1:10 Scale Saturn V Rocket

I heard about this a little late, but apparently it set a record for size:

Do Hard Things

Here is a quote from Calvin Coolidge:

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“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

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Now here is a quote from Alex and Brett Harris, founders of "The Rebelution:"

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"Do Hard Things."

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It is simply the only way to aspire to be a rocket scientist, aiming high, and raising the bar. Most of my peers (it seems) are content to just get by. This kind of scares me. It doesn't seem like my generation is ready or willing to shoulder the responsibility of running the world, and whether they're ready or not, they'll be called on to lead it.

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However, I don't want to make too broad a generalization. Teens are very capable of "doing hard things," as they have shown throughout history. George Washington was one of the dumbest kids in his class, but by persistence and determination he applied himself in his studies and became official surveyor, general of the army, and ultimately the leader of this country. I just hope that more and more of my generation will latch onto this vision.

Onboard Video!

You can almost see my house from this shot.

First Launch of 2009

I had some great launches today; no failures! Good launches and good recoveries. Plus, my onboard video worked for once! The quality isn't the best, but I've got it. I'll post it to YouTube and my blog once I get it off my camera.

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My altimeter reported a boring altitude on Sky Spy's flight: 546 ft. It should have gone over 800 according to simulations. I have a hunch that RockSim isn't all that accurate when it comes to drag, even when I take care to input all the flight conditions.

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Spare Parts Spaceship had a beautiful launch and textbook recovery.

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I'm looking foreward to a great year of flying rockets!

Computer Rendering of Next Mach Muncher

...And updated information. I was wrong about the projected speed. If I leave the rocket the way it is (without adding weight to the nose, or payloads), it's predicted to go 1800 ft/s! I don't want it to shred or anything, so I will definitely do something about this.

Launch Coming Up

I will probably have the first launch of the year this weekend, provided the weather cooperates (which it looks like it might). I have 2 or 3 rockets ready to launch:

1) Arrow 2, my most flown rocket with at least a dozen flights, will hopefully fly on a C6-5, possibly even with a D12 booster.

2) Spare Parts Spaceship is all set to fly its second mission, SPS-2, on a G79! (Sadly it will only get 75% the altitude of its last flight on a 137 n-sec G80).

3) A new rocket that I'm pretty much finished with named Sky-Spy, and the first rocket to carry my new video camera! I never bothered to post about it, because it doesn't really push the envelope of my ability in any significant way. It's just a low/mid-power rocket meant to boost a small camera to 1,000/2,000 feet. And that's where the fun comes in.

Revisiting an Old Project...

I'm not giving out too many details just yet, but I will disclose that I'm improving my supersonic design. It should be able to withstand higher airspeeds, so the motor of choice will hopefully be the 137 N-sec G80, the most powerful single use model rocket motor available. If I'm brave, I might even build a payload bay for either an altimeter, an accelerometer, or a camera...

On the simulations, this model reaches a maximum velocity of 1,700 ft/s (almost mach 1.5). Scary, isn't it? It requires VERY different construction and design. My last experience has encouraged me to try again with even more ambition than before.

I'm going to write a new post on supersonic travel soon!