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It works for Estes.

For those who didn't play with fire and rockets growing up.....

http://estesrockets.com/ They make rockets and engines too!

Estes!
Blast from the past.
I built and flew a bunch of their rockets about 60 years ago. Great fun.
Good to see that they are still in business.
https://www.estesrockets.com/

"There is nothing routine about rocketry so just shut up please. thanks."

Some would disagree.

Missiles are assumed to be guided, rockets are assumed to be aerodynamically stable and unguided such as Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket verses the AGM-114 Hellfire. These are examples of model rockets

Yeah a reusable shuttle as a first step seems like an unnecessarily massive and risky undertaking...a rocket w/ Apollo-style return module would be a better idea.

Looking up some thing in the Estes model rocketry catalog would be a better one.

Rockets at least can be built in somebody's garage

Actually I built two on the kitchen table this Thanksgiving after dinner. Took me about an hour, with a glass of good scotch in one hand during most of the construction.
Cost me about $50 all inclusive (two rocket kit w/ launch pad, a dozen motors, and a glass of Glenrothes), and the larger of the two cleared the 1000' mark (~300 meters) on the second flight.

Here is the exact kit I used. They have two stage rockets that will clear 2000' for less than $50.

When we stand on the shoulders of giants, even rocket science isn't rocket science anymore.

I was thinking more along the lines of this: http://www.estesrockets.com/

Hey, at least they get something up in the air . . .

Now, if Estes brings out a NASA PowerPC Mars lander . . . I'm buying!

Contrary to the US, most every other civilised country in the world recognises that the average citizen does NOT have some God given right to own a rocket launcher!

Hyperbole. No civilian in the US owns a "rocket launcher", unless you are referring to one of these.

Unfortunately the American gun culture is now being exported (along with rap and like shit) and we're starting to pay the price with a rise in handgun crime.

Yes, it's all our fault. Your criminals were honest hard working folk until they caught a glimpse of the American gun culture, upon which they become violent murderers.

The average American is a sheep being led to the slaughter so some Ruger guy can afford another corporate jet, and the best part is, they have you loving it!

Ruger isn't that big of a company. I actually met their CEO once upon a time. Guess what? He was flying commercial.

theres a real chicken and egg problem for investors (no demand for orbital flight, but no vehicles that allow the demand to develop)

Virgin Galactic, Russia. There is both demand and capability. If I recall right Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical and Ubuntu, paid Russia $20 million to ride to the ISS. I wouldn't pay that much myself but there are some who will, I think Virgin is requiring a $100,000 deposit and has almost booked the first flight full.

far too high an entry cost for somebody to build a spaceship in their basement or otherwise appear overnight.

Sure there are low cost rockets ;-) As a member of a model rocketry club in one high school I went to we built, and launched, our own Estes and other model rockets.

What I found ironic was that the high school where the model rocketry club was was in MA but the high school I went to in FL didn't have such a club. There I was attending a school that was an hour's drive from the Cape yet students hadn't even heard of model rockets.

Falcon

It would be ironic, if this thing performed better than North Korea's "communications" rocket. Of course, then North Korean agents would start scrounging the US for model rocket engines, for their next attempt:

"Hello, Estes http://www.estesrockets.com/rocketengines.php? We would like to buy a lot of engines. Yes, it will be a VERY big model rocket."

I could swear I saw an Estes sticker on the side of that rocket.

Hell, even my PT 109 R/C boat had "programmable" movement patterns if you didn't outfit it with R/C gear.

No problem

That kid really enjoying the destruction is pretty funny.

For those who'd like to do something similar but on a much smaller scale, Estes has done a number of smaller model rockets based on the Star Wars movies. A couple decent models are R2-D2 and my favorite, Vader's TIE fighter. But I would guess the most appropriate to this discussion would be the X Wing

I needed a mobile launch platform for my hydrogen-fueled rockets.

Yep. I built one in the late 1970s. Fun kit, but I wasn't permitted to do any test glides, since it was a 4-H project, and all they grade on there is the paint job, so it turned out to be a bit noze-heavy. The full-sized project on which it was based was unflyable at transitional angles. Perhaps computer-mediated fly-by-wire will make it feasable this time. I always thought they should have given up on flying it angled. Just take it very high, slow to stall speed, fold the wing while falling out of control, hit the power, and recover.

Sure, the innovative will try to work around these types of limitations

In both IE7b and FF 1.5.0.3, that page comes up with no content, just the header, sidebar, etc.

Censorship!!!

:D

It might be a bad idea to get them into astronomy, especially since a *good* beginer telescope should cost around $400 and will not get used nearly as much as a $400 computer. Don't get a telescope for anything under $200 without *thoroughly* researching it first. It will most likely be a mistake (unless it is a bargain, I got a great 4 inch refractor with AutoStar for $200 at Sam's Club. It is an older model but is is *great*. I think it would have costed around $500 when it was in production). Some good beginner scopes: Orion StarBlast Astro Telescope, Orion SkyQuest XT6 IntelliScope, and Meade ETX series. An alternative is digital photography. You can start them out with an inexpensive camera, and in a few years get a batter one with more advanced features (like a Canon Powershot A95). Or Model rocketry (mute sound!) which is very fun and not too expensive. It can be hands-on (building rockets) or you can get a pre-built kit.

This used to happen to me all the time.

That little sticker that holds the igniter up in the engine probably came loose. Either that, or the alligator clip came off the igniter.

Estes is usually good to deal with, just call their 800 number and they'll send a new pack of igniters.

There is a helpful guide here.

This used to happen to me all the time.

That little sticker that holds the igniter up in the engine probably came loose. Either that, or the alligator clip came off the igniter.

Estes is usually good to deal with, just call their 800 number and they'll send a new pack of igniters.

There is a helpful guide here.

Awesome. I was about to suggest this.

Estes Rockets

It's harder and harder to find a place to shoot these things off without the neighbors calling the police, especially if you live in an urban environment or even most suburbs. Used to be able to go to schools after hours and do it, but now you'd be arrested as a terroist....

What's affecting their bottom line is the unbelieably poorly designed website.

Ugh. Crappy use of Flash aside, the interface and archtecture of that thing is aweful!

I did a quick google, and it is not like Europe is free of regulation for model rocketry. It seems that things are very similar:

Engines can be shipped via postal services or for larger parcels via special postal services because you can only buy A,B,C and D. Shops can sell motors but only A,B,C and sometimes D.

Is this just FUD? Estes says everything is ok.

There's a link on the bottom of the page "Homeland Security & Model Rocketry". Basically anything they sell is still legal.

It's just motors with greater than .9 lbs of fuel. That's Huge and could very well be used as a weapon.

You're thinking of the Estes Astrocam - which you can still buy. Product ID 1813

Here's a link to the product info page.

This from Estes Rockets:

Homeland Security Act and Model Rocketry

The Homeland Security Act includes the "Safe Explosives Act" which has placed even more responsibility on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in an effort to keep explosives out of the hands of terrorists. As would be expected there are now more explosives regulations. However, some of the information that has been provided to and reported by the media has several issues confused. Visit http://www.atf.treas.gov/explarson/safexpact/model rockets.htmto obtain accurate information with regard to the ATF and model rocketry. UPS, FedEx and other carriers continue to carry model rocket engines (model rocket motors that contain no more than 62.5 grams of propellant per device) that are properly packaged, marked, labeled and documented in accordance with the regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (49 CFR). The same is true with regard to the United States Postal Service for Toy Propellant Devices (Model Rocket Motors and Igniters that are pre-approved for mailing by the USPS) that contain no more than 30 grams of propellant per device.

Looks like Estes has all their ducks in a row in regards to Homeland Security take a look at their website This may work to our advantage with regards to meeting the little green men, Estes Rockets are kinda small so we need really small pilots. Maybe Mars has an ATF of their own....

estes!

Japan has teamed up with the Estes Corporation to begin a reusable rocket program. Said chief scientist Bo Bo Li, "I got the idea when I was buying a model car kit in the hobby shop. It's working great for us, except that sometimes we lose the rocket when it falls back to earth."

Seriously Estes has E Engines back in production :-)

Or check out my web site for a whole bunch of people who have forgotten more about rockets than Steve Bennett Knows.