MTA Launch Event, 2023-06-10

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held a launch event at our Mojave Test Area on June 10, 2023. We had two groups holding separate events that day.

Operation Progress and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Community Safety Partnership held an event with student built “Big Bertha” rockets. Our society treasurer, Larry Hoffing, was the pyro-op in charge. Our vice president, Frank Miuccio, was supporting the event in uniform.

Everything went well as we had some clouds, low winds and mild temperatures for June. A group photo under the MTA arch was a nice finish to a great event. We thank Operation Progress and LAPD and the volunteers who helped make the event a success.

The RRS MTA’s latest improvement, our containerized restroom got its first live test and performed well. Final fixes to be completed this year.

The second event we had at the MTA a little further north was the UCLA Capstone project. Every year before graduation, some UCLA students build custom model rockets with different objectives. They used F and G motors so they still qualify as model rockets. RRS secretary, Joel Cool-Panama, and myself supervised the event with Professors Mitchell Spearrin and Bret Lopez.

All teams were able to launch, sometimes multiple times. UCLA teams recorded their results as part of the senior class. UCLA was well organized and is very easy to work with. We hope to see them again next year at the MTA.

While Joel and I observed UCLA’s operations, we took some time with a shovel and rake to remove the large amount of brush that has grown around the MTA launch and work areas. This year’s abundance of rain was a God-send to many throughout the drought-racked state od California. To the society, it served as a bold reminder that brush clearance is and will be a frequent need to safely continue our operations.

The large vertical test stand with its concrete flame trench has been idle for several years. The Compton Comet team hopes to conduct a static fire test some day soon. After some surveying of the area’s worst spots for brush, Joel decided to clear out the flame trench. I was getting winded just keeping up with loading and carrying away the removed piles. Joel is a good worker and has made his mark this year at the society and serving as an officer on the council.

The last photo is of the 2023 RRS executive council, all of whom attended and participated at this June 10th event.

Our next event will be in July. This could be Saturday, July 22nd, if I get more confirmation from those wanting to launch. All launch and test requests must be made to the RRS president.

president@rrs.org

June 2023 Meeting

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by Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held its monthly meeting at the Compton/Woodley Airport location, 7:30 PM PST.

Agenda topics of the meeting were:

  • Wolfram launch on 5/20 cancelled, postponed
  • Lynwood Unified Girl STEM conference, 6/1
  • Funding received for 60ft launch rail, prefabbed containers, solar panels
  • USC upgrade proposal for horizontal pad
  • 6/10 UCLA launch event
  • 7/21 Aerospace launch event
  • Larry CalFire recommendation letters
  • Discussion of 45kW power generator purchase
    • Our current generator is only 7kW
    • Society will likely need to replace the current generator
  • Liquids and Cryogenic Fluid Handling class
    • Cryogenic Training, Colorado School of Mines, 7/31-8/4

Past Events

There was a launch event scheduled for May 20th, held for society member Wolfram’s personal project. Unfortunately, he suffered from a pinched nerve on the day of the launch, and chose not to make the drive to the MTA while dealing with the pain. We’ll have future opportunities for Wolfram’s next test flight of his 2-stage Gas Guzzler rocket.

On June 1st, Society Secretary represented the Society at the Lynwood Girl’s STEM conference. The Society was last represented at this event a few years ago, so it is appreciated that Joel took the time out of his busy schedule to attend.

The Society is pleased to announce that we have received funding for a number of planned improvements to the MTA. Some of the money is set to pay for new solar panels, as well as to pay for the previously installed one. Two other items paid for here are a prefabbed containers, one a 20ft office space, and the other a 40ft crew cabin. Finally, and arguably the most important, is money for a proposed 60ft launch rail for liquid rockets. A final design for the same has not been chosen yet, but proposals are currently being sought out from various sources by the Executive Council.

Current Events

USC is currently proposing making improvements to the short launch tower at the MTA. Our contact who has proposed this project is currently set to graduate from the school this year, so time is likely of the essence. His proposal however, surely to everyone’s pleasure, is to set female anchors into the concrete pad.

There is a launch event set for June 10th. There are two groups who will be using the site on that day. One is a children’s group led by Frank and Larry. They will be launching B and C rockets, and Baby Berthas. The second group to use the site on that day will be UCLA, who will be launching F and G rockets. This is a senior capstone project for their students. At the same time, Dave and Joel will be traveling there to handle UCLA, and Dave will be bringing some more supplies for the restroom.

In regards to the restroom, Dave is pleased to announce that it has passed the initial tests, and is functional. However, the water heater for the shower and sink has not yet been installed. It’s first live demonstration will be at the 6/10 Launch Event tomorrow.

The society is pleased to announce that we had a new member attend our meeting this month. Adrew Fuller is an intern at Northrop Grumman, and was invited by his coworker and fellow member, Michael R. During the discussion with him, it was brought up that a Northrop Grumman internet launch event might be proposed.

Also, Bill Inmann mentioned towards the end of the meeting that he’s made some upgrades to his Solar Cat steam rocket. He has apparently made the controls of the rocket wholey wireless, which could improve safety immensley.

*Future Events

On July 21st, the Aerospace Corporation is set to have a launch event at the MTA. Aerospace has agreed to pay the full MTA price, for what will be an internet launch event. Aerospace employee Jerry Fuller is also set to do a hybrid launch.

Society Treasurer Larry has previously expressed a desire to discuss Calfire recommendation letters, however, as of the time of this meeting, he has requested that the discussion be tabled. It was mentioned by other members that Caleb Phillips is our contact at Calfire, and he has apparently made some comments in regards to the difficulties in acquiring the number of recommendations required for obtaining a license. One idea suggested is the minimum number being no more than some proportion of current license holders in total. It was also brought that, in regards to obtaining a class 3 license, CALFIRE truly only asks for a few recommendations from other Pyro-ops, and will accept some references from non-family me,bers which are only character references in nature.

Another future issue discussed was in regards to the purchase of a 45kw power generator. It needs to be determined what are the MTA’s power needs, and this will have to be done by measuring the appliances there. It should also be determined how many appliances should be in operation at once on the site. It was suggested that we should ask FAR what their average power usage is, to use as a baseline. The importance of this discussion will increase as time continues on, since the Society will need obtain a new generator in the next several years.

In regards to upgrades, the Society’s donors would like to receive an all-in figure the cost of upgrades we would like. President Dave has been working on producing a figure, and our donors haven’t yet agreed to it as a whole, but our best bet is to try and demonstrate our ability to carry out the upgrades in a timely fashion, and on budget, in order to make use of their generosity.

Regarding usage of the MTA, Vice-President Frank has scheduled another class. This one is for the Boyle Heights YMCA. He’s currently planning to host their launch on September 9th.

Keith Yoerg has again brought up that the society could surely use more launchers at the MTA. If they were portable then they would be better yet, since they could be repositioned as needed, to be best viewed from the blockhouse. He has again mentioned that he would like to see regularly scheduled events held at the MTA, to drum up interest in rocketry, and the Society. Keith and Michael Rouleau were going to investigate designs of a multi-rail launcher with six 1010 rails. The council approved funding for this important improvement to aid in future launch events.

Frank was also pleased to announce that Mary Star, the location for this year’s Symposium, has already scheduled us to host it there again next year, on April 13th. Having a set date and location will make planning much easier than it was this year, and we are pleased again with Frank’s hard work.

The next society meeting will be on July 14th, 2023, at the Compton/Woodley Airport location. Contact the secretary for details. We meet the 2nd Friday of each month at 7:30pm.

May 2023 Meeting

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by Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held its monthly meeting at the Compton/Woodley Airport location, 7:30 PM PST.

Agenda topics of the meeting were:

  • Symposium successes
  • Restroom operational
  • MTA improvements
  • Wolfram launch 5/20
  • UCLA launch 6/10

Past Events

It is with great pleasure that the Society declares the Symposium to have been a success. In all, there were 22 presenters present, and approximately 70 to 80 persons in attendance. Likewise, Mary Star High School has told us that they did well on their food service sales, and have already penciled us in to host the Symposium at their location again on April 8th, 2024.

However, there is much room for improvement. For example, we need to have better signage for the presentation room and food service at the next symposium. We could also take advantage of the large screens present in the gymnasium to keep attendees up to date on presentations. It was also noted that we should have a hard deadline for speakers to sign up, probably a few days in advance of the event, to prevent scheduling confusion. The older members of the Society are also in agreement that we should hire some of the students to help us setup and break down the Symposium. We could also Mary Star’s WiFi password, and maybe make it available upon request.

The Society was also pleased to receive a donation of eletrical match blanks from long-time RRS member, Steve Majdali. Our treasurer, Larry Hoffing, is to write a receipt for them.

Current Events

Prior to the meeting, Society President Dave Nordling had new keys made for the newly opened MTA restrooms. Six pairs of keys were made, the gold one being to open the restroom proper, and the silver to open the container door to the valves and switches.

In regards to the restroom, it was mentioned that the society should probably hire someone to clean the restroom. In the past, society members have graciously handled cleaning and supplies themselves with the porta-potties, but there is a desire to have the restrooms taken care of by someone else. The main problem seems to be the cost of doing so, and how we might extract compensatory fees from anyone who uses the MTA and doesn’t clean up after themselves. A deposit was suggested, but Frank noted that getting such from a school would likely be a hassle.

Thanks to the Society’s generous donors, we are pleased to announce that a 60-foot launch rail for launching liquid rockets, and prefabbed containers for the MTA, have been funded. Polaris has a design for such a launch rail, and the Society is considering hiring them to build it. Also, in light of the struggles around building numerous projects at the MTA, it is expected that the Society will pay contractors to make improvements to the site mifor the forseeable future.

It’s also been recommended that the Society should have portable launch rails at the MTA. Being portable means that they can be moved away when might be necessary, such as if a group’s view of another launch rail is obstructed. Wolfram in particular has requested 1515 launch rails, but others, such as members of ROC, might appreciate these as well, due to the difference between our height waivers.

Steve Majdali mentioned at the meeting that he has 1,000 ft of duplex wire, 18 gauge solid core, which he might donate to the Society for our use. He also apparently has multi-strand, fine gauge wire, and might even have some sulfur to dispose of as well.

In other news, Society Treasurer Larry has received 3 lbs of 400-mesh zinc powder from a supplier in India. The zinc isn’t of the fineness typically used for micrograin rockets, but Larry will test its use regardless. It should be noted that the zinc was bought at $4 per pound, which is a very good deal, and we might consider sourcing from this supplier in the future. US-based suppliers are not as common today as they have been in decades past.

Future Events

UCLA is currently scheduled to hold their Capstone project launch event at the MTA on June 10th. Likewise, Frank and Larry will simultaeneously be holding launch classes at the site. They will be having two launches, B and C motor model rockets, as well as Baby Bertha.

The Aerospace Corporation is also scheduled to use the MTA for their intern rocket launch event. As of now, there is no conflict on the MTA schedule with their event.

The Society is also receiving more requests for Vice-President Frank to teach more classes. Among past locations requesting his services is Nickerson Gardens.

Also, it has been noted that having underground cable runs between the launch rails and the Garboden Observation Bunker at the MTA would be very valuable. A pull string should be installed along with whatever conduit is put in place, and CAT9 wire should definitely be installed as a good starting point. This facility improvement needs further definition.

The next society meeting will be on June 9th, 2023, at the Compton/Woodley Airport location. Contact the secretary for details.