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Domain: aeropac.org

Stories and comments across the archive that link to aeropac.org.

Comments · 6

  1. Re:Before or after Burning Man by taniwha · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Satellite Easter Eggs
    I think DPW drags them (probably with the same chainlink fence bit they use after to remove them).

    I think it's before for a bunch of reasons: not all the JOTSs are there yet, there's a bunch of stuff around the temple (way more than there would be for clean up) and most importantly only the roads have been broken up, after the burn I'd expect the surface color between the roads to be lighter as it gets broken up.

    BTW for the record this is where we launch rockets. The large horizontal line along the bottom is where we park/camp and the smaller horizontal ones are where the launch pads go - the vertical line is from driving during setup and walking to the pads. This photo is probably a few weeks after a launch

  2. Re:Laws governing space launches? by taniwha · · Score: 5, Informative · on Amateur Rocket Reaches Space
    I fly at Blackrock a lot (where this flew). One of the reasons we choose this spot is that it's easy to get an FAA waiver (ie permission to use the airspace) - it's south of the air traffic from Portland and north of the traffic from SF.

    We do it 3-4 times a year have been for 15 years or so. We arrange ahead of time and then we call into ATC before we light up the waiver and again when we're done. We regularly get waivers to 100k ft ASL (20 miles up) well above the 30k ft commercial planes fly at. Though we seldom fly that high.

    Getting a waiver above 100k ft is much much harder - the normal FAA ATC doesn't have juristiction above there - you have to apply to a different part of the govt. who worry about things like stuff landing on other countries etc etc

    Want to come to a launch? - you're welcome - check out www.aeropac.org

  3. Re:Burning Man by taniwha · · Score: 2, Interesting · on A Geek's Tour Of North America?
    The desert is as harsh as any Austrailian Outback. Be sure to read the website about survival thoroughly.

    I fly rockets at Blackrock, have been going there 3-4 times a year for longer than BM has been going there (I also burn) - common sense counts for a lot, so does planning ahead - other than what you normally take for camping you need extra sunscreen, water and shade and you have to make sure your tent wont be blown away. (the following don't really apply to BM ...) Don't go in the hot springs - some are so hot they will kill you (2 people died last year, not at the burn) and don't go off by yourself, make sure someone knows where you are if your car/truck breaks down or gets stuck, take a GPS.

    Many of the events are dangerous. This is part of the excitement, but people get hurt every year.

    well it does (or used to) say on the tickets words to the effect "death is not a sufficient reason for refund" ... my main complaint is the wording banning rockets :-(

    Be very aware of the sex, drugs and rock & roll nature of the event. 90% of the attendees are drunk or stoned half the time.

    I think that this is totally overblown, certainly there's nudity, but not a lot actual sexual stuff - at least not out in the open - you have to go looking for it. I take my kids, and apart from occasionally having to distract them from something I don't want to explain, I don't think it's a big deal. While there's probably more use of recreational chemicals than on a normal city street most people are NOT wandering around high all the time

  4. Rockets - Nevada - this weekend by taniwha · · Score: 2 · on Amateur Rocket Heads Into Space

    While Ky's launch will probably be pretty private (if only for safety reasons) - AeroPac is having our first launch of the year at the same spot (BlackRock ) - Northern Nevada this weekend.

    Sat and Sun mornings are the best time for launching (low winds) - the playa is BIG lots of room for recovery .... and camping

  5. Re:Cansats are nothing new by taniwha · · Score: 3 · on PicoSats And CanSats And NEAR, Oh My
    You can get more info about Arliss here.

    The coke cans are dropped out at only 12k ft (the launch vehicle puts up 3 at a time) they are dropped on a parachute - the hang-time is about the same as for the sky-time in a single micro-sat pass so it's a great way to test if your payload can handle the stresses of launch and test your downlick hardware and software in real-world conditions....

    Arliss is growing .... there are more and more payloads going up every year (dates for this year are here) - and now they have a rover contest - launch your rover to 10k ft have it return and find it's way back autonomously to a designated target. I also hear plans are being made to extend the launch sites across the country

  6. Use them in space!!! by cypher · · Score: 1 · on Brainstorming New Uses for a Mobile Processor

    Amateur rocketeers should use these tiny PDA's as the brains in any number of space experiments. Microsatellites immediately come to mind. So much for teledesic...take l0pht's guerilla.net idea and put it into orbit.

    How about an amateur lunar explorer...or better yet, asteroid explorer. The law states the first one there can claim ownership of the mineral rights. I think I want an asteroid of my own.

    But seriously, with dirt cheap micro computers that have real processing power, space exploration could really be put into the hands of amateurs and educational institutions.

    These guys could really use something like the crusoe based PDA's. http://www.aeropac.org/aeropac/index.html