Tag Archives: micrograin

MTA Launch Event, 2024-09-07

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by Dave Nordling, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held a launch and firing event to honor the memory of Richard Garcia. His wife, Jeannie Riddles, his brother, Russell, and his aunt and cousin were present to witness the events of that day at our Mojave Test Area. I served as the pyrotechnic operator in charge with Dimitri Timohovich and Leanna Lincoln serving as my apprentices for the several operations we conducted that day with our membership and invited guests. RRS president, Frank Miuccio, was also present for this important event.

The safety briefing was given to all in attendance at 11AM with special recognition given to our honored guests. The weather was very hot (105F) which is typical for early September, but under low winds and a few high clouds.

We had several very different projects that day with many of our members coming to demonstrate their current projects and some bringing new builds. RRS member Jerry Fuller and his daughter Charlotte were also present that day.

Dimitri and Leanna mixed a batch of micrograin from the new zinc stock and our existing sulfur supplies. Chase Lang had a standard alpha and Bill Nelson a standard beta for launch. Both conducted safe loading operations in the RRS loading area.

With everyone under cover and passing air and road checks, the launch of the alpha still showed some of the initial low thurst stalling during firing before exiting the launch rail and being recovered downrange. The beta fired but showed an even lesser performance not managing to generate enough thrust to even leave the launch rail. Both rockets were returned for examination. Most likely cause is excessive moisture absorption into the sulfur, but that is under debate. Clumpiness of the powdered oxidizer was noticed during the mixing operation but a propellant sample burn beforehand showed no problems. it was thought that the tumbling process would be sufficient to homogenize and dry it out. Sulfur is not expensive and the society may consider buying fresh stock and improving the storage conditions.

Fourth year UCLA graduate student, Nick Kuenning, and his advisor, Prof. Mitch Spearrin, were present with a few UCLA Rocket Project members to static fire their new portable rig at the MTA. The main objective was to demonstrate the new oxidizer tank they added and run a prior engine design to check out the whole system. The test also served to show just how far UCLA has come in the many years since the liquid rocket program began at UCLA. Richard Garcia was one of the first RRS members to help UCLA in their early days of the Rocket Project. I attended UCLA PDR’s and CDR’s with him. Nick was just a freshman at the time. It was very generous of the UCLA team to conduct this firing in Richard’s honor during the last of the summer quarter when few students were back from vacation. The crew of four ran a clean and steady full-duration burn of their ablative lined engine on an impinging ethanol and LOX injector used with prior success. The burn went a full duration of 20 seconds with clean startup and shutdown. It is a very nice static fire rig and will give the team many opportunities to continue developing better engines. Nick is planning to speak at the RRS monthly meeting to share their results.

Mike Kramer and John Tsohas came to the RRS MTA as guests. Mike and John fired a few hybrid rockets that day and later joined as members. John had fired with the RRS several years ago and it was good to welcome him back. They had several successful launches and recoveries with the nitrous oxide loading and firing rig they brought.

Bill Inman brought the latest version of the Solar Cat which he and RRS member Dale Talcott built. The Solar Cat is a steam rocket mobile launcher that uses a parabolic reflector type of solar furnace for heating. It is an impressive piece of engineering with the ability to track the sun’s position in the sky and reach steam pressures up to 465 psig before moving the rocket tube into a vertical firing position. It is operated remotely and uses common off the shelf hardware.

After some considerable setup period the day prior in the northern expanse of the MTA, sun conditions that day were inconsistent however after 3:30pm a break in the clouds allowed a one hour period of insolation sufficient to reach adequate steam pressure for launch. Launch ended up not occurring as there was a mechanical snagging problem with one of the harnesses impeding the movement of the release mechanism.

Bill made the decision to abort the launch and remotely opened the vent to relieve the system dumping the load in a safe direction. Minor improvements will be made to the design to prevent similar issues and help avoid problems in deployment and stowing on the trailer. The Solar Cat design has advanced much and has had a few successful firings in Nevada. With Dale and Bill’s continued perserverence, the Solar Cat will one day fire from the MTA. It is a very long drive from Carson City, but Bill’s dedication to that test is a true honor to Richard Garcia and the passion he had for amateur and professional rocketry.

The RRS would like to thank our guests, our visitors and especially our membership for making this event possible.

The launch events will be discussed at the monthly meeting on Friday, September 13th, at 7:30pm at the front office of the Compton/Woodley Airport. RRS meetings are always on the 2nd Friday of each month. Contact the RRS secretary for details.

MTA Launch Event, 2023-07-21

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The RRS held a launch event at our Mojave Test Area on July 21, 2023. Osvaldo Tarditti was the pyro-op in charge. Jim Gross also supported the event.

Aerospace Corporation was the primary client that day as they held their annual intern launch event with 50 model rocket flights with F-sized motors that day. RRS member, Jerry Fuller oversaw the event. The society is glad to host corporate and private launch events and we’re glad to see Aerospace Corporation back again.

The RRS was glad to welcome new members Patrick Finley, Brahm Soltes and Logan Herrera all the way from northern California to load and fly their first micrograin alphas. The classic zinc-sulfur powdered propellant is rarely used today but it remains a practiced tradition at the RRS. All three were launched and two were recovered.

The society is grateful to our volunteer staff for making the event possible. We’re also grateful to Aerospace Corporation and our guests for joining us at the Mojave Test Area.

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.