Slashdot Mirror
Record-Breaking Model Rocket Launch Set For April 25
darkjohnson writes with this impressive excerpt from Rocketry Planet: "On April 25, 2009, history will be made. At Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland, Steve Eves will enter the history books as the person who flew the largest model rocket in history. The rocket will weigh over 1,600 pounds, it will stand over 36 feet tall and it will be powered by a massive array of nine motors: eight 13,000ns N-Class motors and a 77,000ns P-Class motor."
Even though it makes this stuff look pretty simple in comparison, it still makes me want to dig out my old home made launcher and build a rocket.
I remember as a teenager saving up for months to buy the Estes designer's kit. I set up a card table in my room where I designed and built quite a few rockets - nothing that used bigger than a D engine. I'll never forget the night I left a bottle of dope open on the table. Very bizarre dreams that night. Learned to keep the window open when I worked on stuff and to shut everything up when I was done.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
When exactly does a model rocket become just a rocket?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJdrlWR-yFM
The German V2 rockets were only 46 feet in length - although they were much heavier.
What I'm trying to say is this dude's rocket ain't no model - he's launching a real rocket.
DISCLAIMER: This post was not checked for speling and grammar- if you complain- you're a whiner
"On April 25, 2009, history will be made. At Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland, Steve Eves will enter the history books as the person who flew the largest model rocket in history. The rocket will weigh over 1,600 pounds, it will stand over 36 feet tall and it will be powered by a massive array of nine motors: eight 13,000ns N-Class motors and a 77,000ns P-Class motor."
Not joking here, i'm surprised the government has not stepped in and stopped him.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Reminds me of this not amazing, but fun for kids movie about a guy that built the full size thing in his backyard.
Funny, the alarmist guy here sounds like some of the government types int he movie :)
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1203785&cid=27628631
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
.....the world's tallest midget?
I think he should take it further and build a seat in the thing so when he hits the top he can skydive the rest of the way and if the rocket fails will be a huge mistake on his part
It's great that regular folk can do these things One thing though - I wonder just how bi
it will stand over 36 fe*END OF CARRIER*
Little did Timothy know the true purpose of the rocket and its payload. ::evil laughter in the distance::
honest, its just a communications satellite
it's slashdotted!
At 1600 pounds and 36 feet when does a model rocket become just a rocket?
"On April 25, 2009, history will be made. At Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland, Steve Eves will enter the history books as the person who flew the smallest full-scale rocket in history. The rocket will weigh over 1,600 pounds, it will stand over 36 feet..."
...Kim Jong-il.
Have gnu, will travel.
I don't really think this is a model anymore...
...need to prove the existence of the Higgs Farm. Some have theorized that all vegetables gain their mass from the Higgs field. Now we may finally know.
I thought model rockets were just when you were following a kit and/or exact instructions..... I would think this would just fall under amateur rocketry....
From wikipedia:
A model rocket is a small rocket capable of being launched by anybody, to generally low altitudes (usually to around 100-500 m (300-1500 ft) for a 30 g (1 oz.) model) and recovered by a variety of means.
According to the National Association of Rocketry, (NAR) Safety Code[1], model rockets are constructed of paper, wood, plastic and other lightweight materials.
How does one add tags, or is that for ubergurus only? This site has crashed and burned. I got database errors, the first page for a moment, and then:
This site is temporarily unavailable.
Please notify the System Administrator
Tag lost or not installed.
I am overjoyed that this man will enter the record books. Just out of curi
How does it compare to the Top Gear Reliant Robin Shuttle? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WzWFKQ20
I have a hard time seeing how something larger and more powerful than most of Goddard's devices can be called a "model". Amateur-built, sure. But not a "model".
sPh
FYI, the definition of a "model rocket" is pretty clear, and this isn't one.
Otherwise, this is just a rocket built by a private party. Nothing wrong with that as long as the appropriate rules and regulations are followed.
Honestly, check out http://www.balls18.com. The biggest HPR launch in the world with a FAA waiver to fly to 100k feet.
Unfortunately, that thing won't go super high. It's a heavy rocket. I wouldn't want it to land anywhere near me.
This is not a new process just the biggest yet. There have been FAA clearance to 50k feet out west. The difference between a NASA or Military Rocket and a Model Rocket is one costs billions of dollars and has fail rate of thirty percent. A model rocket cost less than fifty thousand and has a fail rate of fifty percent.
William D Howell Sr.
Rocketry Planet, the originating site of this story, appears to be temporarily offline due to a database problem. Me thinks this may be a perfect example of the "Slashdot Effect"...
I was waiting for an editorial comment to the effect of "knock on wood."
He could very easily become the person who exploded the largest model rocket before it left the launch pad.
Well, that breaks down when the FAA tries to take over control of one of the Navy's designated area of operations.
Right, because the Navy has weapons and the FAA doesn't. I'll put my money on the Navy in that fight.
At launch:
11.2 Meters tall (36 feet)
Lift off mass: over 1400kg
Translation: 37.4 feet tall, 3075lb
The Biggest, most powerful none commercial rocket ever.
Great stuff for the resume if you're looking to explore the burgeoning rocketry market in North Korea.
Maybe the biggest in the US, but Top Gear launched a model space shuttle with a car on it a few years ago....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WzWFKQ20
I'm reminded of the TopGear episode
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WzWFKQ20
where they launch a Reliant Robin (old 3 wheel car) as a re-usable space shuttle on the back of one of these things
I wonder how the size compares?
You say it's a model rocket. But can you tell me what it really is?
Regards Kim Jong Il
If you quote this signature there'll be 72 copies of Windows ME waiting for you in Heaven.
Is this a copy of the North Korea rocket, or is it even more powerful?
Which one made it the highest? (not what was reported by N Korea, but actual height reached)
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
13 and 77 microseconds? Talk about quick.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
http://www.rocketsmagazine.com/saturn-v-project/Main.html
SIGLOST && SIGUNUSED && SIGQUIT
http://www.nar.org/NARmrsc.html
Extrapolating from their table of engine sizes, the "site dimensions" would need to be 68 miles across.
The "escape" clause for rockets of more than one pound seems like a recent addition. Was that there when I was a kid?
Steve Eves sounds like a nice wholesome 'American' name. If that much bomb making material were purchased by someone with the last name of say Ali or, I don't know, Megahed then they wouldn't have made it out the door of the hobbyshop before being arrested for being a terrorist. But, we would possibly be PC about it and never used the T word in the actual arrest.
Every year they launch from BLM land on the Blackrock dessert. On two days the have FAA clearance to 100,000' MSL
Last year the highest rocket hit 31,000' MSL and hit just pver mach 3. The motor had a burn time of just a little under 4 seconds.
And yes the FAA issues NOTAM's ( Notice to airman ) with the appropriate lat and long for the launch area.
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
The abbreviation is the summary is wrong. The correct unit is "Newton seconds" or "Ns", not "ns". Newton-seconds are a measure of impulse, i.e. the average thrust generated times the duration of the motor burn.
Of course the peak thrust matters too, if it is not greater than the weight of the rocket, the rocket won't lift off of the ground. Any net upward acceleration will only occur during the period the rocket is pointed up and the motor thrust is greater than the weight. Of course the rocket will keep moving upward for a considerable period after the net upward acceleration has stopped. A typical projectile (i.e. a non rocket) experiences net downward acceleration (due to gravity) during its entire flight.
Maybe N. Korea should hire him
Considering their most recent attempt was a grand botch-o-lito
"Suppose you were an idiot...and suppose you were a member of Congress...but I repeat myself." Mark Twain
The US Federal Aviation Administration rules relevant to unmanned rocketry are in CFR Title 14, 101.21 to 101.27. In 101.22 one finds the definitions of "Model Rocket", "High-Power Rocket", and "Advanced High-Power Rocket" relevant in the United States:
So according to this taxonomy, Mr. Eves' rocket is an advanced high-power rocket, and is not a model rocket.
The propellant formulations (Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant--APCP) used for high power model rockets are essentially the same as the one used in the solid rocket boosters that lift the Space Shuttle.
Granted, model rockets don't use LOX. LH2 or hypergolics, but some of us are playing around with hybrids like Rutan used on SpaceShipOne.
Remember "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters"? Help make it a reality again! http://soylentnews.org
That sure is some type o' dong.
... and then they built the supercollider.
I dunno, the Saturn V required guidance to remain stable. I hope he's done his math, or he could end up X-winging it.
There will be a KABOOM!
Sig this!
I've been wanting to create a true liquid-fueled model rocket - kerosene and LOX - just like Goddard's - since I was 8 years old.
There is very, very little info on the net about this. There's a few pamphlets from the 70s, but they all use compressed O2, not LOX.
Any info would be appreciated, because I've decided that *this* will be my mid-life crisis project.
Surely it gets to a point where it is no longer a "model".
An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
Quite a few years back I heard some funny and interesting stories about a guy, I think it might have been this David Adair guy in the link below. Anyway, David was a child prodigy and amateur rocket enthusiast and at the age of 11 he was launching larger and larger rockets. He built a rocket that went from the East Coast to Area 51.
If the story is to be believed and this part is nothing that outrageous so why not, The first time he launched a large rocket it set off warnings, people thought some enemy power was shooting at us. Well after that he was asked to notify people so that they knew and they could verify the airspace was clear of airplanes.
It is interesting that in a simpler time, they would not have prevented him from launching and of course it did not hurt to have neighbors that were in the military and government vouching for you either. At least that is the story.
The people that would gather to watch him launch, knew that if he took off running that they should probably be running too.
Not sure if this story is the same one or not, there is so much disinformation around military and experimental aircraft. But figured most would find it entertaining regardless.
At least this one is relatively similar to the story I heard.
I really like this excerpt about no visible light source:
The most interesting thing about this to me still is how well lit the underground area was. There were no shadows, anywhere. And there were no light fixtures, anywhere. I was wondering how they generated that much light. It didn't look like the walls were glowing, or the floor or the ceiling. But every square inch of this place was lit, and yet there was no visible source of light.
I will not even go into about whether UFOs are terrestrial or extra terrestrial. As with Religion, Politics and a few other subjects, everyone believes whatever they believe and if someone else challenges those beliefs, rather than having an interesting conversation (my typical and preferred reaction) people tend to get upset. So no point in anyone going there, that was NOT my intent with this post..
Why can we not agree to disagree when necessary and let it stop there.
I remember several years ago reading an article on the web where some guys were building a model rocket with an optical tracking and guidance system. They were essentially building an optically guided surface to air missile.
I have not been able to find that article since.
I wonder what happened to it and their project?
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
Calling this a "model rocket" brings up images of kids in an open field clipping leads to chicken-bone igniters.
OK, this is a "model" because its shell is a scale model of a Saturn V, but calling it a "model rocket" is like calling "stock" styled drag racers "model cars" just because they have a fiberglass model of a street car bolted to their frame.