Tag Archives: Operation Progress

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.

MTA launch event, 2019-07-13

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by Dave Nordling, Secretary, RRS.ORG

The RRS was glad to have another launch event at our Mojave Test Area (MTA) on Saturday, July 13th. Our event this time was with Operation Progress in Watts. Thanks to our partnership with the LAPD CSP, we are able to fly nine alphas and a beta rocket at this event. It was to be a typically hot July day in the Mojave, but the winds were still through the morning picking up a little as the afternoon went on.

The RRS thrust stand structure flying Old Glory with the nine alphas (left) and the larger beta rocket (right) waiting for launch.

This was my first time as the event pyro-op. New member, Kent Schwitkis of Compton College and Waldo Stakes assisted me with the operations as we gave our young rocketeers a great view of their hard work.

Waldo Stakes in the old blockhouse as we prepare for firing of the next alpha rocket from the box rails.

As the LAPD CSP arrived at the RRS MTA, the society prepared to give a site tour to the students followed by our safety briefing.

The students of Operation Progress take some shelter and hydrate under the cover of the George Dosa building.

Our sample propellant burn demonstration gave the students a visual indication of what would be to come with the propellant driving their custom painted rockets into the blue sky. With the briefing and demonstrations complete, the students took shelter in the observation bunker.

RRS members, Kent Schwitkis and Dave Nordling loading an alpha for Operation Progress

One of the interesting features I noticed with this set of alphas was the use of modelling clay at the nozzle to hold back the micrograin propellant. This proved to be an equally effective method of holding back the propellant when the rocket is in firing position as the typical phenolic thin disks we commonly use.

The electric match lead wires emerging from a wad of modelling clay used to hold back the micrograin powdered propellant. The hole seen in this photo was smoothed over by a gentle brush of the finger. The method proved to be very effective.
A close-up view of the alpha nozzle with its plastic burst-disk and electric match resting on the interior side, the electric match wires protrude out the bottom (held back by carpenter’s tape just for convenience)
Kent holding the second to last alpha in the set. This one has a special feature added on the fin. A whistle.
An alpha streaks away almost perfectly straight in the nearly still winds.

One of the alpha rockets was outfitted with a whistle on one of its fin. Although imparting a spin during flight, the alphas tend to remain somewhat stable in flight. The results from this flight was somewhat disappointing as the whistle could not be clearly heard in either ascent or descent before impact.

Whistle attached to the fin of an RRS standard alpha to provide an audible trace of its flight

Our last rocket for Compton College was the larger RRS standard beta rocket. This two-inch diameter powerful vehicle made its impressive mark on the launch pad as it tore into the sky. After the launch, we took break for lunch. With the day growing hotter by the hour, our partners with the LAPD CSP and Operation Progress bid the MTA and the RRS farewell as they returned to the city.

Still capture of the beta flight from Frank Miuccio’s cell phone video footage from the bunker.

Following lunch, our second group at the event was a team from Compton College made up of Prof. Kent Schwitkis and Brian Johnson and their students. The Compton Comet was a standard alpha rocket outfitted with an instrumentation package and a parachute.

RRS welcomes Compton College at the MTA
The team discusses the assembly and operation of the payload in the Compton Comet.

New RRS member, Professor Kent Schwitkis got his first experience with loading the micrograin propellant in the Compton Comet at our loading area. This is a rite of passage for many of our new members. Although old and grossly inefficient, the zinc and sulfur powder propellant combination offers a simple and powerful combination to lift rockets in a yellow rushing plume.

After loading the propellant tube, the team begins their final assembly by mating the payload to the coupler.
The Compton Comet nearly complete with one more joint to connect.

The Compton Comet was loaded by the team into the alpha launch rails. All of us retreated to the concrete bunker for firing.

The team puts their hands on the rocket one last time before going to the pad.
Loading the Compton Comet into the RRS alpha launch rails. The payload arming flag flowing in the breeze.

The Compton Comet parachute somehow failed to deploy. The ballistic return of the rocket meant extraction by the time-honored method of shoveling. The Compton College team showed tremendous fortitude in the scorching 110 degree weather. The fruits of their labor was the return of the instrumented payload including the data chip inside.

Recovery of the Compton Comet by shovel.

Initial results showed that data was taken throughout the flight. The results are being reviewed by Compton College to be reported later to the society.

This was a very successful launch day at the RRS MTA and the society was glad to support the Operation Progress and Compton College student teams at our Mojave Test Area. For more information on similar rocket building programs with the RRS, contact our events coordinator, Larry Hoffing.

events@rrs.org

For all inquiries about using the RRS MTA, contact the RRS president, Osvaldo Tarditti

president@rrs.org