Category Archives: Firing Report

MTA work and launch event, 2023-02-19

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by Dimitri Timohovich, RRS.ORG

The RRS met at the Mojave Test Area from Sunday, February 19, through Tuesday, February 21st, primarily to continue working on the restroom. We also got a launch or two off on Sunday thanks to Keith Yoerg.

Returning rocket to the MTA courtesy of favorable winds

Here is a basic recap of what was done and what needs to be finished to get the bathroom up to working order.

On Sunday, 2/19/2023, Keith and I installed 5 of the 6 unistrut segments on top of the Dosa building. The last piece was accidentally left behind and will be installed on the next trip out. Dave Nordling assisted with installing the lighting in both bathrooms which were tested. 4-hour mechanical timer switches were used to avoid wasting power.

Dave Nordling also cleared brush in the western part of the MTA property that day.

Mechanical timer switches used in both restrooms.
Dual LED panels from recreational vehicles provide excellent low-power lighting.
Good quality light from just two panels.

On Monday, 2/20/2023, I welded and installed the four-inch sewage drain passthrough and attached the sewage drain line to the passthrough. I started welding the other two passthroughs.

On Tuesday, 2/21/2023, I continued welding passthroughs until the wind came up and had to stop. From there, I continued installing the water intake line on top of the container and continued hooking up Pex pipes inside the container.

What’s next will be finishing the 4-inch drain line and starting the 2-inch drain line in the ground. The 2-inch passthrough must be welded in to the container wall. Attachment of the intake water line to it’s passthrough will follow, then attaching the water line from passthrough to water pump. We must also finish attaching the water lines from the pump to all fixtures.

We will temporarily attach the water pump to battery power and test the lines. This will get the bathroom to interim working status which is a major goal of the project. The date of the next work event is not known at this time but will be coming very soon.

MTA firing event, 2023-01-28

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by Keith Yoerg, RRS.ORG

The RRS held a firing event at the MTA on Saturday, February 28th, 2023.

The purpose of the event was to provide training for several society members who desired to gain experience in support of applications for Rockets – Class 2 Pyrotechnic Operator’s licenses from CALFIRE. Jim Gross was the PyroOp in charge for the day, with Rushd Julfiker, Michael Rouleau, Leanna Lincoln, and Keith Yoerg receiving training. The winter morning started off cool with Michael, Keith, and Leanna opening up the MTA and preparing the site for the day’s testing.

from left to right, Leanna Lincoln, Michael Rouleau, Rushd Julfiker and Jim Gross

RRS standard alpha rockets that had previously been launched as a part of RRS youth outreach programs were disassembled and cleaned of residue from their previous firings and propellant mixing supplies were prepped. Rushd arrived while Keith prepped and loaded his high power rocket “Flight On!” with an Aerotech H182-Redline motor for a launch later in the day.

Once Jim arrived at the MTA, a safety briefing was held and everyone in attendance provided a brief introduction detailing their background and interest in rocketry. The static test stand was then bolted to the vertical test stand concrete pad using bolt anchors already in place on the pad. The test stand is a modified I-Beam provided by Jim. After a temporary delay from difficulties in getting the gasoline generator up and running, enough zinc and sulfur micrograin powder for 4 firings were added to the mixing bucket and set up on the mixer.

Loading of alpha propellant tubes, Jim Gross overseeing the operations
Grilled lunch at the Dosa Building

While the propellants mixed, the group returned to the Dosa building for a lunchtime grill out of brats and pineapple. During lunch, the group watched a video on electric match ignition safety from the early 2000s’s provided by Jim, which had to be stopped early to return to the testing task at hand before daylight ran out. The video was “Basics of Electric Firing” by Scott Cartwright was purchased from the American Fireworks News.

Keith, Rushd, Michael, and Leanna then loaded the well-mixed propellant into the prepared alpha rockets and test fired the motors in that order. A video of the firing compiled by Keith can be found on his YouTube channel here, which was collected using RRS GoPro and quadcopter drone cameras.

Used alpha rocket strapped down to Jim’s I-beam static fire stand
Plume pointed north, galvanizing the concrete of our testing pad
Alpha rockets minus their payload tubes and nosecones
Keith Yoerg’s Flight On! rocket takes off on the 1010 rail at the RRS MTA.

Following the test firing of the alpha rockets, Keith launched his high power rocket “Flight On!” for the 3rd time, which was successful in both the flight and recovery. The group then cleaned up the site before locking up and leaving. Thanks to all who made this first firing event of 2023 a success, including former RRS President (and current PyroOp) Osavldo Tarditti for assistance with the propellants and current RRS Vice President Frank Muiccio for providing the alpha rockets used for the testing. We look forward to many more successful events at the MTA this year.

Nearing sunset at the RRS MTA loading area

MTA launch event, 2022-12-17

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The RRS held our last launch event of 2022 on Saturday, December 17th. Wolfram Blume brought out the next build of the Gas Guzzler two-stage rocket. I was the pyro-op in charge and RRS member Joe Dominguez was my apprentice.

It was a flight test of Wolfram’s third rebuild of this complex system. The ramjet upper stage was empty for this flight test to demonstrate the rebuilt design would work well enough before proceeding with a fueled flight test of the ramjet.

Wolfram explains the stages and the integration
The Gas Guzzler is loaded and ready for flight.

The integration of the stages and mounting on the 1515 launch rail worked perfectly. The booster with an L-motor powered the vehicle on a stable trajectory under nearly zero wind conditions. Stage separation was clean and the drogue chute was seen deployed.

Booster stuck in the sand with the front end crushed.

The booster recovery failed to deploy and the main chute on the ramjet also failed. Both stages were lost but recovered less than 100 yards from the launch rail. The drogue chute was ripped clean and found downrange.

Wolfram has spare parts already made, but another launch may require at least another month before a new vehicle is ready. He must also study the wreckage and flight data to find the problems and how best to correct them.

Old anchors extracted by primitive but effective means
Patched holes finished.

The event was also used to fix the new horizontal mounting points. Four of the new 3/4-10 female anchors in the regular 7-by-4 pattern put in by USC RPL this year had problems. Two holes were blocked by old anchors so we spent the afternoon chipping them out. With a quart-sized plastic bucket and some small bits of gravel, the holes were patched with fresh concrete and left to cure until the next event in a month or so. The other two holes will be worked at the next event.

The event also continued the work on the restroom facility. The plumbing, pumps and electrical systems need work. The project will continue into January until its completion.

With the last hour of daylight, we started the stick welding of the missing mounting plate. Joe used the portable welding generator to get the plate in place, but multiple passes would be required to finish. We ran out of daylight before completing the job.