ULA Interns Launch Record-Breaking 50-Foot Rocket (space.com)

schwit1 writes: A team of United Launch Alliance (ULA) interns, working in their spare time, have successfully launched the largest model rocket every built. Space.com reports: "On Sunday (July 24), ULA launched the 50-foot-tall (15.24 meters) Future Heavy rocket out of Fort Carson Army Post, breaking the record for 'the largest sport rocket launched anywhere in the world,' according to a statement from ULA. The Future Heavy is also notable because it was built entirely by company interns and their mentors. 'We like [our interns] to have a very realistic experience,' ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno told Space.com at the Space Symposium meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last April." Calling it a "model rocket" really isn't fair. The thing is big, and really ranks up there with many of the suborbital rockets NASA used to routinely fly out of Wallops Island. [The fact that] ULA has provided support for this effort again suggests that the leadership of Bruno is reshaping the company into a much more innovative and competitive company.

Comments

GASP TERROREESM!

[Anonymous Coward]

BAN! ARREST! PROSECUTE!

Re:GASP TERROREESM!

[Anonymous Coward]

Straight to GITMO!

Re:GASP TERROREESM!

[RabidReindeer]

Remember, kids, Science is Lies straight from the Pit of Hell!

Real Americans don't mess around with chemicals or electronics, that's what outsourcing to Communist China is for! REAL Americans only mess around with guns. That's 'cause we've got FREEDOM!

So kids, if you See Something, Say Something! Report it immediately to the Department of Fatherland Security. Even if it's you're own parents! We'll arrest those damn Liberal Terrorists and give you a nice shiny medal!

Re:GASP TERROREESM!

[Anonymous Coward]

but, but what if we use it as a weapon!
GO USA!

Re:GASP TERROREESM!

[ArtemaOne]

*your

Re: GASP TERROREESM!

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait...built a record-breaking rocket in their spare time? Just for laughs? In an age where there are foreign dictatorial regimes that can't seem to get this kind of tech worked out, having people that can do it as a hobby on our side of the fence should definitely get the attention of the powers that be.

Re: GASP TERROREESM!

[Anonymous Coward]

Nevermind that non-profit Terroreesm nonsense...Uncle Capitaleesm says:
"NAB! MOLEST!! PROSTITUTE!!!"

"Model rocket" eh

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

The German V-2 rocket was smaller than this thing, and it's been accurately described as the first successful ballistic missile.

It just goes to show, depending on who builds it, something may be an enlightened amateur rocket or a dangerous enemy weapon.

Re: "Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe "who built it" really is pertinent. Was it professionals building a production vehicle, or was it amateurs building a one-off?

Re: "Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

Not "who" but "why". The V-2 "revenge weapon 2" leaves little doubt as to its purpose.
Realistically though politicians do fall back on "who" because it's easier to determine and pigeonhole than "why" - but your example does not show this.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[DrXym]

It's not the length that matters but the girth.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[NoNonAlphaCharsHere]

The German V-2 rocket was smaller than this thing, and it's been accurately described as the first successful ballistic missile.

It just goes to show, depending on who builds it, something may be an enlightened amateur rocket or a dangerous enemy weapon.

As the old saying goes, "it's not how big it is, it's how you use it".

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

You can say the same thing for propeller planes, jet planes, computers... What's your point??

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[nukenerd]

I think that the term "Model Rocket" is the problem. What is it a model of?

In fact the Saturn V at nearly 3000 tons is the largest model rocket. It is a 1:1 scale model of itself.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

As the old saying goes, "it's not how big it is, it's how you use it".

Actually, the saying was, "It ain't the meat, it's the motion."

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[Pseudonymous Powers]

I think that the term "Model Rocket" is the problem. What is it a model of?

In fact the Saturn V at nearly 3000 tons is the largest model rocket. It is a 1:1 scale model of itself.

I agree. If something accelerates itself by spraying some sort of propellant out its backside without sucking it in from the outside first, it's an actual rocket, no matter how small it may be. A model rocket, by contrast, might be whittled out of wood, or molded out of plasticine.

Of course, an actual rocket might also happen to be a model of something, mostly likely another rocket. In that case, it'd be a rocket model and a model rocket.

Re: "Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

A model rocket is an unhealthfully skinny rocket paid to display the latest paint jobs at "launchpad" shows. Sometimes they fall over during the shows.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[chispito]

It just goes to show, depending on who builds it, something may be an enlightened amateur rocket or a dangerous enemy weapon.

That's ridiculous. For one thing, this is an amateur rocket because they were not paid to build it. Even more importantly, where the device is aimed and what it is supposed to do when it gets there, is what determines if it is a weapon or not.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[roman_mir]

It just goes to show, depending on who builds it, something may be an enlightened amateur rocket or a dangerous enemy weapon.

- false. This rocket is long, but it only weighs 1200 pounds. V-2 weighed almost 27,600 pounds and it had a 1000kg warhead on it that could be delivered to a 300km distance from launch.

I don't think it's just the name here that makes the difference.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[chihowa]

Most importantly, is the obvious presence of an explosive warhead on the V-2 and its absence on a hobby rocket (or any other rocket that isn't thought of as a weapon).

Had these interns put a 910 kg explosive warhead on this thing, I'm sure people would consider it a dangerous weapon, even if they never aimed it at anyone or intended it to explode when it arrived.

Re: "Model rocket" eh

[Pseudonymous Powers]

A model rocket is an unhealthfully skinny rocket paid to display the latest paint jobs at "launchpad" shows. Sometimes they fall over during the shows.

Yes, in model rocketry there's a lot of pressure to lower your mass fraction, which leads to unhealthy behaviors like covert propellant dumping, but only a few of the models are actually clinically hypergolic.

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that what she said?

Re: "Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's not forget about the improved friction drag coefficient that is produced by the thinner models of today...something the buxom and rubenesque models of yesteryear could not hope to achieve.

Re: "Model rocket" eh

[lucien86]

The two are incomparable. The V2 was a power beast, fuelled by ethanol/water and liquid oxygen, it flew far higher and much further while at the same time carrying a heavy payload.

(V2 verses Future Heavy - lateral range 350 Km verses maybe 5 Km, altitude ceiling 200 Km verses 3 Km, Payload 1 ton (1000 Kg) verses maybe 20 Kg)

Re:"Model rocket" eh

[Anonymous Coward]

It's bitztream, the autism-hating Slashdot troll!

Every Built?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on Slashdot editors, ever freaking time!

Re:Every Built?!?

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Actually they meant Avery. A guy called Avery made it, and it's the largest Avery built.

Shorter != Smaller

[Anonymous Coward]

As title.

Isn't the Top Gear shuttle bigger ?

[johnhennessy]

Supposed to be a 1/5 th model of the Shuttle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The SRBs were 150ft tall, so 1/5 would make it only 30 feet. But there are two of them!!

Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[Anonymous Coward]

Seems to basically be a PR campaign by ULA, using unpaid interns on their off hours. I suppose as long as its completely voluntary and in no way tied to hiring/advancement in the company fine. But it's not improving my perception of them as a company.

Re:Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[spiritplumber]

It improves mine. If you intern at a company doing X, it's usually because you're interested in X. 95% of the time you end up running errands and making coffee and maybe being exposed to X a little bit, sort of by osmosis. These guys took their interns and actually let them play KSP in real life. That's awesome.

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like the crying of a millennial snowflake who doesn't want to work but expects to get paid. How typical. Quit your whining and work hard, but that's apparently far too much to ask from the millennial snowflakes. Fuck all millennials.

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, with long hours and no pay. Interns shouldn't be legal, everyone should be paid for working.

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[110010001000]

ULA interns get paid.

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[Anonymous Coward]

Interns do get paid. However, the millennial snowflakes just endlessly whine that they don't get paid enough, while expecting to not work hard. They expect things like playful workdays and don't think they need to actually get things done. That's why their earnings are low and they will never be successful. If you don't like being an intern, work harder. But that's too much to ask millennial snowflakes, who think they're being mistreated when they have to get things done. If you work hard, you won't have to stay an intern because you'll be promoted. But these days, a boss telling employees to work harder is probably considered bullying by the lazy millennial snowflakes. I hate millennials and I hate niggers. Stop the handouts!

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[Anonymous Coward]

Engineering interns at many places are doing their internship as part of a degree program which has requirements of the intern and company with consequences for not following through. At the company I work for, they have to do a project that involves enough actual engineering work to write a paper, and the company has to send documents on what the interns are doing and why it is relevant experience for the intern. An intern just getting coffee is not going to meet the requirements and would be wasting a semester of tuition if they don't complain and eventually try to change company ( they get paid, but still have to pay tuition). If the company doesn't treat them right, they will lose all of their interns, which are still cheap for the work they do and a good source of prospective permanent hires ( we've hired several former interns and are not that big of a company).

We had an intern a year ago who was awesome at welding. The university was fine with him doing a lot of welding as it was relevant to his degree and he liked learning about working with more exotic metals and difficult techniques for welding. But we couldn't have him do that all of the time, as it would have not met the project requirements for his internship, and had to make sure he had other varieties or engineering tasks. That puts a limit on grunt work, with grunt work that is a lot more involved than gophering.

Re:Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[thinkwaitfast]

I interned for four years at various companies in college and was never once asked to make coffee or run errands. In fact, I was doing some of the more technical development work since I was 'up' on the latest technologies and knowing how to solve some problems was fresh as I'd just come off of classes where I learned a subject with recent practice doing it. IRL, solving very technical problems is rare and you forget how to do certain manipulations after years and decades.

In addition to this, with the exception of working at a government lab, I was well paid at over $40k/year, inflation adjusted.

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[thinkwaitfast]

The median annual Engineering Aide I salary is $45,378, as of June 24, 2016, with a range usually between $39,997-$53,985 A number of students that I worked with dropped out of college because the pay was good and continue working to this day after decades. They do the same work as engineers, but are paid about 50% less for not having a diploma.

Re: Advertising, nothing more, nothing less

[thinkwaitfast]

Unfortunately real engineering is mostly grunt work. You are extremely lucky if you can land a job that isn't. Even science for that matter.

SpaceX interns

[pr0t0]

Meh. The SpaceX interns got theirs to land tail-first and is reusable!

/just kidding. I feel I need to add that in case someone actually is tempted to go looking for it.

Re: SpaceX interns

[Anonymous Coward]

At NASA the interns are taught how to ask their parents for money to buy pencils and paper to draw pictures of planetary flyby trajectories.

Re: SpaceX interns

[Anonymous Coward]

Typical, millennial snowflakes wanting other people to give them money while not working to earn it. Why am I not surprised? How about the millennials actually work hard and get the money themselves? Oh, wait, the lazy millennial snowflakes might have to do something other than sit around and play games all day.

ULA: Please give us good press!

[Quinn_Inuit]

Their whole marketing department has probably come down with depression over the last few years, so it's clearly time to trot out the interns doing something fun and not particularly consequential. Maybe next year they'll do a viral video.

(For the record, I'd like to see them doing well again. The more competition at the cutting edge, the better. But they got complacent, and it looks like SpaceX is about to eat the rest of their lunch, with Blue Origin possibly stealing a bit, too.)

HA!

[Gravis Zero]

. [The fact that] ULA has provided support for this effort again suggests that the leadership of Bruno is reshaping the company into a much more innovative and competitive company.

No, what it means is that they are getting their asses beaten so badly by SpaceX that they have moved to desperation and PR tactics.

Re:HA!

[dj245]

. [The fact that] ULA has provided support for this effort again suggests that the leadership of Bruno is reshaping the company into a much more innovative and competitive company.

No, what it means is that they are getting their asses beaten so badly by SpaceX that they have moved to desperation and PR tactics.

I see it as an attempt to keep their workforce engaged. I have worked on long-term (18month-30months before anything exciting happens) projects before and it is a long grind without a lot of incremental satisfaction. Even a company-paid milestone dinner every few months was a major morale booster since there was very little concrete evidence of all the work people were putting in. Employee turnover is very damaging to this type of long-term project, so launching a small rocket every now and then might be well worth the cost just to keep employee morale up.

FUCK ALL MILLENNIAL SNOWFLAKES

[Anonymous Coward]

MILLENNIALS ARE LAZY FUCKS

Team Hipster

[Anonymous Coward]

1) they're interns, they have nothing but free time
2) they work at a ROCKET company

I'd be surprised if they DIDNT build and launch a rocket.

Re:Team Hipster

[thinkwaitfast]

I worked pretty fucking hard when I was an intern at a rocket company.

Everyone has different jobs, but I would not have had spare time for outside activities.

"And their mentors"

[JeffOwl]

That could mean anything from the mentors pretty much designed the whole thing and used the interns for unskilled labor to the mentors stood back and watched the interns to make sure nobody got killed. Kind of like like the range in FIRST Robotics.

Don't understand the negativity in many posts here

[vikingpower]

Couple of friggin' interns built a working rocket. That means a lot of math needing to be done right, a lot of engineering problems to overcome, a lot of thinking to be done, a lot of self-reliance and a spraying of some of the gung-ho proverbial of the rocket industry. I'm taking my hat off and making a large flourish.

Which motor?

[Anonymous Coward]

I read the article, the companies website articles, and a few more. No mention of the motor. I was wondering if they made their own or used Aerotec Consumer Aerospace motors, and if it was ammonium percolate or the hybrid nos/ammonium percolate. I had a class 2 license for high power model rocketry. Lots of fun, but it gets expensive. These are not your toy Estes model rockets, the larger motors have incredible thrust, require FAA waivers, ATC notification, and in California a fireworks permit.

Re:Which motor?

[dwillmore]

The article uses confusing terminology. There are three classes of rockets (in the USA). The lowest is "model rocketry". For this you can build any airframe you want, but you can only use off the shelf engines up to size 'G'. Then there is high power rocketry. For that you can again make your own airframe and you can use engines up to class O. These first two classes must use *premade* motors. Though there are provisions in High Power for engines with consumable parts and durable parts--so the whole thing doesn't need to be replaced. The last class is amateur rocketry. For that, the sky's the limit. You need DOT explosives permits and various other certifications.

So, this article seems confusing when they say 'model' when this is likely 'high power' rocketry. Maybe even amateur rocketry, but I doubt that any intern there will have the permits. Maybe one of the full time staff did that part.

Re:Don't understand the negativity in many posts h

[Anonymous Coward]

"built entirely by company interns and their mentors" means the company funded it and the experienced engineers did the hard part.

Regarding the negativity, it's just one idiot. He obsessively posts the same crap in every story. Slashdot really should require people log in to post, even if they want to post AC. Then they can be tracked and banned.

Re:ULA: Please give us good press!

[Anonymous Coward]

sucks when congress tells you to use a directed sub, and then your competitor pays congress to prohibit you from using that directed sub. That's capitalism, Musk style, right?

still a better rocket than DPRK DONG

[Thud457]

I don't have my copy of the Handbook of Model Rocketry handy, what is the ISP of meth + LOX ?

Not a 'model' rocket...

[advocate_one]

A model rocket would have no function and would just sit there on a display stand...

Apparently

[SkyLeach]

Size does, in fact, matter

Not negativity - just realism

[sjbe]

Couple of friggin' interns built a working rocket.

Not by themselves they didn't. They got help from experienced engineers and someone else funded it. It's kind of like US First competitions where much of the heavy lifting is actually done by real engineers and the students watch and (hopefully) learn and help out where they can. Now these interns are undoubtedly FAR more capable than a high school student and probably did quite a lot of the actual work but they also undoubtedly had a lot of help.

It's not negativity, it's just that pretending that a bunch of interns did this on their own simply isn't true. From TFA "For the past five years, interns were given the option to work on the Future Heavy rocket as a side project (outside of normal working hours). Approximately 300 people "had a hand in" building the rocket, according to ULA, while 68 interns and 22 mentors from ULA as well as 37 interns and 19 mentors from Ball Aerospace participated this year. Interns at multiple ULA facilities were able to contribute to the project"

Note the non-trivial number of "mentors" (read experienced engineers) involved in the project. I'm pretty sure they did a lot more than sit back and drink beer while the interns did all the work.

Re:Not negativity - just realism

[thinkwaitfast]

When I was an intern, I was often the one doing the heavy lifting because I was up on the latest technology having learned it only months or weeks prior instead of having to learn about it from a journal using decades old math skills

Working model is still a model

[sjbe]

A model rocket would have no function and would just sit there on a display stand...

You seem confused. You can build a working model of something. I've built an Estes model of a Saturn V rocket that flew. Not a very accurate model but a working model all the same.

Now calling this a "model" rocket doesn't make sense unless it is modeling some other rocket. Really this is just a rocket, not a model rocket.

Re:Working model is still a model

[Anonymous Coward]

A model rocket would have no function and would just sit there on a display stand...

You seem confused. You can build a working model of something. I've built an Estes model of a Saturn V rocket that flew. Not a very accurate model but a working model all the same.

Now calling this a "model" rocket doesn't make sense unless it is modeling some other rocket. Really this is just a rocket, not a model rocket.

Huh. My interpretation of "model rocket" is that ULA believes that this rocket is everything that a good rocket should be.

At NASA

[Anonymous Coward]

At NASA, the interns launched a manned lander to the fucking moon with an on-board computer that was less powerful than the USB controller on your phone.

Engine spec...?

[GNious]

What type of engine was used? Hybrid? Bi-liquid?

Re:Engine spec...?

[Anonymous Coward]

I suspect super-cooled unicorn farts and dreams were used because I saw a rainbow coming from Fort Carson just after launch Sunday morning.

Re:I HATE MILLENNIAL SNOWFLAKES AND NIGGERS

[Anonymous Coward]

Spoken like the real Christian^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Conservative^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Nazi^H^H^H^H god fearing american you want to be.

Payloads

[Anonymous Coward]

Landed where

what was on it

price

College vs real world

[sjbe]

When I was an intern, I was often the one doing the heavy lifting because I was up on the latest technology having learned it only months or weeks prior instead of having to learn about it from a journal using decades old math skills

Please point me at any college program where they teach you the real details in how to build an actual working rocket using the latest technology. I'm sure these interns are smart people and I'm sure they did a very substantial amount on this project. I'm equally sure that the rocket would never have flown if it wasn't for some very experienced (literal) rocket scientists helping out. The "latest technology" in rocketry typically is not taught in schools. That's why this is such a great project - it allows young engineers to get involved in the real nuts and bolts of building a rocket which simply isn't something you get access to normally.

I'm an engineer and quite frankly, most of what they taught me in school counted for close to nothing in the real world. While I've been an intern as well and made real and substantial contributions, I won't pretend for a moment that I was usually the one doing the heavy lifting on the engineering. Maybe you found a project where you were well positioned to lead but that's the exception that proves the rule.

Obligatory Top Gear Reference

[bobdehnhardt]

Yes, yes, that's all very nice, but did it have a Reliant Robin attached to it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

N. Korea might steal the plans...

[chubs]

North Korea might be wanting to steal the plans, as this is more powerful and successful than any of their rocket launches...

Not a "Model Rocket"

[dtmos]

. . .at least by the definitions used by the FAA. See CFR 14, 101.22, viz.:

101.22 Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this subpart:

(a) Class 1—Model Rocket means an amateur rocket that:
                    (1) Uses no more than 125 grams (4.4 ounces) of propellant;
                    (2) Uses a slow-burning propellant;
                    (3) Is made of paper, wood, or breakable plastic;
                    (4) Contains no substantial metal parts; and
                    (5) Weighs no more than 1,500 grams (53 ounces), including the propellant.

(b) Class 2—High-Power Rocket means an amateur rocket other than a model rocket that is propelled by a motor or motors having a combined total impulse of 40,960 Newton-seconds (9,208 pound-seconds) or less.

(c) Class 3—Advanced High-Power Rocket means an amateur rocket other than a model rocket or high-power rocket.

Using these definitions, in the US the rocket is legally either a "High-Power Rocket" or an "Advanced High-Power Rocket", depending on the total impulse of the motor(s), but it is clearly not a "Model Rocket."

Why are summaries so hard

[Anonymous Coward]

The article uses 'sport' while the summary adds model.
Guess i won't buy another 47 feet of cardboard tubes ;o

PR stunt. ULA is getting spanked by SpaceX

[rocket rancher]

Context, people. SpaceX wins the PR battle, even when their vehicles faceplant, because that is *how* you get your ass off the planet and into space, and every engineer, technician, scientist and anybody with even a smidgen of Captain Kirk's spiritual DNA knows it. Hey look, ULA can launch rockets, too! It's bigger than even a V2! Remember those, kiddies? What? Ixnay on the V-2? That's not a good thing? Well damnit, what should we do/say? And no, don't keep showing me youtube videos of spectacular SpaceX failures. Those are failures, right? Nobody wants to see failures like that. They want successes like the V-2! Why do you keep rolling your eyes when I say V-2?

Re:looking up escape velocity on alphabet.com

[abmw]

Soapmaker Bronner's all one G-d faith, OK? OK! Don't Eat Soap, OK!

Re:"Model rocket" eh (Posted in wrong place bfr)

[lucien86]

The two are incomparable. The V2 was a power beast, fuelled by ethanol/water and liquid oxygen, it flew far higher and much further while at the same time carrying a heavy payload.

(V2 verses Future Heavy - lateral range 350 Km verses maybe 5 Km, altitude ceiling 200 Km verses 3 Km, Payload 1 ton (1000 Kg) verses maybe 20 Kg)

(Posted in wrong place before!)