by Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary, Reaction Research Society
On Friday, 3/29/2024, Dimitri Timohovich was able to pick up and deliver the hydraulic equipment for the 60 foot launch rail. Rushd Julfiker was able to come out and help him off load the equipment. They then went up to the Butterfield’s home in Ridgecrest and picked up the shop equipment donated to the RRS. They off-loaded that gear into the Dosa building and called it a night.
Early Saturday morning saw a fair amount of rain in the desert and the nice smooth road we used to get in and out of the MTA is once again a sloppy mess. Even though it was slippery, all that planned to be at the MTA made it there.
With help from Dave Nordling, his friend Matt Giovannucci and Bill Nelson; Dimitri was able to put the shop equipment away into the Rockwell trailer and container 11. The hydraulic equipment is sitting in front of container 14.
The RRS would like to thank the Butterfield family for their generous donation of the shop gear. These items will greatly help the RRS in its future endeavors.
RRS member Wolfram Blume continues to make progress on his gasoline-fueled ramjet system but opted to postpone his work at the MTA to avoid the inclement weather on Saturday. He may have been the wiser man that day. The weather was very challenging on the drive into the MTA. Greater rainfall than expected throughout the morning made the western road very difficult but many made the journey.
Dave Nordling served as pyro-op on that launch day bringing his friend, Matt Giovannucci, on what was a less than stellar day. Cold temperatures and light rain persisted through the morning, but winds remained light and even stopped with the sun coming out that afternoon. The road drained sufficiently to make the return drive easier but it was a mess.
New RRS members, Jeff and Chase Lang came to MTA and fired a series of six custom built H-sized solid motors. Member Jason Kobel joined them. All seemed to perform as expected with a single ignition problem rectified by replacing the igniter and refiring that motor. They had a model rocket they flew a few times from our 1010 rail on G-motors. After fixing a GPS tracker problem, they were able to retrieve their rocket downrange each flight.
Bill Nelson and Dave Nordling conducted fit checks of the first 1936 GALCIT rocket engine and its thrust stand replicated from the photos and scant information from JPL archives. This was an important milestone for the LACMA funded project with American Artist.
Larger sandbags were brought to the MTA. The Rice Hydro hydraulic hand pump owned by the society seems to have an internal seal or a check valve problem which prevented proof pressure testing of the methanol run tanks that day. More work on the fuel and oxidizer feed and control system will take place next month. The analog thrust measurement system consisting of a stylus and scrolling paper roll is still under design. Dimitri may have a suitable variable speed motor for driving it. We are holding schedule for a June event with the film crew.
A toilet auger and rotary snake has been put in the workspace in the toilet container which will help fix major clogging problems on the spot. Everyone has thus far been careful but it is better to have the means to unjam the plumbing on site and not need it than the alternative.
RRS President, Frank Miuccio, found a small roll-top desk for the Office Container 14, but will bring it to the MTA later.
Next month’s meeting will be at the gymnasium of the Mary Star High School in San Pedro on Friday, April 12th, which is the day before the 2024 RRS Symposium held at the same location.
The RRS held a work event at the Mojave Test Area (MTA) on Saturday, January 20th. The primary purpose of this meeting was to give Joel Feree, our contact with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), an in-person tour of the whole MTA, so that he could get an idea as to what we were working with for our collaboration with American Artist which will involve the recreation of the 1936 Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) prototype liquid rocket engine. This was Joel Ferree’s first time at the MTA and he gained much insight into how we’ll be seeing the project through. Dimitri Timohovich also used his experience in the film industry to highlight some practical aspects for the production. Following this meeting, Dave Nordling, Dimitri, and Joel Ferree came up with a timeline for the project. Dave Nordling, serving as the project leader, is working hard to get hardware ready for an initial firing by our membership at the MTA. Once the system is proven to work reliably and safely, the static firing of this replica will be the centerpiece of the filming to take place at the MTA.
On the same day, four student representatives of Loyola Marymount University’s rocketry team came to meet with Dave Nordling. They intend to build a custom hybrid motor, which they plan to static fire at the MTA. Dave gave them some points on their motor and feed system designs, which they can certainly appreciate, given that this is their first experimental rocket project. Rushd Julfiker and Dave will continue to advise the team on their propellant loading system and ignition system, and they may well use a firing box of Dimitri’s design.
While there, Dave and Dimitri worked on moving some of the society assets from the Dosa Building to the new Bldg. 14 office container. This was done partly to declutter the working space, in order to make it into a meeting and workspace once more. If the lease does end next year, then Polaris will be removing many items of theirs which are also in the Dosa Building, including refrigerators, stove, and laminar flow bench. Polaris is required according to the terms of the lease to notify the RRS Executive Council of the movement of their assets.
According to Dimitri, a company called Tortuga Industries has reportedly bought 183 acres of land along Munsey Road. According to the rumors, they are looking to turn their parcel into a private duck hunting reserve, complete with a large pond.
Dimitri also reported that Crisalli is taking the initiative to fix the northern road running along the eastern side of the MTA property. Gordon has so far filled in the trench near the northeastern corner of the property, removed the concrete barricades, and installed a gate across the road. He has reportedly been using this northern route himself, dragging it several times in the process. He reports that the 4 miles of the northern road leading to the highway is now certainly passable, albeit the creek bed is still soft as of this writing. The RRS still recommends all visitors and users of the MTA continue to use the western (Munsey) road from Cantil until further improvements can be made. The RRS MTA has access gates along the eastern border but they are rarely used.
Next monthly meeting will be February 9th.
Next work event at the MTA is planned for February 17th. This will depend on planned Polaris operations which could close the access easement road. Coordination with Polaris will be required.
