November 2019 meeting

by Dave Nordling, Secretary, Reaction Research Society


The Reaction Research Society (RRS) held it’s monthly meeting on November 8, 2019 at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena, California. The society had a full agenda plus our annual nominations for the executive council. Frank Miuccio attempted to establish a teleconference at the meeting to connect our director of research, Richard Garcia, and an outside organization that wanted to address the society. This teleconferencing was successful and the society will consider having more of these to help bring in more participants on special topics.

[1] Treasurer’s report on membership and dues status

The RRS treasurer is conducting a review of our membership roster to not only update our records with the many new members that have joined us this year, but also to determine the dues status for each. Like in all non-profit organizations, regular annual dues payment is essential to keeping the society funded for the many projects we do and are planning. Upgrades at the MTA are also impacted if our membership does not keep their dues payments current.

Chris’s report was not ready at this month’s meeting, but he will be soon notifying some of our delinquent members that they need to keep their dues paid to remain in active status. It is the duty of all RRS members to keep their contact information current with the RRS treasurer. The society can not be responsible for missing communications if our members do not do their part by making communication possible. Also, members who are not current in their dues payment risk losing their active status with the society.

treasurer@rrs.org

I have always paid my dues to the society on January 1st of each new year. This greatly simplifies the process and I need no reminder to do so. Membership dues ($40 USD per year) to the society can be paid through the “Donate” button on the RRS.ORG website which links to Paypal.

We remind all of our donors and those paying dues in this manner to include your name in the “Notes” section along with the purpose of your donation. Without including your name, the RRS can not tell who has paid their dues.

The RRS.ORG website has more information on this subject. For any questions, please contact the RRS treasurer.

[2] Update on the next RRS MTA launch event with LAPD CSP and 99th Street Elementary School

Frank, Larry and Osvaldo are in the middle of another class, this time with 99th Street Elementary in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Community Safety Partnership (CSP). The class is going well and the final launch event is still planned for Saturday, December 7, 2019.

At this same launch event, we are also planning to host the University of Southern California’s (USC) Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (RPL) with the launch of their latest solid motor powered rocket. USC has been making continuing progress even after their landmark flight to be the first university-built rocket to break the von Karman line into space.

[3] Preparations for the 2020 RRS symposium

With the society approving the symposium for our fourth year in a row, Frank is working with the Ken Nakaoka Community Center to establish the date. Tentatively, the 2020 RRS symposium will be held Saturday, March 28, 2020. The society has decided to try to hold the symposium earlier in the year to avoid the onset of the summer heat which makes the event very uncomfortable in the absence of climate control at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center.

Future site of the 2020 RRS symposium

More information on this subject will be posted as it develops. Our symposium coordinator for the 2020 event will again be our society vice president, Frank Miuccio.

vicepresident@rrs.org

[4] RRS solid propellant making classes at the MTA

The RRS has been approached by an outside organization about conducting solid propellant motor making classes. Many years ago, the RRS held a few of these events which became very popular. The RRS has not yet decided if we will restart these classes, but a group is examining the possibility and will report back to the society on the viability of such a project.

composite grain, before and after

[5] 2020 Constitutional Committee progress report

pending… carried over from October 2019 meeting report

[6] Annual elections for the RRS executive council

As required by our Constitution, the RRS appoints an election chairman to oversee and execute the process of nominations and balloting for each of the four executive council offices for new terms starting in the new calendar year. Larry Hoffing, again, agreed to be our election chairman for this cycle.

Nominations were held and were open to our administrative membership. Nominations were received and our election chairman will be sending out ballots by email. This is another good example of why all members should keep their contact information current and remain in active status with the society. Balloting will be closed prior to the next monthly meeting in December and the results announced at that meeting.

[7] CSFM committee on amateur rocketry

Last month, the RRS and Mark Holthaus of the Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) met to discuss a list of proposed changes to the California State Fire Marshal’s (CSFM) definitions that govern amateur rocketry. This small group was intended to be made from active amateur rocketry groups around California to help advise the CSFM subcommittee on changes that would help improve regulation of amateur rocketry and make needed clarifications to help all groups continue to operate safely and legally.

from left to right, Mark Holthaus (Treasurer of FAR), Osvaldo Tarditti (RRS president), Larry Hoffing (RRS events coordinator), Dave Nordling (RRS secretary) meet to discuss proposed definition changes to CSFM laws governing amateur rocketry, 10/15/2019

The RRS and FAR held a second meeting at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center which included David Reese of the Rocketry Organization of California (ROC). ROC members, Chris Kobel and David Reese have been very helpful in providing helpful improvements to how the certain classes of rocketry are defined.

This amateur rocketry committee will be presenting their collective suggestions to the Fire Marshal in early December 2019. The RRS, FAR, ROC and the rest of the amateur rocketry groups in California are glad to assist the CSFM office in making these suggested updates.

[8] Social media updates

There was no report from Alastair Martin and/or Bill Janczewski this month for social media improvements for the Reaction Research Society. We hope to have more to discuss in the next month on this regular topic. As always, members are welcome to offer their advice and proposals to either or both of our media coordinators.

Alastair and I did have a conversation about expanding our following on Instagram. We will continue to show the highlights of our events and the people involved, but I hope to bring more technical content which seems to be our primary source of interest.

See the RRS on Instagram: reactionresearchsociety

Alastair and his production company, Production Tribe LLC, has created yet another podcast in the “Before SpaceX” series with special guest, rocket propulsion expert, author and RRS member, James R. “Jim” French. RRS secretary, Dave Nordling, and RRS director of research, Richard Garcia, supported this excellent discussion about the American Rocket Company (AMROC), a space start-up company in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The show is still in editing and will be posted very soon his website.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rocket-talk-radio/id1474556513

[9] Compton Comet STEM club formation and program

Several students from the Compton College STEM club attended the November meeting of the RRS along with their advisor and fellow RRS member, Kent Schwitkis. Jamie Alvarez, the STEM club president was in attendance. The Compton Comet is the project name for the liquid rocket projects that the Compton College team is working on. There are about 20 students in the group and the RRS is glad to support this team and the other university teams looking to compete or at least expand their range of practical skills.

The Compton Comet team has been holding meetings at Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum (TAM) at the Compton/Woodley airport. They are planning a few trips to inspect launch and additional hardware assembly sites and make a report back to the RRS at the December 2019 meeting. RRS member, Waldo Stakes, has also been an important part of this program.

The STEM club is having another Estes rocket competition later this month. The first of these events was very successful. Part of the experience is getting practice with the simpler rockets and using OpenRocket simulation software to make and verify predictions.

IN CLOSING

RRS members, Frank Miuccio, Alastair Martin and Kent Schwitkis contributed to this report. The next RRS meeting will be December 13, 2019. If there are any corrections or additions to make for the monthly report, please contact the RRS secretary.

secretary@rrs.org


March 2019 meeting

Dave Nordling, Secretary, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society (RRS) met for our monthly meeting on March 8, 2019, at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena, CA. The RRS was glad to welcome our newest associate member, Jaren Li. After our reading of the treasury report, we began the agenda.

[1] Preparing for the RRS symposium, Saturday, April 27, 2019

The first topic was the status of the forthcoming 2019 RRS symposium. This will be an all-day event, Saturday, April 27, 2019. Frank Miuccio, our symposium coordinator, was happy to report we have confirmed Cal Poly Pomona and Northrop Grumman as attendees. With nearly 200 Event-brite tickets sold already, we have 20 exhibitors and nearly a full roster of speakers throughout this all-day event.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rrs-2019-rocket-and-space-exhibit-symposium-tickets-54839067126

The RRS will need the help of our membership for setting up on the night before. Also, we expect a good crowd on Saturday and we’ll need our membership again to help support the number of activities going on behind the scenes. The executive council will be contacting our members to enlist their support for specific tasks in the next few weeks. The one thing that everyone can do is spread the word and share our flyers with those interested in coming.

first design of the 2019 RRS symposium flyer, Jan 2019

[2] Improvements to the RRS social media presence

This is to be a regular agenda topic to be led by our two media officers, Bill Janczewski and Alastair Martin. In their absence, the society discussed a few common sense things that will be helpful. Including links in our Instagram and Facebook postings back to the RRS.ORG website should help bring more people to read about us. Also, the RRS should track the number of hits our sites are getting as a way of measuring improvement.

Alastair Martin held the second podcast for “Rocket Talk Radio” at his Hollywood studio. Richard Garcia and I both were pleased to be guests on his show as we talked about the timely subject of Small Launchers. There’s been a lot of recent activity in this area with new businesses such as RocketLab, Vector Space Systems, Relativity Space and Firefly Aerospace entering the market. This project is through Alastair’s company, Production Tribe LLC. You can find Alastair’s podcast at his website at Watch Hollywood -dot- TV:

http://watchhollywood.tv/

Frank Miuccio attended a seminar at the University of Southern California (USC) early this month on leadership of non-profit groups. He said he got a lot of practical advise and suggestions for improvement. He did not have his findings summarized for the March meeting, but he can elaborate on his experiences at the USC seminar at the next meeting.

[3] RRS Mission Statement

A mission statement is a short statement of purpose to describe why an organization exists. After reviewing a few drafts, the society decided to use statements made in our articles of incorporation, but it has not been posted on our website until now. The RRS mission statement can be found near the “Donate” button on the main toolbar of the RRS.ORG website.

[4] RRS Website Articles and Publication Guidelines

It was suggested that RRS ought to publish a set of guidelines for new members and contributors to the RRS.ORG website. The society encourages all of our membership to do more than simply discuss their ideas, but to put them down into writing for the wider audience to see. Our society is one of builders, thinkers and experimenters. We have a long legacy of past articles, but what is equally important is that we continue to contribute to our growing body of knowledge.

The initial set of publication guidelines for website articles was sent to our society membership a couple weeks ago. Although I have not received any formal feedback, the society decided at the March 2019 meeting that those initial publication guidelines will be published both on the RRS.ORG website and on our Facebook page. The society reserves the right to edit and holds the sole discretion to publish articles or not. However, at this time, the RRS is very interested in what kinds of things our membership would like to hear about. More importantly, the society would like our membership to contribute an article.

[5] Loyola Marymount University base11 Liquid Rocket Competition

The RRS has been working with Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Westchester, CA, providing them with guidance on their liquid rocket vehicle design that will ultimately compete in the base11 Space Challenge. A few members of the LMU team were in attendance at the March 2019 meeting of the RRS. The goal of the competition is to be the first university group to fly a liquid rocket to an altitude of 100 km for a prize of $1,000,000 USD. A link to the base11 home page is below.

The LMU team are very busy assembling their Preliminary Design Review (PDR) submitted presentation which is due in the next few weeks. They were able to ask questions of the society members present on details relevant to their liquid rocket.

Pedro Sales and James Hribal of Loyola Marymount at the March 2019 meeting of the RRS.

Per our charter to support academic groups and our membership, the RRS has supported other liquid rocket competitors in this competition including University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Many of the participants in these competitions later become members of the RRS as it is a very exciting thing to build a rocket of your own.

[6] The LR101 Project with Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum

RRS members, Wilbur Owens, Xavier Marshall and myself (Dave Nordling) have joined a project hence known as the “LR101 project”. This project is in coordination with Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum (TAM) at the Compton Airport in Compton, CA. This project team also includes students at Compton High School and at the local Compton College.

https://www.tamuseum.org/

The short term goal is to build a suitable static test setup to hot-fire an LR101 vernier motor at the RRS Mojave Test Area (MTA). A link to the Heroic Relics website is below for more details on this small auxiliary rocket motor used in both the prior generation of Atlas and Delta vehicles. This small legacy rocket has been the core of a few liquid rocket projects in the past including at least one at the RRS.

http://heroicrelics.org/info/lr-101/lr-101.html

The primary goal of this project is to renew and expand the RRS presence in liquid rocket testing. The team is working out the basic sizing and requirements at this stage. Later this summer, the RRS members on the TAM team can provide an update.

An LR-101 motor sits on the table at the February 2019 RRS meeting at the EAA 96 hangar.

[X1] Update on the RRS Educational Events

Frank, Larry and Osvaldo gave an update on the latest educational event that the RRS started with Compton Elementary on March 8th. The program is well underway and they plan to finish with a scheduled launch event at the MTA on April 6th. The program, known as “Rockets in the Projects” is in partnership with the LAPD Community Safety Partnership (CSP). This partnership has been very successful in the year and half it has been in operation having had over 100 students and counting participating in the project. Not only does the society get the chance to give back to younger students, but also a chance to inspire younger people to be active in rocketry and science as they grow older.

https://www.facebook.com/lapdcsp

[X2] Rocket Statue On Display at the 2019 RRS Symposium

The RRS events coordinator, Larry Hoffing, raised a question about the Rocket Statue designed by our society director of research, Richard Garcia. Although this statue was designed to be a permanent fixture inside the main gate at the RRS MTA, Larry had asked if a model could be assembled in time to have it on display at the Ken Nakaoka community Center when we hold the symposium on April 27, 2019.

Richard Garcia’s rocket sculpture concept; soon to be seen at the RRS MTA

Based on available resources and time, it seems unlikely to happen, but the RRS has managed to do great things in a short amount of time before. We shall see…

[X3] Cal Poly Pomona visit to the RRS

As a last minute addition to the agenda, James McPherson of Cal Poly Pomona made a short presentation to the society. James is the leader of the solid rocket team for the FAR1030 competition. The RRS has had a lot of experience in helping university groups with many aspect of solid motor design and build at the MTA. James had outlined a plan for their motor construction and the RRS was glad to review it. We did not have sufficient time at the March meeting to discuss Cal Poly Pomona’s project in detail, but we hope they can come back for the April meeting.

Jaren, Laila and James of Cal Poly Pomona stopped in to the RRS March 2019 meeting.

IN CONCLUSION

Our next meeting will be Friday, April 12, 2019, at 7:30pm at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena. We’ll certainly be talking more about the symposium as it will be happening just two weeks later on April 27th. We also expect to have a summary from the next launch event at the MTA on April 6th.

If there are any questions or corrections, please contact the RRS secretary.

secretary@rrs.org

MTA launch event, 2018-10-27

The Reaction Research Society (RRS) held another launch event at our private testing site, the Mojave Test Area (MTA), on October 27, 2018. We had a really big day in hosting a launch event for Weigand Elementary School and supporting the projects of several of our members. This was one of the more perfect days for a launch. The day time temperatures stayed below 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the winds were nearly still the whole day.

Old Glory slowly waves in the light breeze of the cool late October morning in the Mojave Desert

Our pyro-op for the event was John Newman, of the Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) group.

Friends of Amateur Rocketry – webpage

John allowed myself, Dave Nordling, and Larry Hoffing apprentice under him for the event as we are both in training to become licensed pyrotechnic operators in California.

John Newman (right) from Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) talks with Mr. Oswald (left) and Dr. Kasparian (middle) at the RRS MTA, 10/27/2018

John Newman (left, behind the wall) and Larry Hoffing (right) oversee the loading of micrograin propellant at the RRS MTA

The RRS welcomed Weigand Elementary School and the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Community Service Program (CSP). They had just finished the six session program and had ten (10) alphas ready to launch.

Frank Miuccio shows one of the two RRS blockhouses to the students of Weigand Elementary School

RRS member, Michael Lunny, had come out to the MTA the week before to help Osvaldo with mixing of the micrograin propellant. The simple mixture of zinc and sulfur powders is relatively safe, but requires time to properly mix and load. With the larger demand for alpha rockets with school projects and our growing membership, it’s no longer a process that can be done in the early morning hours before launch day.

Osvaldo Tarditti and Michael Lunny at the RRS MTA, 10/27/2018, having done the hard work of loading the rockets the week before

The ten alphas from Weigand Elementary and Michael Lunny’s alpha in white, all loaded, tagged and ready to go

RRS member Alastair Martin was at our event doing a great job in video-recording many aspects of our event. Alastair and Bill Janczewski, both newly elected to the position of Media Coordinator at the RRS, have been helping expand the presence of the RRS in social media and to the public at large.

Alastair Martin, armed and ready, in the RRS MTA blockhouse

Alastair gets his camera ready for the next alpha launch

Alastair got a lot of great shots and video-footage which I’ll share as they come in. Some of the short videos and photos from the 2018-10-27 event are already posted on the RRS Instagram page.

Follow the RRS on Instagram – ReactionResearchSociety

Just before the briefing, two of our new members had the chance to experience loading their own alpha rockets with the micrograin propellant. Xavier Marshall and Wilbur Owens were coached in the process and got a first-hand feel for classic micrograin rocketry. Michael Lunny’s alpha rocket was already set to go the week before when he helped Osvaldo load the ten alphas for Weigand Elementary.

Wilbur Owens loads his alpha rocket, one cupful at a time, gently bouncing out the air pockets as he goes

Once the alpha propellant tube is full of propellant up to the bolt holes, Xavier Marshall prepares to install his nozzle with the electric match and burst disk which retains the powdered propellant inside

A close-up view of the alpha nozzle with its plastic burst-disk and electric match resting on the interior side, the electric match wires protrude out the bottom (held back by carpenter’s tape just for convenience)

[SAFETY BRIEFING]

We conducted our safety briefing at the beginning of the event before all present. We discussed the many natural and man-made hazards to help everyone become aware and be more safe. John Newman made us aware of a native species of snake, the Mojave Green Rattlesnake, which is sometimes known to become aggressive when discovered. The Wikipedia page is linked below.

the Mojave green rattlesnake

Mojave Green Rattlesnake – Wikipedia

Frank also reminded everyone about keeping their distance from the Desert Tortoise, which is a federally protected species that is also indigenous to the Mojave desert and the MTA. It isn’t very common to see these animals during the height of the day, but everyone needs to be aware and take heed of their surroundings to protect themselves and the environment.

The federally protected Desert Tortoise

Desert Tortoise – Wikipedia page

Besides avoiding heat exhaustion and spiders, collecting and properly disposing of trash, and maintaining their hydration, all attendees must remain under the cover of our reinforced bunker during hazardous operations. With the conclusion of the briefing, we proceeded to a propellant demonstration to show the combustion process on a sample of composite propellant and micrograin powder.

Small sample of composite grain propellant burns hot enough to cut through the steel case supporting it, slow burning but very potent

The bright yellow plume of burning micrograin propellant, zinc and sulfur together go up pretty fast

The next step was getting everyone into the bunker, while John Newman conducted the event as our pyro-op. Larry and I were on hand to assist in the loading and readiness for firing. The RRS alpha had a steel box frame launcher which is our preferred method of guiding these speedy metal rockets up and downrange west.

We got started loading them into the rack by the numbers. The kids did a great job of painting them and making them their own. Most importantly, they label them with large numbers. The color of the fins matter the most since that is the only part left sticking out of the ground at the end of flight.

First of ten alphas right at liftoff

Same rocket just a few frames later

After launching all ten of the rockets, we all took our lunch break. The day was very pleasant, but we all enjoyed a little bit of shade. After lunch, LAPD CSP packed everyone up for the long drive to Los Angeles.

Frank talks with the kids of Weigand Elementary after having lunch after a great launch

[MEMBER PROJECTS]

We started working on membership projects starting with launching Michael’s alpha. It’s always rewarding to launch your first alpha and it’s an experience that never gets old. It’s usually one in a series to come. Big thanks to Michael for helping the society get ready for the event.

Xavier Marshall tried a new approach to launch by allowing me to use the fly-away railguide that I had customized for the 1.25″ RRS alpha propellant tube. Additive Aerospace makes many standard models which this one was derived from the 38 mm design.

Additive Aerospace – fly-away rail guides

Xavier Marshall’s RRS alpha clamped into the launch rails

Flyaway railguide clamped around an RRS alpha

Xavier Marshall inspects his first alpha as it sits on the rail

The first rail launch of an RRS standard alpha was successful. The flyaway railguide seemed to hold as the micrograin rocket sped off the rails. We took video from the facing side of the rail to get a better look at the operation. I was able to get one good still from my camera phone video from the blockhouse. You can see the railguide just above the fins as the rocket has cleared the rails so the flyaway railguide has sprung open and now is free to tumble away.

Xavier’s rail launched alpha rocket makes a clean path up the 20-foot guide, rail guide still seen near the rocket just after clearing the rail

The railguide fit to the alpha very well but the rail buttons were a little sticky as the rocket was slipped into place. I think the dusty aluminum rail is more to blame for this. The workmanship on these flyaway railguides from Additive Aerospace is quite good. Flying one of these devices with a micrograin rocket was expected to be challenging given the high acceleration that micrograin rockets are known for.

The railguide was not recovered intact. I recovered most of the pieces and the plastic end pieces showed fractures. It’s not clear if the railguide broke on the ground from the fall, but given the spread of the pieces, it could be possible the sudden acceleration of the RRS alpha fractured the lower clamp as the rocket took off. Review of Alastair’s video in slow motion may answer what the failure mode is. All pieces were recovered within 50 feet of the rail.

The recovered pieces of the flyaway rail guide. A successful launch but the mechanism didn’t survive for more than one attempt.

Jack Oswald and his team had a set of sample end-burner motors with their next batch of propellant for burn-rate testing. After setting up the first motor, a key part was missing and the pressure transducer had to be mounted too close to the exit plume. It was expected that the pressure transducer wouldn’t survive the first burn but the test was expected to take good data. The test was executed, but unfortunately the test over-pressurized due to the grain separating from its liner during the initial startup. A lot was learned but the other motors were not able to be tested.

Jack Oswald inspects his test motors as he moves them to safe storage before test

Jack’s BEM test starts out okay. A leakage stream is seen coming out the side.

Just a second later, Jack’s test rig overpressurizes and the nozzle plate pops off

My last photo taken of that day was the last of the three member alphas sitting in the box rails ready to go. Wilbur Owens had the honor of flying his first alpha rocket at sunset.

Wilbur Owens takes a picture of his first alpha ready to fly away

The sun setting at the RRS MTA, Wilbur Owens’ first alpha rocket sits ready to fly out of the rails

With the last of our thirteen alphas flying out, we proceeded with the first firing of the horizontal thrust stand built to test loaded alpha propellant tubes. Osvaldo made some modifications to my stout steel frame adapted to the concrete slab in front of the old RRS blockhouse. Dave Crisalli poured this concrete slab as a working platform in the 1970’s. USC in recent times drilled the slab with 1/2″ female anchor bolts to test small 50-lbf motors. It made sense to use this existing foundation for our horizontal thrust stand.

Matteo Tarditti installs the completed RRS horizontal thrust stand to the concrete slab

Osvaldo uses his 185 lbf son, Matteo, as a quick load cell calibration check as Jack Oswald observes the 1124-lbf ranged load cell output on the laptop in the blockhouse. Awkward, but effective.

After some initial software and operator problems with getting and keeping the S-type load cell calibrated, the system was ready to go.

It has been MANY years since the RRS had made direct impulse measurements of an RRS alpha micrograin rocket, but we felt this hardware would be useful for other similar projects in our near future. Although horizontal testing of a micrograin rocket is not indicative of the actual vertical flight, we felt we could still learn much from this testing.

A simple bottle jack (commonly used for changing an automobile tire) was used as a load cell calibration device (pressure gauge was damaged in handling)

We retreated to the blockhouse and got the testing underway. After two false starts from the bunker, we got the alpha motor to fire in the horizontal position and captured it on video.

The results were good in that the load cell readings were captured and the structure adequately retained the rocket in its very brief (0.4 second) thrust bit. Osvaldo crunched the numbers from the readings we got from the test. Load cell readings indicated we reached a peak thrust of 544 lbf. Burn time was only 0.4 seconds.

This is the raw data from the alpha firing in the (translating) horizontal thrust stand; we need more data

Results from the alpha static firing on 2018-10-27

The RRS is very grateful to Interface Force Inc. of Arizona for their generous donation of the S-type load cell we’re using.

www.interfaceforce.com

An S-type load cell, made by Interface Force Inc.

These devices are not very expensive ($350?? each) and are available in sizes from just 100 lbf to up to several thousand pounds. Button cells are more compact and also work well, but they tend to be more expensive.

The big surprise was that our concrete pad wasn’t as well secured as we had hoped. The pad was only 6 inches thick which means that the slab was only an inch or so beneath the surface. I do recall being told this slab poured by RRS member, Dave Crisalli, in the 1970’s, was only intended to be a working surface and that it wasn’t very deep. USC in recent times had drilled the pad with 1/2″ female anchor bolts for a small 50-lbf.

The concrete slab held fast initially, but suddenly broke free displacing itself by over half its length.

Another observation was that we get a little bit of gas leakage at the end of the burn at the bulkhead. This has been seen in other alpha flight videos and thus it wasn’t a surprise.

Despite the moving target of the whole stand moving, just after the alpha fires, you can see gas leakage at the bulkhead

Osvaldo did not see any damage to the seals when we disassembled the rocket from the stand. This may be a weakness of the seal design but it doesn’t seem to harm performance. More experimentation will shed light on this.

Check out the RRS Instagram page to see this footage. I’ll be uploading it to our YouTube page soon as Instagram has a 60-second time limit for video.

While we were conducting test operations at the MTA, Wilbur Owens located his rocket downrange and started the laborious process of alpha recovery by shovel. Osvaldo’s extractor tool has made short work of this step, but I don’t know if it was available that day?

[PROPELLANT DISPOSAL OPERATIONS]

Jack and his team had a quantity of unspent composite propellant which had to be properly disposed. He had quite a bit from a failed attempt to cast a previous motor that hardened too quickly. The RRS MTA is a good place to do this. With the low winds, we are able to safely touch off the two batches in the waning hours of the day.

The first burn was the smaller of the two. The sun had already set so we were losing the light fast.

The first propellant disposal burn was a bit brighter than I thought but manageable.

With the light almost gone, the second batch lit up the night just for a brief moment before fading.

2nd propellant disposal burn starts off with the last of the daylight fading at the MTA

The second propellant disposal burn at its brightest, but quickly fades as the burn safely completes

[IN CONCLUSION … THINGS COMING UP]

Frank had said that the LAPD CSP is looking to start the next school program in January of 2019. We are very grateful to the LAPD CSP for their continuous support to our classes. The RRS is proud to help the community by sharing the hobby we love.

As mentioned in our last monthly meeting, the next event with the RRS will be our visit to Chapter 96 of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). RRS members, Xavier Marshall and Wilbur Owens, invited the RRS membership to join them at their hangar at the Compton Airport on Saturday morning, November 3rd, at 10:00 AM. The RRS is interested in getting inexpensive shop space that is reasonably convenient to our membership residing in the Los Angeles area. The RRS is looking to help cultivate practical machining skills such as lathe work and milling. Many of our members already have these skills to some degree, but want to help other members become more adept at making their own nozzles, nosecones and other rocket parts.

The next RRS meeting will be November 9th at 7:30PM at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena, California. We hope to have Jack Oswald and his team present their results. Despite the failure of the first and only sample hot-firing a great deal was learned which will make the next set of tests more likely to succeed.