Tag Archives: steam rocket

MTA launch event, 2020-11-07

Posted on by

By Dave Nordling, Reaction Research Society

The RRS held a launch event at the Mojave Test Area on November 7, 2020. It was a largely overcast day with brief periods of sun. The daytime temperatures reached only 50 Fahrenheit but the winds were no more than 20 miles per hour which meets the criteria for safe launch. Osvaldo Tarditti, our society president, was the pyrotechnic operator in charge for this event.

RECOVERY OF ANOTHER ALPHA FROM JULY

John Krell was able to find the standard length micrograin alpha rocket laumched at the July 2020 event. The rocket was found further north than expected but the downrange distance was about right. This was the rocket with the ceramic coated nozzle which was to have its performance compared to the standard alpha with a plain steel nozzle which is known to erode from the high temperature exhaust.

Recovered standard alpha from the July 2020 launch
The standard length alpha was recovered with its nozzle and the ceramic lined throat. No erosion seems to be present.

Unfortunately, the data was absent on the memory chip. It appears there was a malfunction and flight data wasn’t recorded. John is looking into the problem.

The nozzle was removed and inspected from the recovered alpha. Preliminary results show that the nozzle stayed intact. Careful removal of the largely zinc metallic residue firmly adhered to the entrance and nozzle throat must be done to determine how well the ceramic coating survived the 2300 Fahrenheit flame temperature for the quick four-tenths of a second burn time, John Krell is trying a traditional remedy of heated white vinegar (acetic acid) which has been modestly successful in this application.

The golden color of the coating can be seen at the inlet. The condition of the coating around the throat is what must be determined.

A FEW ROCKETS IN NOVEMBER

Keith Yoerg and a few others launched five model rockets from the MTA event that day. We’re getting a lot more participants at our launch events which is a trend the society will encourage as we are expanding our organization by supporting a range of projects.

  1. The first was “Star Orbiter” which was prepared and launched by Wilbur Owens, and successfully recovered about 3/4 of a mile from the launch site. 
  2. The second launch of the “29mm Rocket” was prepared and launched by Ivan DeDios, and unfortunately was not found after a lengthy search. 
  3. The third launch of the day was “Charlie Horse” and featured the largest motor flown that day. The rocket was prepared and launched by Keith Yoerg and resulted in his first flight above Mach 1.0. In addition, it was the first flight of a GPS carabiner used to track the rocket which performed extremely well & was easy to use. Cheaper options of similar technology are being researched for future flights.
  4. The fourth launch was the “Bell X-2” which was prepared and launched by Keith Yoerg, and was a textbook flight with a simple recovery.
  5. The fifth and final launch of the day was “Low and Slow” which was prepared and launched by Alexander Jones. Unfortunately, the parachute failed to deploy at apogee and the rocket came back ballistically & was destroyed along with one of the carabiner GPS units.
The aptly named “29mm rocket” by Keith Yoerg, powered by a 29mm H115 Darkmatter motor, seen at take-off from the RRS MTA on 11-07-2020
The 29mm Rocket taking off.
Keith Yoerg’s “Charlie Horse” takes flight again frim the RRS MTA on 11-07-2020 powered by a 38mm J520 Skidmark motor.
A great still capture on the Bell X-2 at launch.
Camera view of the Low and Slow rocket at take-off
The recovered remains of the “Low and Slow” rocket by Alexander Jones.

The RRS encourages all forms of reaction-based propulsion including commercial solid motor rocket flights. We have our traditional love for the micrograin rockets, but our society is open to all ideas as long as they contact the society and our pyro-op in charge well in advance of our launch events.

The five commercial solid motors laid out on display.

BILL INMAN’S SOLAR COLLECTOR

Bill Inman came out to the MTA to test his next prototype of a solar collector. Bill’s latest project is exploring the idea of a solar-based heating system for a steam rocket. This second device had a wider collection area and a longer pipe length. He didn’t have good sun conditions that day and his larger collector structure was a little unstable in the wind, but he was able to get ideas for improvement.

Dimitri Timohovich aids Bill Inman in deploying his second generation prototype solar heater. It was a less than ideal day for solar insolation at the RRS MTA. Even the Mojave Desert can be cold on winter days.
A wider collector area in the new design. It was a less than sunny day.

There was a very short period of sun that day and in that time a measurable temperature gain was seen with the new collector.

A wider view of Bill’s solar collector

Testing the same device in the days following the MTA event at another location showed this second design to be a substantial improvement with the larger parabolic mirror area which allowed the water pipe to reach fluid temperatures exceeding 300 Fahrenheit and internal pressures of 90 psig. This is closer to Bill’s goal of reaching above 400 Fahrenheit for his next generation steam rocket from his successful Scalded Cat design almost 20 years ago.

Vapor curve data for water, psia in the left column, degrees Fahrenheit on the right.
The vspor curve of water showing the whole range from triple-point to critical point.

STATIC FIRE OF THE USC RPL ALUMNI SOLID MOTOR

A group of USC RPL alumni static fired an 8-inch solid motor at the MTA. The team worked very hard from the night before and all through the day in getting the motor ready for static fire. The RRS MTA is an excellent location for these operations and conducting safe motor testing.

Unfortunately with some experiments, the results can be disappointing. The hot-fire in the very last hours of daylight ended with a rupture near the bulkhead after roughly one second of the burn.

The 8-inch motor in preparation for testing.
Preparation at the pad as the afternoon is fading at the MTA
Photo of the static firing, less than ideal performance

IN CLOSING

The details of the event will likely be discussed at the monthly meeting teleconference on November 13th. We’ll be also discussing our next launch event to be held next month in December.

We will likely attempt the nitrous oxide hybrid motor with the modified igniter. The colder temperatures should allow the propellant manifold to operate properly without any modifications.

The removal and replacement of the bent panel on the vertical thrust stand was deferred because of USC’s static firing of their solid motor. This maintenance activity will remain a high priority since the replacement plates are ready and at the MTA already.

Thanks to the many members that contributed to this report. We will be planning our next launch event for the month of December at the monthly meeting scheduled for Friday, November 13th.

September 2020 virtual meeting

Posted on by

by the Reaction Research Society

The Reaction Research Society met on September 11, 2020, by teleconference. Several members called in from out of state. After calling the meeting to order and the reading of the treasurer’s report, we began to discuss events to come and those in planning.

Attendees of the Seotember 2020 meeting by teleconference

MTA WORK EVENT 10/3/2020

The next event at the Mojave Test Area will be on Saturday, October 3rd. This will be a work event to repair our large adjustable rail launcher, remove tumbleweeds and brush from around our site, fix the two cut strands of barbed wire at our front gate, clean off corrosion from several areas and also potentially replace the bent panel on the vertical thrust stand. Osvaldo is leading the work event and all members are encouraged to come out. In addition to bringing sunscreeen, proper desert attire and footwear, bringing work gloves will be very useful.

John Krell wearing his facemask standing before our front gate with two of the barbed wire strands cut. This is one of many things to be repaired at the MTA.
Bent panel on the vertical test stand
The 8-inch adjustable rail launcher is still under repair from the failed July 2019 launch. The inner adjustable rail slides are being built from scratch. One of the outer braces was blown off and some of the angle frame pieces are distorted. This will require a lot of rework but we hope to have this launcher back in service soon.

As with all events at the MTA, social distancing and facemasks are required by all attendees at this event. Newcomers must request permission to attend and sign our indemnification waiver in advance of their arrival. See our website for these forms and submit them to the RRS president.

At this same event, we may also have a few launches if members are ready to do so. Dave Nordling was appointed to be the pyro-op in charge for this day. Wolfram Blume had planned to attempt his first flight of the two-stage Gas Guzzler to verify the staging and recovery systems. The nitrous-oxide hybrid motor is also ready for another launch attempt at this event.

Bill Inman also plans to join us at the MTA to conduct some tests of his solar concentrator to be used with his next generation steam rocket still in build.

NEW RESTROOM FACILITY AT THE MTA

Last year, the executive council set priorities for improvements at the Mojave Test Area. At the top of the list was building a new restroom facility which would offer our guests greater comfort than the current facility.

Larry Hoffing and Dave Nordling have begun to approach potential contractors willing and able to build a modest facility at our site. No formal proposals have yet been received yet but the society expects to have more to share in the coming month. With the hot summer months receding and the cooler temperatures of autumn approaching it is a perfect time to begin this project.

Given our modest budget, we are asking for donations to help the society make this much asked for and much needed improvement. Donations to the RRS are tax deductible as we are a registered 501(c)3 educational non-profit group in California. Our Paypal link is one our website and if there are any questions please contact the RRS president or any member of the executive council.

2021 RRS SYMPOSIUM

It was recommended that we try to set a firm date for the 2021 RRS Symposium with the Ken Nakaoka Community Center on a Saturday in late March. Although it is not certain if the symposium can be held, preparation for the symposium can take many months. Frank was going to see if a tenative date could be established only for planning purposes. If COVID-19 restrictions in Los Angeles were lifted to allow our symposium, we would have little time for advanced planning. There’s liitle to lose in scheduling the event and postponing if it becomes necessary.

IN CLOSING

Contact the RRS secretary with questions. Next meeting will be held virtually on October 9, 2020, 7:30pm. Contact the RRS secretary for details.

June 2020 Meeting – *Virtual Only*

Posted on by

by Dave Nordling, Reaction Research Society

written by permission from the RRS Secretary

Our June meeting was held by teleconference on June 12th starting at 7:30pm as planned.  Some people did not seem to get the email link with the information to call-in. As always, members are responsible for keeping their contact information current including their emails. Please contact the RRS treasurer with your updated contact information so that all active members can be on distribution.

treasurer@rrs.org

We had over a dozen people calling in which is a fairly good turn-out under these quarantine circumstances. Some of our members actually appreciated being able to call-in rather than travel all the way to Gardena.

RRS members from around the city call into the June 2020 monthly meeting.

Chris Lujan, our treasurer, was able to set this meeting up for us.  Based on the success of the last two meetings, the RRS will make teleconferences a regular part of our meetings even when we return to in-person meetings.  It allows more of us to connect around our local area.  Many of us miss the face to face interaction which we hope will return some day soon.

The RRS has it’s second monthly meeting by teleconference due to COVID-19 concerns.

Dave Nordling and Larry Hoffing gave an update on the next flight of the hybrid rocket. A new rocket body is being made and a better means of ignition will be attempted that should more reliably sever the nitrous fill line.

New rocket body still in build. Hybrid motor was fitted, but recovery system needs to be installed.

Wolfram is still working on subsystem tests of his Gas Guzzler ramjet. He has rebuilt damaged parts and is conducting burner tests to verify important aspects of his design. He may not return to testing at the MTA until October 2020 when the weather is likely to be cooler.

Wolfram Blume’s Gas Guzzler two-stage ramjet prototype sits on display.

John Krell has built a pair of custom avionics chips that can record altitude and accelerations at rapid data rates (1 kHz).  They are small enough to fit in a standard alpha payload tube.  Integration activities are underway. Frank has many of the recovered alphas in storage which often have their payload tubes intact for re-use after some clean up.

A recovered alpha payload tube ready for re-use with another alpha propellant tube.

Keith Yoerg recently retired his latest rocket after 10 flights and achieving certification with it.  He may start a new build but that remains open.

Next MTA launch date was tentatively set for July 25th. We hope to fly some alphas including one with a longer propellant tube (4-feet) in order to compare the results from John’s avionics.

Bill Inman has decided to rejoin the RRS after being away for many years. He was the builder of the Scalded Cat steam rocket and is working on a new design iteration to fly soon at the RRS MTA. A reprinting of his March 2001 article on the Scalded Cat will soon post to our website for those wanted to see this work in detail.

Bill Inman (right) at the RRS MTA working on his launch rail.

The next monthly meeting of the RRS will be July 10th. We are presuming this to be another teleconference only unless LA County lifts the quarantine restrictions and the Ken Nakaoka Community Center re-opens.

Contact the RRS secretary with questions.

secretary@rrs.org

ADDENDUM

Waldo Stakes will be holding a memorial service for Mad Mike Hughes at 12 noon, July 18, 2020, at the 247 Cafe in Lucerne Valley, CA.  Mad Mike was killed in the last flight of his steam-powered manned rocket flight outside of Amboy, CA, on February 22, 2020.

Mad Mike Hughes (left) and Waldo Stakes (right) in front of the “Juan Pollo” manned steam rocket at the 2019 RRS symposium in Gardena, California.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/22/us/science-channel-mike-hughes-dead/index.html

Mad Mike wasn’t a member of the RRS but he was one of our exhibitors at the 2019 Symposium last year.  He had his rocket, the Juan Pollo, on display and many people had the chance to meet him. He will be missed by his family and friends including some of our membership.