Premature Ejection

A rare catch of a fleeting midair moment - the forward retention for the solid-fuel motor has failed and so it thusts forward up through the rocket, pushing the parachute and nose cone out prematurely.

For some reason, the Aerotech Sumo seems prone to all sorts of airborne high jinks.

Just got back from the LUNAR Snow Ranch launch, and it was full of excitement and mishap.... more later....

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

eye of einstein says:

nice title...
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

!MimosaMicheMichelle! says:

I would not want to be in THAT rocket! Great catch.

Speaking of mishaps, some kind of explosion was heard and look what happened to one of our national historic sits of Canada in Québec City. View photos to the end. I hope more will be sent (I know of more) so I can add them here.
Manège Militaire à Québec. We were told that it will be rebuilt as it is too important.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

jitze says:

Yikes! Where is the motor at this point? Is it nearly used up i.e. that little bit of flaming stuff at the tail-end of the front section? That doesn't look like a motor to me (a complete ignoramus on these matters) as it seems to be too thin and the gases it is giving off appear to be a lot less than what was going on split-seconds earlier (the smoke of which is still visible behind the tail section). Or is it perhaps an exothermic core section of the motor which has shot out, separating from and leaving an outer shroud of endothermic propellant in the after part of the body - which still appears to be exuding some flame?
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Tomi Tapio says:

Cool shot!
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

P_I_O_T_R says:

Lucky shot!!! Great :)
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

@jitze: Hmmm..... very interterting - I'll have to locate the owner to ask about the post-mortem... The sparky stick looks like the full length of motor from the images. Looking at the frame 1/3 sec earlier, it looks like some or all of the nozzle popped out the back, creating a big flame out, but depressurizing the motor. So here we see it sputtering out.

update: looking at the frames afterward, the forward bulkhead is still attached to the motor! So the motor, phenolic motor tube and forward wooden disc all look like they popped forward. Makes me wonder if weak glues were used....
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

MattJhsn says:

Yes, nice title. I hate things that are premature! .... generally.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Erik Charlton says:

Great catch! Man that Sumo kit is Jinxed! I see a number of postings about rebuilt Sumos. Good news that they can have a successful 2nd life.

Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

wavejim says:

Your "rocket fatality" shots are simply the best. Its very difficult to take pictures of small objects flying near the speed of sound. Well done.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

wtkjd2001 says:

What a great shot - Steve caught my Sumo disaster! FWIW, the motor remained intact. The motor retention failed, pushing the motor up into the ejection baffle. This pushed the front centering ring, motor tube and motor up through the front of the rocket. The flame melted the rear fin lock ring and scorched the rear centering ring and body tube (what you see still burning in the aft airframe.) I am also a scout leader in Pacifica Troop 29 and this rocket was launched by one of our scouts (he pushed the button under the launch control officer's direction.) Just beforehand, he asked me "Do they ever blow up during the launch?" Hmmm...
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	jurvetson's photostream
		3,000 uploads

This photo also belongs to:

	Rockets (Set)
		547 items
	Part of: Rocket Launches

	Airborne (Set)
		376 items
	Part of: Fun & Adventure

	LUNAR (Set)
		99 items
	Part of: Rocket Launches

	ACTION PACKED!!!! (Pool)
		0

	Rocket (Pool)
		0

	Movement & Motion (Pool)
		0

	Physics (Pool)
		0

	Canon EOS 5D Series (Pool)
		0

	Sparks (a different kind of fireworks) (Pool)
		0

	Capture The Moment (Pool)
		0

6 people call this photo a favorite

Additional Information

Some rights reserved Anyone can see this photo

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D.
More properties
Taken on April 5, 2008
Viewed 2,642 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Get Help