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Discontinued
:
Due to lack of time, I have been forced to discontinue
updates to this section. I occasionally mention advanced
rocketry news on the Space
Transport News blog.
July 18, 2006
CalPoly rocketry... Californai
Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo has
quite an active rocket development program in its Cal
Poly Space Systems group. See the list of Projects
and lots of Pictures
and Video from their rocket flights and engine tests.
April 25, 2006
Stratofox update ... Ian
Kluft gave a report at the recent Space
Access ' 06 meeting on the activities of the Stratofox
Tracking and Recovery team: Presentation
Slides from Stratofox presentation at Space Access 2006.
He also sent this list of upcoming projects:
- We'll be at the UP
Aerospace launch in NM. Last we heard is it's
expected to be some time in July. The final date depends
on the NM spaceport construction progress.
- We'll be at AeroPAC's
HPR launches at Black Rock whenever they're trying
100K shots. AeroPAC's launches are June 14-16 "MudRock",
Aug 4-6 "Aeronaut", and Sept 22-24 "XPRS".
- Of course To100K
is the official club project to attempt a 100,000ft
record, as you saw in my presentation.
- Another group of AeroPAC members call themselves
the "99K Team" since they're trying for the same thing
but don't want to act intimidating. :-) It's a friendly
competition.
- The Stratofox WiFi-Net project will begin this
year. We already have the equipment thanks to a sponsor.
But it'll still take some effort to locate contacts
with a permanent Internet link on the valley floor
in Reno.
March 1, 2006
News briefs ... Check
out the liquid fueled, regeneratively cooled rocket
engine development at Robert's
Rocket Project. ...
... Garvey
Spacecraft posted an update on progress and plans
for the Garvey/CSULB program: Static
Fire Testing, Prospector 6B, Prospector 7 - Garvey Spacecraft
- Nov.26.05 ...
... The Prospector
7 rocket, built by Garvey
Spacecraft and a group at Cal
State Long Beach, flew twice last November, demonstrating
a turnaround time of just 3.5 hours. Check out the videos
at
Successful Demonstration of RLV-type Operations - CSULB
- November 30, 2005
December 15, 2005
News briefs ... The
Sugar Shot
to Space team will soon attempt to launch an amateur
rocket to 100km using a sugar based solid propellant.
See also SS2S,
or "how to get to space on 885 lbs of candy"
- Dick's Rocket Dungeon - Dec.14.05 ...
... The Amateur
Spaceflight Association, a Houston based advanced
rocketry group, wants to develop an engine test facility
at the proposed Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport (GCRS)
in Brazoria County, Texas: ASA
Proposes a Rocket Motor Test Firing to the Gulf Coast
Regional Spaceport - ASA - June.23.05. See also
Spaceport
could see rocket test launch - thefacts.com [Brazoria
County, TX] - Dec.15.05
November 22, 2005
News briefs ... Steve
Harrington reports on the latest developments with Flometrics
and the San Diego
State Univ. Rocket program (Nov.11):
More Pistonless Rocket Pump Testing:
The local TV news came over last week and we set up
the pump with liquid nitrogen at 400 psi and 12 GPM
and demonstrated it for them: [--Link Dead--]http://www.fox6.com/video/
(they named the segment "Space Travel") A usual with
TV news they tend to simplify things, but at least
I got the message across that the pump will make rocket
vehicles safer and more affordable. The pump worked
great for the camera, but we scared them a bit when
one of the regulators stuck open and vented through
the relief valve. Doug and Bruce replaced it in about
4 minutes, and we continued with the test.
If you don't want to watch the news broadcast, you
can see a short video at:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/%7esharring/ln2pumpFOX.mpg
and find the a graph of the data at: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/%7esharring/pumping_liquid_NitrogenFOX.pdf
Also, I was briefly on the Mythbusters show on Discovery
in October in an episode entitled "Confederate Rocket"
which includes some historical solid and liquid/hybrid
rockets that they built and launched. The exciting
part is when they test a nitrous hybrid inside their
shop and almost burn it down.
Student Rocket Project:
The students took their rocket mockup to the Miramar
Airshow and made a number of contacts, but they are
still trying to raise funds to finish it. www.sdsurocket.org
... The
French Perseus project is a student experimental rocketry
project patterned after the California projects like
the SDSU and CSLB projects:
October 20, 2005
News brief ... Steve
Harrington reports on the latest developments with Flometrics
and the San Diego
State Univ. Rocket program:
Rocket
Pump test and Student Rocket Update for September/October
Patent:
Our first patent was allowed, so all we have to do
now is pay the fees and it will be awarded. We filed
a continuation-in-part patent application to tie up
some loose ends in the first one.
Cryo Test:
We set up the pump for high pressure liquid nitrogen
and it pumped 13 gpm at up to 420 psi. A video can
be seen at
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sharring/LN2_Test2.mpg
(3 MB)
We have come up with some ways to get around the problems
that crop up while pumping cryogenic fluids and they
are the subject of the patent application that we
filed in May.
Scaling:
We also tested a full scale flow visualization model
of a pump chamber for a 30,000 lbf thrust LOX/RP engine.
The gas venting and pressurization steps can be modeled
accurately, the only hard part to model is the filling
process. Here is a sequence of a 16 inch (9 gal) pump
chamber that fills up in 2 seconds at 2.6 psi input
pressure.
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sharring/pool_test_sequence.jpg
The baffle system is not yet optimized and the input
pressure is low so ~1 second fill times are achievable.
A flightweight version of the pump would weigh about
58 lb, so it can pump its weight in LOX in ~1 second.
Margaritas:
We will be pumping Margaritas with the demo pump at
the Space Frontier Foundation conference in Los Angeles.
http://www.space-frontier.org/Events/SFC14/
Come by the LAX Sheraton on Saturday October 22 after
6 pm. Our Margarita pump at the AIAA Space 2005 Conference
was quite a success, we pumped 9 gallons of Margaritas
and attracted quite a crowd.
www.rocketfuelpump.com
New pump for SDSU:
We are building a pump for the SDSU rocket now. It
is designed to pump LOX or jet fuel at up to 23 GPM
at up to 500 psi.
Students:
The students are building two rockets, one for the
new students which is not too sophisticated, and the
seniors are working on a rocket designed to reach
an altitude of 100 miles which will use the pump that
we are building now. If you can help the students
with stainless ball valves, AN fittings, aluminum
etc. contact them at
www.sdsurocket.org.
Steve
Steve Harrington Ph. D
President, Flometrics,
Inc.
October 3 , 2005
News brief ... Erik
Bengtsoon in Sweden who is developing a company to provide
H2O2 for rocketry: PeroxidePropulsion.com.
August 30, 2005
News briefs ... This
article reports on a meeting in Britain for advanced
rocketry participants: [--Link Dead--]Rocket
man is alive and well - in Largs - Sunday Times - Aug.28.05
...
... Steve Harington
reports on the latest from Flometrics
and from the SDSU
rocket project:
We are answering the two remaining technical questions
[on the pistonless
pump] that industry professionals are still concerned
about,
"Can it pump LOX at high pressure?"
"How does it scale up?"
Cryo Test:
We set up the pump for high pressure liquid nitrogen
and it pumped 13 gpm at 300 psi. The pump performance
is as expected, based on our mathematical model. We
will continue our test protocol, increasing flow and
pressure and we will post data and video by the end
of next week.
Software and Hardware Updates:
We also have updated the pump control software so
that it can continue to pump regardless of sensor
failures. Intentional failures have been inserted
and nominal operation has continued. The pump has
also been fitted with different inlet valves for steadier
output pressure.
Scaling:
We also have started to build a full scale flow visualization
model of a pump chamber for a 30,000 lbf thrust LOX/RP
engine. (16 in diameter pump chamber, 90 lb/s) This
will be used to show how the pump scales up from our
6 inch demo pump.
Margaritas:
We will be pumping Margaritas with the demo pump at
the AIAA Space 2005 conference in Long beach. Come
by booth 231 on Tuesday August 30 after 5 pm. Our
Margarita pump at the Joint Propulsion Conference
was quite a success, we pumped 7 gallons of Margaritas
and by the end of the show, everyone had heard about
us. www.rocketfuelpump.com
Students:
The students have some matching funds, so if anyone
wants to sponsor the SDSU rocket project, your funds
will be matched 100% up to $15,000. This would be
a good opportunity for aerospace companies to insure
that they will be able to hire experienced rocket
propulsion engineers right out of college, saving
considerable time and expense in training and funding
the creation of a cadre of engineers who are not scared
to move beyond PowerPoint engineering and blow stuff
up. Considering that it will cost about $50-$100K
to train a new aerospace engineer, and sponsors will
have access to the future engineers, this is a recruiting
bargain. Contact the students at: www.sdsurocket.org.
June 29, 2005
News briefs ... John
Garvey reports
that the "Prospector 6 (P-6) refurbishment is well
underway" and that "the upgraded vehicle is
now designated Prospector 6A (P-6A)". The P-6A
will be ready for operations "in the near future."
In addition, they hope to begin flight testing the "entirely
new Prospector 7 (P-7)" this Fall. ...
... The San Diego
State University rocketry group, which cooperates with
Flometrics,
has opened a newly redesigned SDSU
Rocket website with lots of photos and videos. See,
for example, the page about the Delta
Phoenix Launch on May 21, 2005.
June 8, 2005
SDSU/Flometrics launch report...
The large Delta-Phoenix
rocket by the SDSU
and Flometrics
team was recently launched from the Mojave:
Delta-Phoenix
Rocket Project
On Saturday, May 21, 2005, the San Diego State University
student rocket project launched the Delta-Phoenix,
a 1000 lbf. thrust liquid bi-propellant rocket, in
the Mojave desert. The launch proved to be spectacular
and dramatic. Some preliminary videos and pictures
are posted on the SDSU Rocket Project website. The
SDSU rocket project website is in the process of being
updated so periodically check back.
The rocket is based on the LR-101 motor used on the
Atlas rocket for attitude control. It is a regenerative
cooled engine, which means the fuel is circulated
around the motor casing to cool it. The LR-101 burns
liquid oxygen (LOX) as its oxidizer and aviation kerosene
(Jet-A) as its fuel. ...
continue to the SDSU Delta-Phoenix web page...
May 26, 2005
More launch news ...
Leonard David reports on the GarveySpacecraft/Cal
State Long Beach Prospector 6 launch: High
Hopes for Low-Cost Rocket After Successful Launch Test
- Space.com - May.26.05.
The CSULB site has more [--Link Dead--]photos
and videos, including a cool onboard view. See also
the photos on the GarveySpacecraft
homepage. ...
... There is a
picture of the Flometrics/SDSU
launch on the SDSU
Rocket page with the promise that "more photos
and video of Delta Phoenix will be posted by early June."
May 22, 2005
Prospector 6 flight a success...
John
Garvey reports on the launch of the Prospector 6
\ on May, 21, 2005 by the Cal
State Long Beach/Garvey Spacecraft group. Here is
the note sent out by John:
Quick initial report on yesterday’s Prospector
6 flight campaign.
In short – it went very well. Pretty much everything
performed as planned. Initial photos from Joe “Rocket
Hunter” Mullin tell the story as well as anything
I might write – good launch, straight-up flight, stage
separation, deployment of all parachutes and successful
recovery of the key hardware elements ...
... The Prospector 6 vehicle arrived early Saturday
a.m.. Integration got underway in the 6:30 to 7:00
a.m. timeframe and launch took place around 12:30
p.m (pretty good for us and another demo of “responsive
launch”). The vehicle went together relatively smoothly
considering all that was involved, the first-time
nature of many of the operations, and the overall
size of the vehicle (again – the P6 is the same size
as a conceptual Nanosat Launch Vehicle and is the
biggest vehicle we have flown to date).
The weather conditions for flight were ideal, with
essentially no wind and no clouds (temperatures in
the mid-90’s were taxing for some folks not used to
that kind of desert heat). Ignition occurred on the
first attempt with no technical issues during the
final terminal operations. It also appears that the
Montana State University data logger package functioned
nominally and the CSULB student Wi Fi telemetry experiment
downlinked real-time data through the flight. And
– the CSULB side-mounted mini-DV camera got banged
up on landing, but John3 and Shaun were able to save
the video – it is spectacular (expect to find it on
the CSULB site in the next few days). We will be processing
these and related data sets over the coming week or
two. In the meantime, recovery-system guru Dave McCue’s
altimeters reported peak altitudes of 2849 and 2836
ft AGL – less than the pre-flight max altitude predictions,
but still fully sufficient for achieving all the objectives
of this flight test.
Initial field inspection of the hardware indicates
that all the key elements of the first stage propulsion
system are fully intact. The airframes for the first
stage/interstage and the the second stage simulator/fairing
sustained damage, but these are easily repairable
/ refurshable, so getting back into flight should
not be a major challenge, at least from a vehicle
perspective.
On other fronts, the Flometrics / San Diego State
University team also got their LOX/Jet Fuel-A vehicle
into the air later in the afternoon on what was another
high-intensity event. I’ll defer to Steve, Carl &
the rest of that team for details.
As usual, we all owe a tremendous amount of gratitude
to Dave Crisalli and his colleagues for making the
MTA available and providing support and a lot of patience
throughout the day.
We’ll be getting more photos, and updates out over
the next few days as we receive and process inputs
from those of you who participated. We will hold our
weekly work party this Thursday, during which we will
dis-assemble and inspect the vehicle. At some point
in the next few weeks, we will also try to hold our
traditional post-test data review. Again, I will remind
anyone who has photos, video or other related items
of interest, please get them to myself, Vince Deno
and/or Eric Besnard.
Garv
April 20, 2005
News briefs ... Here's
the latest from Flometrics:
April 2005
Update for rocket fuel pump and
SDSU student rocket project.
We had originally planned to build a rocket around
the pump, but the student rocket project has become
a victim of its own success, with most of the principal
students getting great part-time (and full-time) jobs
based on their rocket experience.
In any case, the pistonless pump has reached a level
where further development is customer specific, so
right now we are primarily working on sales, and any
technology development is customer driven. For example,
one of our potential customers is concerned about
pressure spikes, so we updated the valves on the Plexiglas
pump model and reduced the spikes by a factor of 5.
The pressure deviation is less than ±2.1 % at this
point. Compare this to the Titan missile where ± 1
G pogo oscillations were considered acceptable. Multiply
the acceleration times the head height of the tanks,
and you have engine pressure fluctuations of ~35 psi
or ± 4.6 % On one Gemini mission the pogo reached+/-
5Gs and the vehicle still reached orbit (with shaken
astronauts).
Note that the Pistonless Pump reduces pogo because
the tank pressure is decoupled from the pump output
pressure.
Graphs of the pressure spike reduction on our Plexiglas
pump model:
www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sharring/nospikes.ppt
and the raw data is at:
www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sharring/Plastic_B4_after.xls
The spikes in the Plexiglas model look just like the
ones in our larger model, so we know that we can eliminate
spikes in larger, higher pressure pumps as well.
I will be at the AIAA Responsive Space 2005 conference
on Tuesday, April 25-28 www.responsivespace.com.
I will have the pump model with the new valves with
me if you would like to see it (I registered too late
for a display).
I will also be at Space Access www.space-access.org
later in the week (28-30) in Phoenix with the pump
model.
We will be happy to do an free analysis of the pump
for your vehicle or engine, including mass, size,
cost, system design hints etc. The pump can save time
and cost for engine testing as well, because large
high pressure tanks are expensive.
A launch of the student rocket is planned for late
May, contact me for details if you want to see it.
The student web page is down for now but look for
it at www.sdsurocket.org
in a week or so.
Steve Harrington Ph. D
President, Flometrics, Inc.
Lecturer, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, SDSU
406 N Cedros Ave
Solana Beach CA 92075
858-720-9223
fax 858-720-9224
www.flometrics.com
www.rocketfuelpump.com
www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~sharring
March 28, 2005
News briefs ... The
Cal
State Long Beach / Garvey
Spacecraft collaboration will carry out a low altitude
test flight of the Nanosat
Launch Vehicle (NLV) ths May: [--Link Dead--]Prospector
6 Flight Preparation - CSLBU - Mar.25.05 ...
... ASR
(AeroSpace Research) of South Africa "is the
only company in South Africa that designs and manufactures,
High Power Rocketry components and propulsion systems."
In addition to its HPR business, it pursues advanced
rocketry R&D projects and even seeks to develop
an orbital vehicle based on the RSA-3
vehicle under development by the South African government
until 1994. ...
... The cover article
for the April issue of
Popular Mechanics magazine dealt with high power
rocketry. The report centered on one of the ROC-Stock
launch events sponsored by the Rocketry
Organization of California.
March 10, 2005
CSXT confirms altitude
record... The CSXT
project reports that subsequent analysis has confirmed
an altitude of 72 miles for the GoFast! rocket launched
last May 17th: GoFast
Rocket Maximum Altitude Verification - CSXT - Mar.8.05
(pdf). This makes it the "the first Civilian
and Amateur rocket to successfully exceed the 62 mile
(100km) international definition of space."...
... More info about
the project at Derek Deville's Civilian
Space eXploration Team and GoFast!
Rocket Earns Top Technology Award for 2004 in Aerospace
Engineering's Annual Review Magazine - Go Fast! - Jan.26.05.
Hot water rockets
have been developed by students at the Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics at Berlin University of
Technology in a program called Aquarius:
Hot Water Rocket Propulsion Systems. The long term
goal is to use steam rockets in
take-off assist systems such as the sled catapult
planned for the German Hopper
vehicle.
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