.000-05:00

While I was gone for the weekend, my order from Hostile Projectiles arrived! I got both the V-2 and the Delta X-15. Here are my initial impressions.

I'll start with the reason I ordered them - the V-2's nose and tail cones and the cone for the X-15. These are not your daddy's resin cones. They are thin walled and I bet not much heavier than solid balsa (if at all). The initial flight reports are that they are also tough. Steve really knows how to cast parts! The detail is really makes them stand out. You should be able to click the thumbnail to see some of it. The finish is great and the only flaws are two small voids on one V-2 fin flaring.

These are very obviously 'builders kits'. There is no header card or print instructions. The latter comes on CD. The parts are fairly typical and I didn't bother photographing them. The tubes are not a cleanly cut as, my 'meter stick' vendor (e.g. Semroc), there are no laser cut fins, and the chute is plain plastic. Nevertheless, these will be fun and I'm sure will look and fly great. Building should commence on the V-2 tomorrow.

More on Woody Hoburg's guided monocopter

2009-11-20T23:12:00.001-05:00

In a comment to an earlier post, Woody notes that he now has a website on his guided monocopter project. I don't know if I previously credited James Houghton as his partner on the project (but I did now). From that, site you can access his research paper and videos of the monocopter in action.

A compendium of rocket eye candy

2009-11-20T12:59:00.001-05:00

Clark Lindsey provides links to two posts on the Daily Kos - Part 1 includes photos and videos of operational rockets and part 2 is dedicated to experimental vehicles. The split is not 100% consistent, but close enough.

Multi-position launch controller (plans)

2009-11-20T12:19:00.001-05:00

Make Magazine, Vol 20 includes plans for a 10-Rail Model Rocket Mega-Launcher. The link includes a slide show and the schematic.

I'm glad someone else noticed this because my subscription expired with the prior issue. Go figure. In prior years they renewed my subscription without asking. This year, they didn't bother sending an email saying it was expiring. That's just a well I guess. While it was mildly interesting to thumb through every issue, there were only a handful of articles that I found really great or useful. And, most of those filter onto their web site sooner than later. In this case, sooner.

Odd-crocs

2009-11-19T14:14:00.000-05:00

Nope, the title isn't a typo. This post is actually about crocs, not rocs - National Geographic animates four Strange Crocs of the Sahara.

Long Q2G2 igniters are shipping

2009-11-18T19:34:00.001-05:00

Quest just announced the new 8" Q2G2 igniters are now shipping. This past weekend, I received first hand confirmation that the original short lead Q2G2s will ignite smaller AeroTech Hobbyline composites. It will be interesting to see how these longer ones will do on the larger Hobbyline motors. They are $1.33 a-pop before shipping and come in packs of 6. Currently AeroTech's FirstFire Jr's are $1.63 on the ValueRockets site. I will probably order a couple packs on top of my next order. Since these are low current, they will also work well with electronics.

http://www.questaerospace.com/itemd...ic=7025&eq=&Tp=

Smoking Nike Smoke nose cone - cont'd

2009-11-18T14:13:00.001-05:00

Here's how the Enerjet Nike Smoke cone worked. --^

I removed the tip of the Quest cone and reamed it so an Estes launch lug will fit. I will adapt the lug to a slightly larger tube to recreate the Enerjet design. Questions remain on how many vent holes, how big they should be and how the powder will be loaded. (It looks like the diagram answers my first question.)

Smoking Nike Smoke nose cone

2009-11-17T23:53:00.003-05:00

Along with my MLAS kits, I picked up a couple of Nike Smoke cones and some T35 tubing. Rokitflite gave me some fin cans a while back and I finally decided to get some compatible parts.

The purpose of the Nike Smoke system was to visually test upper atmospheric winds. Its nose cone was filled with various chemicals (titanium tetrachloride in the final operational version), which would produce a visible trail when released. During powered flight, an inlet pipe in the tip of the cone would force the TiCl4 out ports in its base. The resulting trails were visible to 75,000 ft.

I just remembered stories about a 'vintage' Enerjet kit with a working nose cone and the gears began turning. The required holes will of course be easy to drill. I'm thinking about adding and internal cone to make sure the vented air is forced toward the exit ports. I'll also have to think about how to load the tracking powder as all the added holes should be fairly small.

This will also free up one of the plastic tips that was missing/lost when I built my Quest Smoke. In fact, the glue is drying as I type.

Red Glare 7 rocket girl

2009-11-17T22:42:00.002-05:00

Erin with her first rocket - Oh Frabcious Day, originally uploaded by dcrocketeer.