by Keith Yoerg (RRS Secretary)
The latest meeting of the Reaction Research Society took place this past Friday, February 12th and had 19 attendees – including several guest presenters. The meeting started with a discussion of the logistics surrounding the upcoming MTA launch & work event next Saturday, which overlaps with ongoing construction on Dave Crisalli’s adjacent land. The construction workers will be utilizing some of the MTA facilities, and following a discussion among RRS members it was agreed that the planned launch & work event could still be held without interfering with construction activities.
GUEST PRESENTATION – POLY RABBOTICS
Members from the Long Beach Polytechnic High School First Robotics Competition team made a presentation on their project and the adjustments they have had to make due to COVID-19 restrictions. Without being able to meet in person to fabricate and assemble parts on their robot, the student-run group has had to shift their work to virtual workshops and at-home competitions to keep their skills sharp. One such competition required teams of 3 to build a mini-robot able to climb a pole.
Their team is currently meeting 3 times a week to prepare for competition later this year, which features an altered “at-home” layout. Despite the many challenges, it’s clear that this team is making the best of the situation and continuing to help their members gain knowledge and improve their skillsets.
GUEST PRESENTATION – CSULB ROCKETRY
A second guest presentation was provided by members of the Cal State Long Beach Rocketry team. They compete in the NASA Student Launch Competition which challenges teams to design, build, and fly a rocket to between 3,500 ft and 5,500 ft while carrying a drone payload. The drone must deploy away from the rocket and fly to a specific position.
Fortunately, this team has been able to continue fabrication work on their rocket by following strict precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Their shop site is on the Starbase campus at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, and only a small number of specific team members are allowed on site. During competition last year the team placed 12th out of 46 total entrants, and they hope to finish in the top-10 this year.
PLANS FOR THE UPCOMING MTA EVENT
The primary focus for the upcoming MTA event is construction of a new pit toilet on the property. Dimitri plans to build a wooden platform this week and transport it out to the MTA site on Saturday, along with a sonotube liner for the pit. The wooden platform will rest on posts dug into the ground, and once in place we will remove the port-a-john from its current concrete plinth and secure it to this new platform. Work on welding the new plate on the vertical test stand, clearing nearby brush, and other site maintenance could take place if time allows.
Bill Inman plans to continue work on his solar-powered steam rocket, which uses mirrors to heat water with sunlight. Seemingly unsatisfied with any energy source other than the flaming ball in the sky, Bill has decided to modify his setup so that the tracking mechanism (which automatically tilts the solar collector to track the sun) is powered by a solar panel. Bill will be testing this new setup at the next event and may attempt a launch of the steam rocket.
Keith will bring his high power solid rockets “Charlie Horse” and “X2”, and intends to launch at least one of them. The goal of the launch will be to test whether the LoRa GPS trackers, which have been discussed at previous RRS meetings, can be used as a cheap way to track rockets. Dimitri is finishing work on a 4-pad solid rocket launch controller (a layout is shown above) as well as a water rocket launch controller, both of which should be ready for testing on Saturday. A discussion on what food should be grilled at the event was concluded immediately after Dave Nordling’s suggestion – brats.
RRS HISTORY
An additional guest with a connection to the society joined us for this meeting – Tom Hendricks. He was a member of the RRS from 1959 – 1960 while he was a student at Glendale High School. He recounted launching micrograin rockets fueled by zinc dust and sulphur, displayed a rocket nozzle he had once launched, and recalled that the only test stand at the MTA site at that time was a lone I-beam (there’s a lot more on-site now!).
Tom also mentioned that back when he was an active member, the majority of the fabrication for the RRS was provided by 1 society member who had a lathe in their home. Many current members were excited to have Tom back in the fold, and he expressed a desire to join us for an event at the MTA soon. We’re looking forward to having him!
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING RECAP
The final item of business was a recap of topics covered during the January 2021 meeting of the RRS executive council. Council members have received the recommended edits to the constitution from the 2020 Constitutional Committee, and expect to have a version ready for the voting membership to review during the March meeting.
Council members Keith and Larry have been working on plans to install a security camera at the MTA, and presented the current status of the project. The goal is to have a network hotspot run WiFi security cameras. The project will start with the installation of a hotpot in the Dosa building (once shipped from backorder). The plan is to power the hotspot with a solar panel and determine the installation location that provides the maximum WiFi signal range. This will allow for optimum placement of WIFi security cameras. Chris Lujan has a lot of experience with home security cameras as a result of personal research, and shared that knowledge to help with the project.
NEXT MONTHLY MEETING
The next RRS monthly meeting will be held virtually on Friday, March 12th at 7:30 pm pacific time. Current members will receive an invite via e-mail the week of the meeting. Non-members can request an invitation by sending an email to:
secretary@rrs.org