Tag Archives: MTA

MTA Launch Event, 2023-09-14

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held a private launch event for the Aerospace Corporation at the Mojave Test Area on Thursday, September 14, 2023. RRS member, Jerry Fuller brought his team and experimental two-stage rocket for a proprietary technology demonstration. Osvaldo Tarditti was the pyrotechnic operator in charge for that event. No details of the launch were to be published by the customer’s request. We thank Aerospace Corporation for their continued business.

On that same day, the RRS received two pre-fabricated, air-conditioned office containers to the Mojave Test Area as part of our ever-growing facility upgrade plans. The society will have a 20-foot office container and a 40-foot crew cabin which will allow the Dosa Building to serve as a workspace for projects.

RRS member, Dimitri Timohovich, oversaw the inspections, unloading and placement operations.

The society is grateful to our suppliers, Falcon Structures and Get Hooked Crane Service, for their coordination and professionalism. The society is next planning the electrical power routing necessary to bring these assets into full service.

The society will hold a work event on Sunday, October 1, 2023, to continue facility improvements already underway including the modest photovoltaic array on the Dosa Building.

The next RRS monthly meeting is Friday, October 13, 7:30pm at the front office of the Compton/Woodley Airport.

MTA Launch Event, 2023-06-10

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held a launch event at our Mojave Test Area on June 10, 2023. We had two groups holding separate events that day.

Operation Progress and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Community Safety Partnership held an event with student built “Big Bertha” rockets. Our society treasurer, Larry Hoffing, was the pyro-op in charge. Our vice president, Frank Miuccio, was supporting the event in uniform.

Everything went well as we had some clouds, low winds and mild temperatures for June. A group photo under the MTA arch was a nice finish to a great event. We thank Operation Progress and LAPD and the volunteers who helped make the event a success.

The RRS MTA’s latest improvement, our containerized restroom got its first live test and performed well. Final fixes to be completed this year.

The second event we had at the MTA a little further north was the UCLA Capstone project. Every year before graduation, some UCLA students build custom model rockets with different objectives. They used F and G motors so they still qualify as model rockets. RRS secretary, Joel Cool-Panama, and myself supervised the event with Professors Mitchell Spearrin and Bret Lopez.

All teams were able to launch, sometimes multiple times. UCLA teams recorded their results as part of the senior class. UCLA was well organized and is very easy to work with. We hope to see them again next year at the MTA.

While Joel and I observed UCLA’s operations, we took some time with a shovel and rake to remove the large amount of brush that has grown around the MTA launch and work areas. This year’s abundance of rain was a God-send to many throughout the drought-racked state od California. To the society, it served as a bold reminder that brush clearance is and will be a frequent need to safely continue our operations.

The large vertical test stand with its concrete flame trench has been idle for several years. The Compton Comet team hopes to conduct a static fire test some day soon. After some surveying of the area’s worst spots for brush, Joel decided to clear out the flame trench. I was getting winded just keeping up with loading and carrying away the removed piles. Joel is a good worker and has made his mark this year at the society and serving as an officer on the council.

The last photo is of the 2023 RRS executive council, all of whom attended and participated at this June 10th event.

Our next event will be in July. This could be Saturday, July 22nd, if I get more confirmation from those wanting to launch. All launch and test requests must be made to the RRS president.

president@rrs.org

RRS attended the 1st annual FAR Liquid Rocket Symposium

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

Representatives of the Reaction Research Society were invited to attend the 1st annual Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) liquid propellant rocket symposium at the EAA Chapter 1 headquarters at the Flabob Airport in Riverside, California, on January 28, 2023. Dimitri Timohovich and I came to observe and participate in the all-day event including a range of topics related to safe design and operations with liquid rockets. There were hardware demonstrations giving attendees a direct appreciation for the importance of safety and careful planning with their system designs.

The intended audience was university rocket teams looking for best practices and expert advice. Mark Holthaus (president of FAR), Mark Ventura (RRS member and owner of Ventura Energy Systems) and Derek Honkawa (FAR member and private business owner) all gave excellent presentations covering igniters, propellant handling, part cleaning, and pressure system safety with a generous amount of examples of successful and unsuccessful projects at FAR.

FAR will soon make their presentation files available on their website for download. The RRS was glad to be there for this first of its kind event.

The RRS similarly has experts that have supported liquid rocket projects for decades at the Mojave Test Area. Contact the RRS president for requests and scheduling.

Also, the RRS will be holding our 80th anniversary symposium on April 15th at a venue location to be announced soon. This will be our first symposium since the pandemic and we look forward to having many speakers from industry, government, academia and the hobbyist community on topics related to liquid propellant rockets and many other subjects of interest to our public audience.

Sunrise at the Flabob Airport in Riverside, California.
For early cold mornings, coffee helps.
Pressurized water flow testing rig on display.
A full day of presentations on topics related to liquid rockets.