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To the Moon, Alice
Wa7ly writes: "An amateur rocket scientist in the US hopes to blast off into space this autumn in a $250,000 rocket he built in his back yard. This seems to be a really great idea if he can successfully pull it off and come back to earth safely!" *cough*Darwin Award*cough*
The guys got a website http://www.rocketguy.com
hawk
For more information on this phenomenon, see the scary article at http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html.
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
As a close friend of Rocket Guy ...
You might be the right person to ask this to then. How does he intend to prevent the rocket from going up and over and straight back down into the ground, or else up and around and around like a catherine wheel?
The mere fact that the rocket outlet is in front of the centre of mass of the vehicle does not guarantee anything at all about the direction of travel. If the thrust is sufficient but not perfectly balanced on the line between the centre of mass of the rocket and the gravitational centre of the Earth, the leading rocket can easily pull the whole vehicle up and around and down or into a rapid catherine wheel spin.
There could be absolutely nothing the pilot can do about this manually because the potentially huge inertial forces could pin him (or any mechanical devices) into immobility. And it could all happen so fast that he wouldn't have time to balance the upward thrust nicely.
The time to think about this is now.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
Ahem... the guy (AKA Larry Walters, e.g. "Lawn Chair Larry") who put baloons on his lawn chair and flew up into the sky had it go off like a charm, if I remember correctly. He got up to about 16000 feet, drifted for 14 hours, drank beer, and ate sandwiches, before finally drifting into an LAX approach lane, at which point he descended, got caught in some power lines, and climbed down. He survived, and got probably the coolest, quietest, and most serene bird's eye view of Los Angeles (parts of it at night, no less) that anyone in history has ever gotten. How do you call that a failure?
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I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
A good summary of Larry Walter's lawn chair flight is available at Snopes.
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One of the issues that the FAA is going to be concerned about is range safety. This means that the people who are launching the rocket will have to convince the FAA that the rocket is not going to nose over and crash into an elementary school. For NASA, commercial and military launches, there is a Range Safety Officer (RSO) who is responsible for sending a destruct command to the launch vehicle if it deviates from the planned trajectory.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
I went to the guys site, and the tech is at the very least plausable. The Silver/H2O2 tech has proven itself (rocket powered dragster Sprit Of Australia - 300+ MPH/4.11 second 1/4 mile), and the rest seems not without merit. I think he'll land using the chute on his back - but he'll land.
Yes, he has a good shot at the Darwin Award to be sure, but he might actally be the first to collect the X Prize. What he proposes isn't any sillier than what these inventive people from my country intend to use to collect the $10M US (about $20CDN).
I myself salute his moxy and entrepreneurial spirit. No way I'd hit the button to light that candle.
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
Maybe Slashdot should set up an interview so we can submit questions to him. It would be interesting to see what he has to say.
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I know it was mentioned on the older article:
This guy would do well to look over this web page, and understand why rockets are inverted, rather than hanging, pendulums.
If he continues with his current plan, about all he'll end up doing is making a nice crater in the lake bed...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
some fucking bike shop owners from north carolina trying to FLY, for god's sake, FLY!
This would be very like /. considering the brothers weren't from North Carolina. :-)
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
This story was reported on Slashdot over 6 months ago with a link to a seattletimes.com story having slightly more information.
Well, that is you. But some people would rather be a captain than a tourist.
:)
I am not planning on following either of these guys, but I have more respect for this guy than Tito.
Tito is basically a spoiled rich guy who has figured out that for enough money you can get almost anyone to do almost anything. But designing and building the rocket yourself on another level.
They should make a Mastercard commercial about it
The fact that this guy didn't go to college is irrellevant. What makes him certifiable, is that he is going to launch himselve 36 miles into the outer atmosphere. Of course his celebration plan is to get drunk at Hooters, which makes him some kind of crazy-idiot-genius all at the same time.
Someone you trust is one of us.
How about the February issue of Space Illustrated, the magazine produced by the space.com people?
http://www.space.com/mag/contents_february.php3
(Now granted, space.com may not be a reputable source either, to those in the space biz, but it's at least better than the NY Post...)
I don't know about the Darwin Award - it takes quite a lot of skill and intelligence to kill yourself like this.
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
Considering the odds, he should be asking for more Hooters girls, and he should be getting more than beer and champagne from them! No offense to the girls too - they should feel safe making this bet with him. ;-)
Many people called the Wright brothers nuts, and they made their stuff out of bicycle parts.
Both dropped out of High School.
They acheived flight w/o government/public money -- only what they earned via a printing business, then a bicycle shop.
I think he is carrying on a fine tradition where one person with guts can make a big impact on the world.
Treatment, not tyranny. End the drug war and free our American POWs.
See my user info for links.
Maybe "they" should invent a new award called the creationist award which celebrates skilful and intelligent people who kill themselves - Proof that evolution doesn't provide the best of breed necessary to have created the race we are now.
pah!
slyrp
Waypoint 1: Up
Final destination: Back down
How about the Oregonian, Oregon's largest paper.
Also, St. Petersburg Times and the guy was supposedly on CBS "The Early Show", too.
I fell out of the chair laughing.
Incidentall, did Nasa have to file flight plans during the shuttle launches? They'd be interesting to see.
I have a shotgun, a shovel and 30 acres behind the barn.
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Of all the famous people that we get an Ask _____ about, why not this guy? Seriously, someone from /. should contact this guy and set him up with an interview. By the sound of his intent, I bet he'd be happy to do it. And we could get some great info from him about his attempt (since we realistically might not be able to talk with him AFTER the attempt, God forbid)
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Let me give you the lowdown
After all, this is rocket science, not brain surgery.
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Freeper Logic
This article previously on slashdot provides a useful prospective. It's interesting to look at where he was then, and how close he is now. I honestly hope it works.... would be nice to see that you can get into space without being an astronaut, or more money than a small country. Just my two cents.
A college dropout who attended just two semesters of engineering school, Walker will be staking his life on how well he has been able to teach himself rocket science.
I'm staying indoors
... a higher opinion of this man's engineering skills and intelligence if he'd planned an unmanned test first.
Bad enough you should ride in a vehicle with untested fabrication. Sheer lunacy to ride in one with untested design as well...
-- AndrewD
A Maze of Twisty Little Laws, All Different.
I mean, come on, just because the guy did not complete a college degree doesn't make him an idiot. It seems too many people are down on this guy just because he doesn't have a degree behind his name. Don't get me wrong, I do find the magnitude and risks of this undertaking quite high. That's a no brainer. But who here is to say he won't pull this off. If its because he has no degree, I say think again.
One thing I keep learning as I get older, there are a lot of idiots with degrees out there, engineers and computer scientists included. I have a neighbor who works for Boeing, has a masters engineering. He supposedly designs the consoles in F15's. This same guy has his pilot light go out a few years ago in his water heater, and had no idea how to relight it! So he came over and ask my step-father, who has no degree, to come over and fix it for him.
My step-father on the other hand can do about anything he wants. I've seen him build computers, write his own programs, fix cars, build cars from scrap, build an in ground pool of his own design, add on to our garage, repair air conditioners and heaters, wire commercial building, and build a network at his work...he's supposed to be the maintenance guy. Did I mention he only had a high school graduation?
Of course there are idiots w/o degrees and geniuses with several, but there is no good correlation (ie. degree=intelligent) that I have noticed in my admittedly short time on earth. Just a lot of idiots that think they know something because they have a degree.
Mr. Walker should be commended for his ambition, its people like this that change the world.
puck
I know Earthstar I isn't the Phoenix, but doesn't this sound like the plot of Star Trek: First Contact ? Amateur guy builds a rocket part. I mean, I assume he's not telling anybody about the warp drive part.
I can imagine Orville Wright saying the same thing...
"If I die, I die", he scoffed. "I'd rather die trying this than spend the next 40 years making bicycles, bitter that I never made the attempt."
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-- russ
"You want people to think logically? ACK! Turn in your UID, you traitor!"
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
Darwin Award, Schmarwin Award. At least he's out there trying instead of sitting around mocking people for expending effort.
"'If I die, I die,' he scoffs. 'I'd rather die trying this than spend the next 40 years bitter that I never made the attempt.'"
Godspeed and good luck, Mr. Walker..
end communication
I caught in in the Local news shows the last few weeks. People are taking it seriously, here...
Momentum will carry Walker and his capsule up to 32 miles, where he will experience several moments of weightlessness and then begin to fall back toward Earth.
Reporter: Since you've miraculously survived your voyage in Earthstar 1, we'd like to ask a few questions. Looking back on your project, what would you have done differently and what will you do differently when and if you try again.
Walker: (In a body cast) I think I'm going to spend a less time concentrating on those few moments of weightlessness and a little more time packing some reentry parachutes.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Before you judge get a few of the facts straight.
He is NOT going into space. Space starts at 58 miles up. The goal is to go straight up 30 miles. There are no plans for orbit just to set the altitude record for a private citizen. Orbit requires going at least 170 miles up and going 17,000 MPH around the earth. Lots of up and lots of sideways. Going up to a straight up to a stop and dropping back down is different.
The rocket will be fueled by 90 percent pure hydrogen peroxide. It reacts with a silver catalyst screen to produce thrust. This is the same thing the Bell jet belt used. Footage of the Bell jet belt was used in the TV series "Lost in Space" the TV series. This fuel only has about 1/3 the energy of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. That's why it usually isn't used for a rocket. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are also very dangerous to deal with.
What about re-entry? Since he is going up and not sideways re-entry isn't as much of a problem as going 17,000 MPH and hitting the atmosphere at an angle. It's up, up, up to basically a stall and falling back down with parachutes to slow you down. He is going to have an option to eject and use a conventional backpack parachute.
He must not be that big an idiot, he's a millionaire and i'm not. Lots of people do really risky things (like climbing Everest or K-2) but I can't figure out why. I hope this guy did his math right...pure hydrogen peroxide and silver produces quite a punch, if it works it will be a wild ride. -ted
You moron.
Lets see.
Bill Gates are Larry Ellison perhaps the two most famous uni drop outs. Obviously their life works deserve to be mocked.
He's a multi-millionare due to the numerous childrens toy's he's invented through his own creativity and entrepreneurship. Naturally, that is an "achievement" worthy of mockery.
He's now spent two years of his life attempting to do something only government agencies have previously suceeded at.
If he fails, so what? At least he's acted on his dreams, and not spent his life cutting down tall poppies.
F**k the armchair generals.
Doubtme
There's no $$$ in 'team'...
www..--..net - for incisive, w
Russia was similarly successful in avoiding fungal monikers. Sputnik, however, might be considered only a minor success, mind you, as it makes the mistake of being most easily likened to a sound you make when you sneeze.
Last I heard, Taco Bell was planning on giving everyone in Oregon a free Fajita if Walker lands on one of the Hooter girls.
Apparently it won't matter if he's intact or not.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.