MTA launch event, 2021-01-09

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Dave Nordling

by the Reaction Research Society

The Reaction Research Society held its first launch event of the new year on Saturday, January 9, 2021. Dave Nordling was the pyro-op in charge. We had a couple rockets prepared and some maintenance work we wanted to continue. Dmitri Timohovich brought his whole family to the event and we enjoyed grilled burgers there at the Mojave Test Area. The January winds were light and cool that day. It was a good day for launch.

Bill Inman enjoys a burger in the George Dosa Building

Everyone relaxing for a short lunch before getting to launch.

Wolfram Blume brought his two-stage rocket, the Gas Guzzler. His ramjet upper stage was rebuilt from last year’s unfortunate breakage when dropped during loading on the launch rail last year. 3D-printed plastic parts can sometimes be very brittle and care must be taken.

The 1515 launch rail was put into position with some help from Bill Inman and a few others. Bill Inman is still working on his solar tracker for his latest iteration of the Scalded Cat. He made the trip from Carson City to the Mojave Test Area to help others with operations and we were very thankful.

Wolfram was able to mount his booster stage on the rails and carefully erect the launcher. The booster uses a commercial solid motor, an Aerotech “K” motor.

Wolfram cleans the 1515 rail at the RRS MTA in preparation for mounting the booster

Wolfram’s booster sits on the launch rail

The ramjet for this first flight was loaded with water to simulate the weight, but would not be fired. The primary goal was to demonstrate the staging and recovery systems powered only by the booster. Wolfram went back to the loading area to complete the preparations of the upper stage. During a system checkout, the parachute deployment charge fired. After some careful examination, the source of the problem seemed to be related to errant software commands. Wolfram aborted his launch attempt and returned with his rocket stages for further examination back in Los Angeles. Although the charges could be reloaded, he could not be certain that an early parachute deployment would occur and wreck his vehicle during flight.

Dmitri Timohovich and Waldo Stakes worked on completing the welding of the new steel plate on the vertical test stand. This plate on the vertical test stand was damaged during a test failure many years back and late last year was finally cut out and the space grinded to fit a replacement plate. Unfortunately, the stick welding system would require a different type of welder and a more powerful source to drop a reliable weld. The welding of the plate will be reattempted at the next event.

With the grinding complete, the plate is fitted and ready to be welded in place

The second launch of the day would be Dave Nordling’s nitrous oxide hybrid rocket. This 38mm H-sized commercial hybrid motor kit from Contrails Rocketry (H-222 model) had a modified igniter and was mounted in a new 4-inch body made by Larry Hoffing. The prior launch attempt had issues with severing the nylon plastic filling line so the ignition energy was increased with small bit of composite solid propellant ignited by an electric match.

Several minor problems occurred during launch preparations. The nitrous bottle and manifold filling system was working well but the electrical control box failed during tests. After some discussion, the defective switch box was removed and we were able to fire and get a clean launch

Dave Nordling leans against the old blockhouse with the second build of the hybrid rocket waiting for launch

We repacked the motor before launch and adjusted the vent tube to be more visible. The filling of the rocket went quickly and smoothly, only about 20 seconds before the white stream of liquid could be seen. The filling was stopped and with a short five-count and the rocket was fired. The rocket came off the rails quickly and it seemed that the modified igniter worked. The big problem was the parachute recovery switch wasn’t turned on before launch. This simple oversight would mean a rebuild would be necessary.

The simplest error can lead to sad results.

The rocket was recovered on the north end of the MTA site. It only seemed to reach about 300 feet of altitude. Unfortunately the ballistic landing broke both stages and the internal motor mounts and a complete rebuild is necessary. The motor case was parts were in tact and so it was extracted and will be reloaded,

The hybrid motor seems to arc to the north against wind.

Beckie Timohovich recorded the hybrid flight on her phone, The rocket seemed to immediately curve to the north off the rails opposite of the wind. It seems that the nylon fill line might be still holding fast despite the added solid propellant charge. The 3/16-inch nylon plastic line being strong enough to hold back the 900 psi nitrous pressure, it also poses a challenge to cut cleanly from the ignition charge. A static firing of the motor will be done next to get a better look at how well the fill line severs and measure the thrust curve directly..

The remnant of the fill line from within the hybrid after firing. The end looks smoothly extruded.

After recovering the hybrid rocket and putting away the equipment, we flew a water rocket for Dmitri’s young son. Although very simple, these things are very fun.

Max Timohovich holds the water rocket fired several times at the end of the afternoon.

The event was a partial success and there is more work to be done on our facilities including adding a new toilet facility at our site and welding in the plate on the vertical test stand. The next hybrid rocket launch may be a couple months away, but Bill Inman may have his next design of his solar heated steam rocket ready for launch af fhe MTA in a few weeks. He had his first successful flight in the Nevada desert just before Christmas. He is getting ready for a flight from the RRS MTA.

Bill Inman has his first successful flight of his solar-powered steam rocket on 12/22/2020

Wolfram seemed confident that he too might be ready to try his first launch of the Gas Guzzler at about that same time. If the next launch event occurs before the next monthly meeting on February 12, 2021, the announcement will come through the society email list.

The sun sets at the RRS MTA after a good day.

January 2021 Virtual Meeting

Posted on January 11, 2021 by kyoerg

by Keith Yoerg (RRS Secretary)

The Reaction Research Society’s first meeting of 2021 took place this past Friday, January 8th and was attended by 11 members. Dave Nordling provided a review of the December 2020 event at the MTA, a written account of which can be seen in the post preceding this one.

Screenshot of discussion during the monthly meeting

PLANS FOR THE UPCOMING MTA EVENT

The first discussion was regarding plans for the upcoming MTA event on Saturday, January 9th. Dimitri (and family), Wolfram, Bill, Waldo, and Dave (as Pyro Op) stated their intentions to attend the launch. Plans include continuing repair and replacement of the bent panel on the vertical launch structure led by Dimitri and Waldo, a launch of Dave’s hybrid rocket, a demonstration flight of Wolfram’s Gas Guzzler, and mention of a grill-out with hamburgers! Expect a launch event update on the results soon.

RESTROOM AND OTHER FACILITIES IMPROVEMENTS

The discussion continues on improving the restroom facilities at the MTA. While the Executive Committee pursues bids from contractors and other options for a more substantial restroom facility, finding a more immediate replacement for the current pit toilet is a top priority. Digging a new pit toilet should be made much easier by the recent delivery of a CAT backhoe to the Mojave. Due to security concerns, the equipment is being stored at the FAR site in view of their security cameras. Larry and Keith agreed to look into options for cameras that could provide similar security at the MTA.

While the initial plan was to drag the concrete plinth from the current pit toilet to the new one, a decision was made to proceed with building a new wooden platform to mount the port-a-john instead. Of concern was the seemingly likely outcome of damage to the concrete plinth when trying to place it with the equipment available. Dimitri outlined his idea for the new structure and offered to sketch out a more formal design after reviewing at the MTA at the launch event.

DUES REMINDER AND FUNDRAISING BRAINSTORM

The RRS treasurer offered a reminder for members to pay their dues for 2021, which remain at $40 for full membership and $30 for student membership. As a reminder, the full membership dues will be increasing to $50 in 2022. For questions regarding dues payments, contact the RRS treasurer:

treasurer@rrs.org

Most of the members on the call got involved in the brainstorming session on how to increase fundraising at the society to cover our insurance and other yearly costs. Xavier proposed putting on a holiday party for the society as a ticketed event, and offered to take charge of scoping out costs and possibilities for the 2021-2022 winter season (when in-person gatherings will hopefully be allowed again). Dimitri discussed the challenges and opportunities involved in listing the MTA site with the Kern County Film Commission as a shoot location. The possibility of holding an auction, either stand-alone or as a part of the yearly symposium was also proposed, and Dimitri offered to put together a draft form letter to submit to companies to solicit donations. Additional items would be donated by members or other involved entities.

2020 CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE

A request was made for an update on the status of the 2020 Constitutional Committee, which has been drafting changes to the constitution of the Reaction Research Society. Committee member Frank described that only a few outstanding issues remain, including the definition of active membership, which need to be finalized by the Executive Council before being presented and voted on. The Executive Council intends to meet on this issue soon and present the new constitution to the voting membership in the coming months.

November 2020 virtual meeting

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Dave Nordling

by the Reaction Research Society

The RRS held its monthly meeting on November 13th. The teleconference brought several of us together again from different parts of the city and around the country.

The November 2020 monthly meeting by teleconference

PAST EVENTS

The society discussed the prior launch event at the MTA held on November 7, 2020. Details of the event are in the firing report posted this month. More RRS members are buidling more rockets and this is a good trend, We were not able to work on site improvements at the event, but these tasks can be resumed at the next event.

Bent panel on the vertical thrust stand to be removed and replaced.

The 2020 Constitution Committee is almost ready to release the recommended draft with updated policy listings according to RRS vice-president Frank Miuccio who is the single executive council representative on the committee. Release of the draft will go out in December 2020. If ratified by the voting membership, this new Constitution will clarify RRS rules and policies and supersede all past revisions.

FACILITY UPGRADES AT THE MOJAVE TEST AREA

The society discussed the current progress of facility upgrades approved by the executive council. At the top of the list is a new restroom facility. A couple contractor bids are forthcoming with one being delivered just a few hours before the meeting. Cost is an important consideration and other designs besides a block and concrete design are being considered. Containerized, portable systems may offer an effective solution with fewer complications.

The council approved the construction of a similar pit toilet like the one being used now at the MTA. The second toilet is meant to replace the first as it will not be usable for much longer. A few RRS members are already working to put in this stop-gap measure until the better facility can be selected and funded.

Second pit toilet at the MTA approved as stop-gap measure.

Other site upgrades discussed at the meeting was replacement of the roof structure on the existing blockhouse which would be a temporary but safer solution until a new structure can br funded and built. Another was removal and replacement of the bent panel on the vertical thrust stand which may be done at the next launch event. Still another improvement option is purchasing some of the existing containers from our tenant for more storage space at the site and a water storage tank.

The blockhou at the RRS mTA. Replacement of the roof would enhance the safety of this shelter.

Other improvements include locked and secured areas for high-pressure gas bottles and cryogenic liquid cylindeers. Towable water-spraying trailers have also been discussed to augment fire-fighting at the MTA. A larger launch rail system for heavier liquid rockets at the RRS MTA is also being considered.

DONATE TO THE RRS THROUGH AMAZON SMILE

Amazon Smile is a program that allows Amazon to donate a small percentage of eligible purchases to a non-profit group, such as the Reaction Research Society.

You first enter: smile.amazon.com

then select the Reaction Research Society as your chosen recipient. There is no extra cost to you and you allow the RRS to recieve quarterly donations from Amazon when sufficient purchase amounts have been made in that quarter. With the holiday season approaching, this is a simple way to benefit the RRS and the many activities we support.

For more details and assistance, contact Chris Lujan or just go to Amazon Smile.

NOMINATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

As per the Constitution, the society holds nominations at the November monthly meeting for the four elected executive council positions. Terms will start in the new calendar year, First, an election chairman is appointed by the council. This person can not run for office in that election cycle. Dave Nordling was selected as election chairman.

Only administrative members in active status can be nominated and hold office. The nominees will be listed on the ballots going out to the eligible voting membership. Ballots will be sent by email which underscores the importance of all members keeping their contact information up to date with the RRS treasurer. Also, one of the requirements of active membership is being current with dues payments also tracked by the RRS treasurer.

treasurer@rrs.org

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES

RRS policy is that all annual dues are to be paid on January 1 of each calendar year. New members joining the society throughout the year can pay a pro-rated dues for their first partial calendar year. Membership dues are $40 per year and student membership is $20 per year.

The executive council voted to keep dues at their current levels for the new calendar year, 2021. However, dues will increase to $50 per year starting in 2022 (January 1). All payments are made to the society to the RRS treasurer or the RRS president.

president@rrs.org

NEXT MTA EVENT

The next launch event at the Mojave Test Area will be held on December 12th. The nitrous oxide hybrid will be launched with the upgraded igniter and new airframe. Other rocket launches are planned.

IN CLOSING

The next monthly meeting will be held on December 11 by teleconference. Anyone with questions or suggestions should contact the RRS secretary.

secretary@rrs.org

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Reaction Research Society

Established 1943

Tag Archives: vertical test stand