2/26/08

About DTH Rocket Endeavors

DTH Rocket Endeavors started with one individual (me) who looked to the skies. Up in that big, blue expanse the Lord's wonders were displayed, which put a fascination for it in me. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." ~Psalm 19:1. I decided that I wanted to fly, and explore the vast firmament that God created.

I began by building model rockets. The first ones I made were pretty bad: I made them out of duct tape mostly, they didn't have a recovery device, and almost all of them were unstable and thus spun loop de loops in the sky when ignited.

It wasn't until I checked out a book at the library called "The Handbook of Model Rocketry" by G. Harry Stine that my rockets began to improve. I learned about static and dynamic stability, how to put a recovery device into a rocket, how to build a good motor mount, about engine selection, and even advanced topics such as multistaging, cluster ignition, and altitude prediction. Then I learned about high-power rocketry (HPR), and that's when I really decided to pursue rocketry.

Currently I am building large model rockets, which are defined as between 16 and 53 ounces in weight, using no more than 4.4 ounces of propellant, creating no more than 320 N-seconds of Total Impulse. The motor classification ranges from size E to G.

The first large model rocket that I built and flew was for my clay animation short film "The Curious Squirrel from Earth," and in it I built a cockpit for a small clay squirrel. At the time it was the most successful rocket I had built, and the flight was observed and greatly cheered by several enthusiastic spectators. Here is a video of that amazing flight:

Already I am taking on ambitious projects, like breaking the sound barrier, and building high-power rockets (although I can't fly them until I am 18 and have a certification).

When I get older I plan to major in aerospace engineering, then start a real aerospace company, or work for the US Air Force, or something along those lines. But in the meantime, I'll keep on learning on my own.

But whatever I do, it's all about God. I strive to honor him in all I do. What better a place than the heavens to marvel at his magnificence?

"...Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." ~1 Corinthians 10:31

37 comments:

Rachel Kimberly said...

Great! I like it! Any more coming? I'm waiting to see what you're going to write next!

Abigail Hastings said...

I love the whole idea you have ofdoing model rocketry to the glory of God.

DTH Rocket said...

And drinking orange juice to the glory of God. And walking the dog to the glory of God. And solving equations to the glory of God. Et cetera et cetera to the glory of God!

Rachel Kimberly said...

Using your imagination to the glory of God!

Anonymous said...

Well done! I'd encourage you to persist with pursuing God's glory. Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and ALL things that are necessary for you to do that will be provided for you.

Anonymous said...

My brothers definitely thought it was cool...and while rockets aren't quite as exciting for me as they are for them, I was amazed by your dedication and hard work!! :) Very inspiring.

Stacie said...

God bless.

David Boskovic said...

I'm thinking... this might be an innovative way to send letters. :D We need to satellite track and control them. They need landing gear, and enough fuel to go around the world a couple times. ;-)

Elisabeth & Kirsten said...

How incredibly industrious of you! That is an amazing (and very unique) hobby/interest!

God bless you and your endeavors!

~Elisabeth J. Gruber

Sherilyn Rose said...

keep it up!never be afraid to do hard things no matter what anyone else says.

cj said...

God will bless you for giving the glory to him.
By the way could you give me the names of the other books that you have read on rocket science.

Unknown said...

God bless & keep up the cool work!

Megan said...

Whoa, that is so awesome! That's so neat that you didn't get discouraged starting small like so many people would...God bless! :)

Fargo triPod said...

Hey, that's great!! Keep up the good work!

Jessie said...

Great endurance and diligence on display! Thanks for giving a good example to follow of someone who is willing and passionate in making a difference for the glory of God!!
Keep up the good work, you don't know what God may have in store.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Salomé du Toit said...

Wow... awesome! That's practically about all I can say! It's just so inspiring to meet other young people who share a passion to glorify God in ALL they do. I'm striving to be that person myself.
I pray that God will richly bless you in all your endeavours. And I surely can't wait to read your next post. I'll be sure to visit your blog a lot more often now. God bless.

DTH Rocket said...

Wow!! I can't believe how many people I have coming to my blog! Thank you all for the comments. I'm very encouraged (and even more surprised).

DTH Rocket said...

CJ -- Perhaps I will write a blog post on some of the books I have read on this subject. Among them are: Handbook of Model Rocketry by G. Harry Stine, The Model Rocketry Handbook by Stuart Lodge, 50 Model Rocket Projects for the Evil Genius by Gavin D. J. Harper, Model Rocket Design and Construction by Timothy S. Van Milligan, and the new one I just bought, Modern High-power Rocketry 2, by Mark Canepa.

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work!

cj said...

Dth rocket--thanks!

Kade said...

Great blog! how did you get the pic on the front. Did you draw that? I'll be back later.

-Kole

Anonymous said...

Awesome, DTH! Nice job. I remember launching one of those about thirty-nine (yes, 39) years ago!

I'm an uncle of yours...

Kade said...

"Do Hard Things", ReB.

-Kole

Anonymous said...

Hey Daniel!
Reading your site, I was glad I wasn't your neighbor -- the rockets did loops de loop when you first started? Yikes.
Well, what can I say? Honestly, mine would still be doing loops de loop!
This sounds like a really fun thing to do, though. Are you interesting in filmmaking as well? And what kind of landscapes do you lean toward in your painting? I'd love to see more pictures you've done ('more' -- if I'm right in guessing that you may have painted the one at the top of the main page of your blog).
Also, what kind of writing do you like to do? You've got some serious skills.

God bless you brother!
Nicole T.

P.S. Is your family homeschooled?

Anonymous said...

Hey, this a great thing you're doing here. I wish more people had your type of mindset. Keep pursuing God, and will direct your paths and use you in a great way.

Anonymous said...

Great work! Keep developing the skills and passion that God has given you for His glory alone! He'll bless your efforts.

Anonymous said...

Daniel, it was so much fun to see (as far as I can call it "seeing") your reaction on the Reb! *cracking up* Seriously though, great job with your rockets! I used to be extremely interested in all things NASA... other interests have taken over as I hit my senior year of highschool, but it was good to see what you're doing.

Austin said...

Wow great blog!I'm so glad you didn't just give up when you didn't succeed at first!
Keep up the good work, to God be the glory!

"I can do ALL things through christ who strengthens me"

DTH Rocket said...

Nicole T -- "Are you interesting in filmmaking as well?"

Yes, somewhat.

"And what kind of landscapes do you lean toward in your painting? I'd love to see more pictures you've done ('more' -- if I'm right in guessing that you may have painted the one at the top of the main page of your blog)."

Yes, I do paint, and I did paint the picture at the top of my blog. I really haven't painted for a long while -- that's the most recent thing I've painted.

"Also, what kind of writing do you like to do? You've got some serious skills."

Thank you! I've written a few fiction books, including To Boldly Go Where NO Beanie Has Gone Before for NaNoWriMo

"P.S. Is your family homeschooled?"

Yup! You guessed it!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I love writing and am interested in filmmaking, as well. I also do a lot of artwork (from sophisticated things like painting and drawing to not-so-sophisticated things like making creative things out of paperclips). I took several years off from doing art, as well, but recently got back into it and like it as an outlet when I'm giddy or angry about something but can't quite put it into words (so I use colors). I was homeschooled, too, from age 4. I guessed you and your sisters might be homeschooled because you all have that "spark." I think I wrote my first real-life-based novel when I was 4 (I needed the help of 3 different scribes). It was about a snail. I never finished it, though. Sadly, I forgot to feed my snail and it passed on. I've moved on to other writing projects since then and am having a great time of it. It's one of my favorite things to do. I'll totally have to check out your book sometime. I'm a little intrigued (not to say, concerned), though, about the short film you did. Did the curious squirrel make it safely back to earth? I keep wondering. My mind has been racing imagining all the dangerous situations that squirrel must have faced after leaving earth in such a fashion -- oh, the possibilities, though! I must say, I can understand why he did it. I just hope he lived to tell the story.
Anyway, thanks for your response to my questions.

Keep up the good work!

Nicole T.

"The past has not exhausted the possibilities nor the demands for doing great things for God."
-- E. M. Bounds

Anonymous said...

Amazing! You can be so proud of what God is leading you to do. Hard? YES. Can you achieve this? YES. DO The Hard Thing! God bless from a 63 year old grandmother.

Felicity said...

amazing! :)

Anonymous said...

YOU ROCK! Where do you live again? I would love to be your neighbor! "Sigh" If only all guys where like you... (lol) :D. Okay, so maybe not all. But seriously, keep up the good work. God bless you brother!
In Christ,
~Charlene~

Anonymous said...

Mia Was HERE!!!

Anonymous said...

We finally saw the rocket launch. We enjoyed hearing all your voices!! We'll have to see one of these launches in person someday. (By the way, you have another uncle who tried launching rockets in his youth.) Also your blog is amazingly professional looking. Cool dude!!
Uncle Joe and Aunt Julie

Anonymous said...

I want to major in aerospace engineering too! Good luck applying to colleges and all that. I'd like to go to GA Tech, although MIT or Embry-Riddle would be my other choices. Or maybe Purdue. I didn't know there were any Christ-centered websites about aerospace engineering; they're two things that don't always go hand in hand. :-) Keep up the great work!

Tim Van Milligan said...

Engineering and God go more hand-in-hand than you may think. We used to think of science as the study of God's creation. The deeper you peer into it, the more you realize that this is not random. It is too well defined. Anyway, best wishes on your future projects. As it says in Genesis: "Be Fruitful."

Tim Van Milligan. Helping you Make Money Online, God's Way!

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