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Night Launch CATO
I’ll be launching this rocket again on Saturday… well, the upper half of it, which survived unscathed from this dramatic motor rupture a half-mile up in the moonlit sky of the Black Rock Desert: I just...
View ArticleThe Joy of Rockets
I was asked to give a three minute talk at the TED conference to try to convey some of the excitement about the hobby. I should have just quoted Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen: “In terms of sheer...
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Hybrid Rocket Hijinks
It was hot at the Dairy Aire launch this weekend. 103°F, with cows. What weather forecast is that? The cattle packed into the nearby Harris Ranch pens literally create local fog as they sweat into...
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Memorial Day Memorabilia
A pair of Army scale rockets line up in the desert… Five sparky research motors clustered together (four M’s and an O) in the Little John give quite a show: and then a another Deep sub-woofer blastoff...
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Persistence
Gene Nowaczyk is aiming for the big prize – a successful launch to 100,000 ft. After 50 hours/week over two years, he drove his custom airframe from Missouri in a huge truck. Here is prepping the upper...
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The Beauty of Night Rockets
The long exposure presents all kinds of interesting visuals, from simple Estes propellant grains showering down… …to the errant path of an unstable rocket: Here’s another example of an unstable flight...
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Big Bada Boom
Ka-pow. Bing, Bam, Boom. For launch shots, I shoot with timing priority at 1/3000 seconds or faster to catch the action. This helps freeze the shrapnel in sharp focus. Typically, I am tracking the...
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Spinners
Near the ground we call them land sharks: My rocket buddy Erik and I have developed a knack for spotting a likely train wreck in the sky. There was a certain lack of craftsmanship in this Sonotube...
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Rockets Gone Wild
The pop of a supersonic shred, scattering fins below… and the beginning of a sparky spiral dance in the sky… Here’s a rare catch of a fleeting midair moment – the forward retention for the solid-fuel...
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