Rocket Man…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009I know I’ve talked about the amazing time we had at MakerFaire this summer, and all of the outstanding people we met. Today, I got an e-mail from one of them, which I had to share with you:
Hi Amber,
My name is James. We met at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. You asked if I would mind sending you some information on how we use your products. Well, I’ve attached a jpeg to this message. I’m the machinist/rocketry nut on the right. 8^)
That little toy has had several test flights, but the big event is coming up on September 21st. Out at the Black Rock desert in northern Nevada, we’ll be launching this completely amateur built two stage rocket to an altitude of 18 miles above the Earth. It will burn 60 pounds of amateur made propellant in under 12 seconds, and achieve Mach 3.1 (2300+ MPH) at it’s top speed. In addition to the 7 on-board flight computers, it carries a digital video camera, and we’re hoping to get video that will include the darkness of space above the atmosphere, and possibly a view of the Pacific Ocean from Nevada. The bird does carry a GPS based telemetry system, to help locate it after the flight. If the recovery systems work as planned, and the jet-stream stays away, recovery should be well within a few miles of the launch point. (We DO have an authorized class 3 waiver from the FAA to launch this. Getting that waiver wasn’t easy.)
As to your metals in the project, the nosecone tip, the sustainer airframe coupler and recovery attachment bulkhead are all Online Metals 6061 T-6 aluminum. The sustainer motor casing and bulkhead were turned from some 4″ 6061 we bought from you. And there are several parts in the booster airframe supporting the booster motor that were turned from aluminum we purchased from Online Metals, as well as the piston head inside the interstage coupler. That piston forces separation of the stages at booster motor burnout, 3 seconds before the sustainer motor ignites. All of this is controlled by the on-board computers.
I have full confidence in the design and all of the metal parts we used, but we’re not allowed to use all-metal construction. I hope the fiberglass and carbon used in the interstage coupler are up to the task. The booster motor will produce a ton of thrust at start up, and this beast will pull 12 G’s off the launch pad. That’s a lot of pressure on the ISC. Essentially, at launch, that sustainer will weigh over 460 pounds for over five seconds. We’re going to find out if the ISC is up to the task. That’s for sure. 8^)
After the flight, I’ll let you know how it went… Wish us luck!
James,
HOW COOL!!! Thanks for sharing this project! Everyone here at OnlineMetals wishes you the best of luck! Kick some butt, and share a few more pictures when you’ve got em’! We’d love to hear about the flight itself, and everything you learned after your rocket returns from space.

























