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1 Amateur Rocket Crashes, Another Explodes

Posted by timothy on from the eggs-striving-to-be-omelets dept.

prostoalex writes "A 23-foot-long space rocket carrying 3 dummies exploded in the Pacific Northwest after reaching about 200 feet. The team was competing for Ansari X Prize, offering $10 million to the team that successfully completes a low-budget private space rocket capable of carrying men into space. Google News offers more perspectives into the event, the team is saying the rocket, whose parachute malfunctioned, would have to be rebuilt." And AmiNTT writes "Everygeek's favorite rocketeers over at Armadillo Aerospace have suffered a fairly serious setback over the weekend - the crash of their 48-inch vehicle link in a test hop at their 100 acre test field. Of course there is video and pictures - 2 3... This setback should keep them from flying for about five weeks, but will give them a chance to make some design changes. I'm sure they will be back better than ever. (Armadillo have shown up on Slashdot many times in the past.)"

27 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. poor dummies by metalac · · Score: 5, Funny

    It seems that nobody pays any attention to the dummies, they are the real victims here, but nobody cares.

    What kind of world are we living? I say it's end of the world when we stop carying for dummies.

    1. Re:poor dummies by Anoraknid+the+Sartor · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't worry, there will still be enough around for you all to vote for come November....

      --
      Find Japanese addresses in English on Google Maps Japan: http://diddlefinger.com/
  2. doom3 by Wakkow · · Score: 4, Funny

    Best quote from the weblog about the incident:

    "Amazingly, even though the on-board camera was destroyed, the tape did survive with only some scuffed sections. It's a good thing Doom 3 is selling very well..."

    1. Re:doom3 by ron_ivi · · Score: 4, Funny

      Amusing how the little puffs of steam coming off the ship on the video look like video-game-explosion-effects too, and not what Hollywood would show for a crashing rocket.

    2. Re:doom3 by John+Carmack · · Score: 5, Funny

      I said the same thing -- the puffs from the flying tank look just like a bad particle system that dropped points far too sparsely. Strange.

      John Carmack

  3. Eventually they'll change their name... by omegacentrix · · Score: 5, Funny

    to the Union Aerospace Corporation...

  4. Armadillo Aerospace down for the count? by wviperw · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sometimes I think you people actually take JOY out of directly linking to large JPGs and MPGs on /.

    Ahh well, Armadillo Aerospace is down, but at least there is still Union Aerospace to look at. Err... wait.

    --
    Nothing disturbs me more than blind loyalism towards some unrealistic and over-idealistic notion of one's nationality.
    1. Re:Armadillo Aerospace down for the count? by ErikTheRed · · Score: 4, Funny

      So they'll be spending $35,000 for a new rocket, and $35,000 for the bandwidth charges incurred by the slashdot linkage...

      --

      Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
  5. FORTUNATELY FOR US... by ferrellcat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fortunately for us, the three dummies were Bush, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft.

  6. Looks like more than their rocket crashed by falcon5768 · · Score: 2, Funny

    course nothing can escape the dreaded slashdotting... its like the evil bunnies with fangs ^^.

    --

    "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  7. Crash and learn by Viadd · · Score: 4, Funny
    Everything else operated perfectly, so we still feel good about the general configuration
    "Apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

    So you have a Loss Of Vehicle accident, and yet you are not convening an accident investigation board with six months of hearings leading to recommendations that require you to ground all flights for the next decade. You'll never become the next NASA with that attitude.
  8. Consolation by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, if they fail the X-prize in a live run, there's always the Darwin Awards. Either way, you get an award :-)

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  9. Re:You'd Think... by ErikTheRed · · Score: 2, Funny
    sigh*...looks like Scaled Composites is still that much further along than anyone else. Honestly, does anyone think any of the other teams have a chance of beating them?
    Not any more... I stole their sparkplug wires... They'll spend weeks trying to figure it out!
    --

    Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
  10. Re:Armadillo aren't stopping... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    if in a few years time we have the "Y-Prize" for orbital shots.

    I don't know... I'd call that the "XX-Prize" with the followup "XXX-Prize" for first sex (M+F) in orbit.

  11. It's their own fault. by 0x0d0a · · Score: 4, Funny

    They should have read Rocketry for Dummies.

    --
    May we never see th
  12. Captain's announcement: by Alsee · · Score: 2, Funny

    48-inch vehicle

    This is your captain speaking, please remain remain in a seated position.

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  13. Make Improvements... by waynemcdougall · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...she's breaking up! She's breaking up!....<crash>

    The private rocket project barely alive...

    Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the technology.

    We can make it better than it was before.

    Better...

    ...stronger...
    ...higher...
    For the $10 million dollar X-Prize
    --
    Recycle PCs and build a wireless community network www.hillsborough.org.nz
  14. Sweet justice.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Carmack, that's what you get for flying the rocket in complete darkness, without a helmet-mounted flashlight!

  15. Other Contestants by appleLaserWriter · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will North Korea be allowed to enter?

  16. decapitated dummy pic by FleaPlus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Check out the pic of the dummy head detached from its body from this article.

    Poor, poor dummy.

    1. Re:decapitated dummy pic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Shortly afterward the dummies announced they are pulling all their troops out of Iraq.

  17. How could this happen? by thrills33ker · · Score: 1, Funny

    I mean, its not rocket science... oh, hang on.

    In Soviet Russia, rockets explode YOU!

    etc.

  18. The Moon *can* be terraformed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Moon cannot be terraformed.

    Don't be discouraged by the fact that the Moon can't hold onto its atmosphere for very long, that's not a problem if the materials are continually replenished. Since the supply of politicians and lawyers is inexhaustable, as long as we keep dumping them onto the surface there shouldn't be any problem with maintaining good levels of hot air and organic compounds.

  19. free dummies by acomj · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hoped someone tried to catch them..

    Because, hey... free dummies.

    AH the power of the deep thought

  20. Re:October Sky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Domo Arigato Yks Rebotko.

  21. Estes rocket kit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    This is interesting. The Estes Rubicon model rocket can go higher (450 ft) than the actual one did before it exploded (200 ft).

    "Mighty D powered 1:11 scale model of the Space Transport Corporation entry for the X-Prize will fly to 450 feet!"

    http://www.discountrocketry.com/prod.itml/icOid/11 70/

  22. You dirt bag! by MouseR · · Score: 2, Funny

    First Armadillo crashes a test vehicle, and THEN you link a video off their site directly on /., ultimately crashing their server.

    You sick 'dillo.