Tag Archives: MTA

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, 2022-09-10

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by Dave Nordling, President, Reaction Research Society

The University of Southern California (USC) Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (RPL) conducted a series of six propellant sample burns for characterizing their latest mixture. I was the pyrotechnic operator in charge for that day. New member and former USC RPL student, Michael Rouleau, was my apprentice that day.

Careful installation of the grains.

Testing took place in the horizontal configuration on our repaired pad with the new 3/4” female pattern using a load cell and chamber pressure transmitters reading from the bulkhead in a modular nozzle can configuration.

USC RPL’s ”Kiwi” subscale propellant grain testing rig.

USC RPL has had several motor failures in recent times which has led this year’s team to try a better known and safer recipe. COVID-19 played a role in creating a knowledge gap. This year’s team hopes to reclaim a success when the full static fire motor is tested at the RRS MTA in a little more than a month.

One of six successful grain firings.

June 2022 Virtual Meeting

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by Dave Nordling, President, Reaction Research Society

The Reaction Research Society held its monthly meeting by teleconference on June 10, 2022. The meeting covered several recent topics and we welcomed new member, Rushd Julfiker.:

We discussed the two recent events at the RRS MTA. Firing reports have been posted for each.

5/21: YMCA student launch event

6/4: UCLA Senior Capstone project launches

The society has had a few groups interested in using the MTA in the next month. Formal requests to use the MTA must be sent by email to the RRS president with specific dates requested.

Wilbur Owens’ loader in action on 5/21/2022 at the RRS MTA.

Dimitri Timohovich and Osvaldo Tarditti went to the MTA on Sunday, 6/5/22 to disassemble and examine the condition of the loader used at the MTA and owned by member, Wilbur Owens. The hydraulic cylinders will require a complete rebuild to return the machine to working order. The backhoe and loader has been a very useful asset to the society and as such the repairs will be paid by the society. Our security cameras are working well to monitor the site in our absence.

The 40th annual Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS40) event by the Tripoli Rocketry Association is being hosted by the Rocketry Organization of California (ROC) in Lucerne Valley this weekend. Some of the RRS will be attending. it is an excellent event that brings many groups together and this year it is back in southern California.

lrds40.org

Progress is being made on the new restroom facility. The septic system and leach field will go in soon. Dimitri provided updates on the container interior which should be finished by month’s end. The next step will be adding the roof platform and water tanks followed by completing the electrical systems.

Site maintenance and upgrades were discussed for projects after the new restroom facility is complete including more water storage and fire suppression gear. We could also use some metal cabinets and industrial shelving to better organize the contents of our new 40-foot storage container.

We have had a persistent problem with nails and metal debris puncturing tires at the MTA. One solution to this problem is a magentic sweeper which can pull up and remove any iron pieces left in the shallow layers of sand and dust.

Magnetic sweepers make picking up nails, bolts and other iron debris simple.

The society has bought two of these devices. With some dedicated and coordinated efforts, our site can be cleaned of this hazard. We will be asking our membership to spend some time sweeping the MTA, collecting the findings and disposing of them in the burn pit.

The north pad (foreground) by the Dosa Building is a convenient spot for loading and unloading.

The society has bought a new 1-ton gantry crane, trolley and chain hoist. This equipment will be useful in loading and unloaiding heavy materials on and off pickup trucks. Items such as cryogenic liquid cylinders would benefit from having a simple means of lifting them on and off with no power source required. The gantry crane will have the wheels removed and will be permanently mounted to a fixed foundation at the north pad by the Dosa Building.

An example of a gantry crane, trolley and chain hoist lfiting a heavy article on or off a pickup truck.

After some consideration, the executive council decided it would be best to postpone the next RRS Symposium until the spring of 2023. It takes a significant amount of preparation and we felt it best to wait to begin in the new year when we will celebrate our 80th anniversary. Before the pandemic, we had three increasingly successful annual events and we look forward to restarting them soon.

Next meeting will be July 8th as they happen on every 2nd Friday of the month. Our meetings will remain by teleconference but we are checking with the Ken Nakaoka Community Center about returning to in-person meetings soon. We will continue to have the teleconference feature even after we return to in-person meetings.

To attend our meetings, contact the RRS secretary.

secretary@rrs.org