Tag Archives: USC RPL

80th Anniversary RRS Symposium on April 15, 2023

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society is proud to announce our 80th anniversary symposium to be held at the Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro on Saturday, April 15, 2023, from 8am to 5pm. We have 15 speakers and over 20 exhibitions which is on par with our last symposium four years ago before the pandemic.

Mary Star of the Sea High School is at 2500 N. Taper Avenue in San Pedro, California, 90731.

Gates will be open at 7:15AM for exhibitors to set up. The event will start at 8:00AM sharp.

The gymnasium will hold our exhibitors. Room 108 will have the presentations. Seating is limited. All speakers must be present at least 15 minutes ahead of their speaking time.

Below is a tentative list of our speakers. The list is subject to change without notice.

  • Opening and first session, 8:00-8:30am, Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG
  • 8:30-9:00am, by remote, Ichiro Ausin, et al, University of Michigan
  • 9:00-9:30am, Dr. Steven Chambreau, Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards AFB
  • 9:30-10:00am, Eric Schmidt, Exquadrum Inc.
  • 10:00-10:30am, Mark Ventura, Ventura Energy Systems
  • 10:30-11:00am, Dean Theodor, Federal Aviation Administration
  • 11:00-11:30am, Julia Woomer et al, USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory
  • 11:30-12noon, Blake Spahr et al., UCLA Rocket Project
  • Lunch Break 12:00-1:00pm
  • 1:00-1:30pm, Dr. Frank Chandler, California Polytechnic Pomona
  • 1:30-2:00pm, Dr. Jerry Fuller, Aerospace Corporation
  • 2:00-2:30pm, Tre Willingham et al, Compton Comet
  • 2:30-3:00pm, Caleb Phillips and Vijay Mepani, CALFIRE
  • 3:00-3:30pm, Jack Caldwell et al, Caltech
  • 3:30-4:00pm, Darrell Chua et al, UC San Diego SEDS
  • 4:00-4:30pm, Patrick Finley, Lander Challenge
  • Closing and thanks, Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

Free tickets on Eventbrite are still available. Many thanks again to Peter Thorpe for his background artwork and to Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro, California, for graciously hosting this event. Food/drinks/snacks will be provided by Mary Star High School.

For questions, please contact our vice president, Frank Miuccio.

vicepresident@rrs.org

Our April 14th monthly meeting will be also held at the Mary Star High School auditorium at 7:30pm. We will discuss a few items of business but largely we will be preparing the site for the next day.

Our latest flyer design for the 80th anniversary RRS symposium
Rough floor plan of the exhibition in the Mary Star High School gymnasium
Laminated impulse scale charts from the RRS will be available for purchase at the symposium for $10 each. Proceeds go to the society general fund.
Membership applications will be available at the symposium for those wishing to apply for associate membership. $20 per year for students. $40 per year for all others.

We look forward to celebrating amateur rocketry with the community.

December 2022 meeting

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The RRS held it’s last meeting of 2022 on December 9th at the front office of the Compton/Woodley Airport. After some consideration, the society voted to make this site our permanent meeting location. Our teleconference feature will also remain which has helped us through the pandemic and connect our members living or traveling far away.

The newly elected officers for next year, 2023, were announced:

Dave Nordling, President

Frank Miuccio, Vice President

Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary

Larry Hoffing, Treasurer

The society thanks Keith Yoerg for his two years of service as our secretary. We welcome Joel Cool-Panama as our new secretary starting January 1, 2023.

The society also would like to thank Drew Cortopassi for serving as our election chairman this year.

The Dosa Building, new firehouse and the restroom facilities.

Past events were reviewed including the USC RPL static fire and the work event on December 4th. Reports on these events have been posted.

Jay Miller (left) of Welding Services Inc. explains the naming convention for welding rods to RRS member, Mohammed Daya (with helmet). His son, Abdullah, new member to the society stands behind him.

The welding class in Vista was also a big success as we learned GMAW, MIG and TIG types of welding.. The society has agreed to buy a pair of better welding helmets.

We had two people join the society as associate members, Michael Rouleau and Abdullah Daya. We welcome them to the society.

Future events including a launch event on December 17th were discussed. An event on January 14th is in discussion as we may have a visitor that Saturday. Restroom construction will likely continue into January.

The executive council is working to complete the final draft of the Constitution. Many improvements have been made and it will be going out to the voting membership before year’s end for a 2/3rd’s ratification vote. Drew Cortopassi agreed to be our election chairman for this special vote. Voting will close in 45 days after submission to the voting membership which will be late January to early February 2023. Results to be announced at the February 10, 2023, meeting.

The new website for the RRS is still in work. Frank Miuccio continues to work with our webmaster. No date for its launch yet.

Our 80th anniversary as a society is on January 6th, 2023. We hope to formally announce our next symposium at the next meeting.

Next meeting will be January 13th, 2023, at the front office of the Compton/Woodley Airport.

MTA Firing Event, 2022-11-12

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by Jim Gross, Reaction Research Society

The RRS hosted the University of Southern California (USC) Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (RPL) from Friday, 11/11, to Sunday, 11/13/2022 for a static firing of their latest experimental class, solid propellant motor design, Firebiter. I was the pyrotechnic operator in charge with Keith Yoerg and Michael Rouleau apprenticing.

USC firing campaign logos keep getting better and better

Back in September, USC completed a series of test grain burns which gave valuable regression factors necessary for their full 6-inch scale solid motor.

Borrowing from painful past experiences, USC RPL under their team leader, Julia Woomer, found a good compromise between stability and performance as evidenced by their hotfire on Sunday just three minutes before noon.

USC RPL demonstrated a good motor at the RRS Mojave Test Area

The RRS has had a long successful relationship with USC for over a decade. USC will prepare another full-scale motor for flight soon.