New Reading List Item

I think I'm going to order a new book titled "Spacecraft-Environment Interactions" by Daniel Hastings (not me) and Henry Garrett, professors at MIT. It's probably another one of those books I will grow into and refer to throughout college. I might not get much out of it at first, but this book caught my eye because it was written by someone who has my own name!

Diagram of Lowness

Here's a post from last September (I never got around to posting it):

"The other day I was thinking about outer space, how intriguing it is and such. I started to wonder how close I had ever come with one of my rockets to the edge of outer space. The results weren't the most exciting ever.


I figured that the highest flying rocket I have ever built and flown was my supersonic rocket, which supposedly reached an altitude of a little over 4,000 feet. That's about one tenth the ceiling of the troposphere, which is where the commercial jets fly, at about 5-7 miles high. The sad story is that the edge of space is 10 times that altitude, and satellites orbit yet 40-50 miles higher than that! So my altitude versus space's is a depressing ratio of about 1/150 (if I did my math right!).

That's gonna change."

1/23/09
My current project's full potential (High-5) should dash this record by at least 3,000 feet! Every year I'm getting closer and closer to the edge of outer space!"

Aerospace Engineering at STEP

I'm all excited, because this next semester I'm going to be taking aerospace engineering via Secondary Technical Education Program. I don't know much yet; all I know is that its major outcomes are:

• Introduction to aerodynamics design and testing.
• Flight systems and areospace materials.
• Space life sciences and astronautics.

And its instructional focus is on: experiments, project testing and field trips.

It sounds right up my alley, and is completely free (considered part of high-school education). I'll post more about it when I get more information.

Full Moon Over the Alps

The moon won't be this large for the rest of the year; it already reached perigee. Somebody was in the right place at the right time, and managed to catch a jet passing in front of this already awesome scene.

High-5 Taking Shape

The past few days I've been working on my big project, High-5. I'm hoping to get it finished by this summer, and perhaps I'll even be able to get junior level-1 certified on it!

It's a fairly complex design, and employs such gizmos as airstart electronics (already installed) and altimeter-activated parachute charges (which I'm still figuring out). I like to set my goals high, because I have to exert more of myself to attain them, and as a result get stronger. (Like a muscle).

2009 Goals

Aerospace is a complicated subject, as any rocketeer would readily admit. Thus, I have set a few challenging goals for myself this year, to help boost me into the field.

• Get Junior Level 1 certified for high-power through the NAR.
• Get a purple ribbon in Aerospace at the MN State Fair (I've already done it once, so it's not so daunting)
• Prepare for college (I'm hoping to major in aerospace engineering)
• Start a website and a business for DTH Rocket Endeavors
• And one more thing... I'm thinking about renaming DTH Rocket Endeavors. It's just my initials! So far, no good names have struck me. Perhaps I should wait a few years and see what direction this "company" takes! (Credit card companies are sending offers to "Dth Rocket Endeavors," so I sort of feel like it's already a real company).
  

The Sky in Motion

This video is truly incredible. It shows the beauty of Creation and the Wonder of God without the use of a single word. It's an example of the Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."