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Rocket Guy Getting Closer - But No Firm Launch Date

Posted by timothy on from the check-out-the-napkin-art dept.

BoomZilla writes "Brian Walker, the self styled "Rocket Guy" is making excellent progress with his one-man booster. Project R.U.S.H. plans to launch Brian in to orbit 'sometime later this year'. Brian's site (http://www.rocketguy.com/rocket.html) has many excellent pictures of the rocket and launch site (his backyard!) under construction. This is certainly the real (if somewhat dangerous) deal." (And Napkin Art? Look here.) Update: 05/29 04:08 GMT by T : Brian Walker dropped a note to point out that his plan is actually for a sub-orbital flight 35 miles up, not Earth orbit.

2 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. Not going into orbit by mikosullivan · · Score: 5, Informative
    He's not planning on going into orbit, or even into space. From his page (Google cached version):
    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.
    --
    Miko O'Sullivan
  2. It's unstable by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative
    The "exhaust in the nose, stabilize by gravity" approach doesn't work. Tailfins work in atmosphere, and active stabilization works, but putting the exhaust in the nose, pointing rearward, does not impart any stability. When the rocket tilts, the thust angle goes with it.

    Goddard tried that in his first model. "In his earliest rockets, he placed the engine at the top of the vehicle and the fuel tanks below. However, he soon found that this "nose drive" arrangement was too unstable, so he placed the motor at the bottom, as in all modern rockets."

    More specifically, Goddard's 1926 rocket (Goddard 1) reached an altitude of 41 feet. (Not 41,000 feet, forty-one feet.) It was really just an engine test vehicle. Goddard 2 was the same design, 20x bigger, and was a failure. Goddard 3 caught in the launch tower a few times, and finally flew 205 feet. Goddard 4 reached 2000 feet. Goddard 4 used various control systems; remote control was tried, then eight gyro-controlled vanes. Goddard A made short flights without a control system, then 1000 feet up (but 11000 feet horizontally - oops) with a pendulum-controlled stabilizer that didn't work very well.

    Once Goddard got gyro-controlled stabilization working, things got much better. Goddard A reached 4800 feet, then 7500 feet. WWII interrupted further experimentation.

    The German V-2 was actively stabilized with gyro controlled vanes in the exhaust. Those big tailfins didn't do the whole job. Since then, rockets have dispensed with the fins and relied entirely on the control system.

    Rocket Guy has to have been told this by now. He must be in denial about the stability problem.