My son's unique design with a motor on each fin tip (and honeycomb nomex fins for strength to hold them on), flight computer that lights the central long-burn motor at launch detect (it's coming up to pressure at the moment seen above), onboard HD video cam, and RF tracking beacon (which is how we recovered the rocket at its video).
Flight computer data below.
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Steve Jurvetson
jurvetson
Member since 2004
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jurvetson 19 months ago | reply
It was a windy day, so I thought the arc off the pad was weathercocking from an overstable design, but the forensic photos below show that one of the Metalstorm motors was late in coming up to pressure. Each photo is .26 seconds apart (followed by the one above):
and off into the wild blue yonder, a wide-body shower of sparks from the titanium sponge mixed in the fin motor propellant:
The HCX flight computer logs 500 datapoints/second:The rocket went horizontally under thrust, and the motors came up to thrust sequentially. It did not go a mile high as planned, but more like a mile downrange. While screaming along at about 242 MPH horizontally, the parachute popped out with a strong kevlar cord (at the vertical apogee, 11 seconds in), inducing an instant air-braking... which to quote Bill Murray: it's a little harsh.
With the red g-force curve above, you can see a fin motor come on a bit after the others, and then the spike of the I100 kicking in at 0.5 seconds. The fin motors cut out at 1.5 seconds, leaving the smooth curve of that central long burn motor:
Telstar Logistics 19 months ago | reply
Meanwhile, rocket mania has taken hold in Bernal Heights, San Francisco:
bernalwood.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/the-right-stuff-berna...
jurvetson 19 months ago | reply
punks!
=)
solerena 19 months ago | reply
They are so sweet!
Telstar Logistics 19 months ago | reply
Totally punks.
scleroplex 19 months ago | reply
bright kid :-)
a rocket boy!