Slashdot Mirror
Rocket Racing League Flights With Armadillo Engine
Toren Altair mentions that the Rocket Racing League has video and pictures available from their recent flight tests of new Armadillo Aerospace liquid oxygen-alcohol engines. "Founded in 2005 by two-time Indianapolis 500 winning team partner Granger Whitelaw and X PRIZE Chairman and CEO Peter H. Diamandis, MD, the Rocket Racing League (RRL) is a new entertainment sports league that combines the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines. To be held at venues across the country, the Rocket Racing League will feature multiple races pitting up to 10 Rocket Racers going head to head in a 4-lap, multiple elimination heat format on a 5-mile 'Formula One'-like closed circuit raceway in the sky."
Interesting trivia for the /. crowd: Armadillo Aerospace was founded by John Carmack, id Software programmer.
> Or it might go corkscrewing off towards the nearest building and everyone will be all "9/11!!!eleventy!!!"
Or they just might, you know, hold the races somewhere where there aren't any buildings to crash into.
It's got more power than the XCOR engine, which is why RRL is switching to Armadillo as its primary engine manufacturer.
2008 is the last year they will have the grooved tires. Next year, they'll allow full slicks again, but the aero requirements will be much more stringent (I've heard some people say that the new cars will have half as much downforce). All of this is part of Bernie's plan to make F1 cheaper for the smaller teams to participate (see Super Aguri Honda's withdrawl from the series.)
Just a nitpick but it's actually only been 8 years. And they only switched over to cryogen/biprop engines 4 years ago. While there certainly is carryover from the lessons learned from the hydrogen peroxide work before that, they are fairly different regimes.
This doesn't negate your point that it is difficult and has taken a while to get here; I just wanted to clarify.