Student Rocket Launches

The NASA Student Launch Initiative and University Student Launch Initiative were combined this year, making for a lot of rocket launches in a short time. I actually think it worked out better this year. The number of launches kept the event moving along, and the number of people there kept the attention levels up.







Part of the "midway," which included a couple of groups selling food and beverages and ATK and NASA, which both had a presence as sponsors. A scale model of the Space Shuttle can be seen in the background.


The Ares "Wheel of Fortune," which includes questions about old and new NASA rockets. Prizes awarded to the smart few.

My buddy Kristina Hendrix, the Ares Projects' exhibits guru.
Many of the students' rockets had very sporty paint jobs.

One of the rockets heading off into the wild cloudy yonder. Taking photographs of rockets in motion is very difficult because unlike a Space Shuttle launch, these rockets are off the pad as soon as their motor kicks off.

A closeup of the Fisk University rocket.

Boy Scout Troop 143's entry from Giddings, TX. Their design was unique in that they had hollow, tube-shaped fins at the back end. The flight went fine, but the rocket landed a little hard because the main 'chute didn't deploy.

The entry from Enloe High School (http://enloehs.wcpss.net/), Raleigh, NC. I liked this rocket because it has a large, "hammerhead" section forward, rather like Ares I. Their rocket flew last, and the flight looked good. Didn't hear how their experiment did, though.

Another launch goes up. There were 32 team launches in all. It would probably be of benefit for me to learn how to use the high-speed photography settings on my camera for next year.

Here's a closeup of Vandy's UAV. The carbon-fiber airplane had wings and a tail section that were supposed to unfold upon being jettisoned from the rocket.

I'm pleased this photo came out. This is a "sun dog," a relatively rare condtion where ice crystals in the upper atmosphere create a halo effect around the sun.

This was pretty cool. The entry from the Washignton County, WI 4H Club (http://washington.uwex.edu/4h/index.html) looks like it has jet engines attached. However, these turbines were not used to provide thrust, but to take in air to generate electricity. The underside of the rocket included a heat sink to see if it could generate electricity through temperature differences between the rocket motor and the end of the heat sink (fins fitted outside the rocket).

(Unknown entry's) Main parachute deployment.

An up-close view of the Troop 143 rocket (http://www.leecountylive.com/Youth%20Boy%20Scouts.htm).

This was a festive event, so this gentleman decided to wear a very festive chapeau.

At least one group had a sponsor...

Orion Propulsion President Tim Pickens was in attendance. He was trolling for technicians and engineers. He picked a good crowd for it. Lots of very smart young people at this event.

Harding University (www.harding.edu/) had perhaps the most technically ambitious entry. They flew a hybrid rocket, using nitrous oxide and HTPB (industrial rubber) for fuel. Their payload included a spectrometer "to map the chemical species of the plume," as one young lady on the team proudly told me. Unlike the other straight-solid motors, which make more of a hissing sound while firing, a hybrid is more of a loud growl. Hybrids also have less thrust than the other solids, but burn longer.

Up close and personal with a returning rocket. I believe this is Fisk University's rocket, "Obama I."

A team prepares a rocket for launch. The launch pads were at least 500 feet from the crowd.

Another school, Madison West High School from Madison, WI (http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/), built a two-stage rocket that worked perfectly. Very impressive!

I know I pick on the public school system a lot, but it's darn nice to know that there are bright kids who are having their intellects challenged and nourished in this country. The investigator in me wants to know what their teachers and mentors are doing to help make this happen.

In all, this event went very well. I participated in the design reviews and flight readiness review for one of the schools--Krueger Middle School from San Antonio, TX (http://www.neisd.net/krueger/)-- but was slow getting to Toney, so I missed their launch. Bad Bart! BAD!! Their experiment was measuring ozone at different levels of the atmosphere. They plan to contact the Weather Channel to verify what their ozone levels were at the time of flight. I'm sorry I missed their flight, but I look forward to working with SLI/USLI again in the future. Any excuse to see fire and smoke!

Potpourri XXI

Someday I'll write a real posting again--a book review, a long rant, something like that--but these shotgun-pellet postings seem to get the most mileage and require the least work. And, besides, it's Friday, and my brain is a little toasty after a long week.

The Onion has a couple of dillies out there today:

• NASA Embarks on Epic Delay
• Kim Jong-Il Announces Plan to Bring Moon to North Korea

And here are a couple of other space-related items:

• NASA Announces Future Shuttle Launches Will Be Sudden and Without Warning
• Mars Lander Staggers Into NASA Headquarters Drunk, Broke
• Astronomers Admit They Made Neptune Up
• NASA, NASCAR Merge
• NASA Announces Plan to Launch $700 Million Into Space

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On a completely different note, my friend and cowriter Darlene Cavalier the Science Cheerleader will be speaking to the Pittsburgh chapter of Mensa.

Restoring Science to its Rightful Place
by Darlene Cavalier
Darlene Cavalier, a former professional cheerleader, is a writer and senior adviser to Discover Magazine and founder of ScienceCheerleader.com. Cavalier uses innovative approaches to increase adult science literacy, grow the ranks of citizen scientists and create opportunities for the public to weigh in on matters of science policy. She will discuss and demonstrate the approaches and give Mensa members a sneak peak at plans for her next project: ScienceforCitizens.net.

Goooooo Dar!

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This item doesn't surprise my coworker Martin, who continues to lament the ongoing demise of traditional newspapers/media. Bottom line: we're more engaged in politics via the internet than ever before, but it's engagement based on bias (i.e., going to web sites that agree with our own political beliefs).

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Due to expected bad weather on Sunday, NASA's Student Launch Initiative and University Student Launch Initiative activities have all been condensed to Saturday. The student rocket launches will be at the Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama. Directions below, if you're in the neighborhood of Huntsville:

Directions to Bragg Farms:

1. North on Research Park Blvd. to Pulaski Pike
2. Turn north on Pulaski Pike
3. Go 3.6 miles until Pulaski Pike veers to the left. Instead of following Pulaski Pike, go straight onto Patterson Lane. There will immediately be a sharp right turn.
4. After 0.7 miles, turn left on Murphy Hill Road, which is the road to the left.
5. Take Murphy Hill Road 1.8 miles to Grimwood Road.
6. Turn east on Grimwood Road.
7. Take Grimwood 0.9 miles to Bragg Farms. The farm will be on the southside of Grimwood Road and there should be signs showing where to turn into the farm.

I plan to be there at least part of the day and will have pictures to post tomorrow evening.

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The History Channel is doing a week of specials on what the Earth would be like "After People." I'm of two minds on this. The science fiction fan in me is curious, the conservative philosopher in me asks, "What motivates people to want to imagine things like this?"

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The Obama administration asked Georgetown University to cover up Christian symbols on the lectern and elsewhere during the President's recent speech there, presumably to avoid any sort of endorsement of the faith. This sort of thing is silly pandering to political correctness and non-Christians, and it shows (in my opinion) a bit of disrespect for the faith. Presidents and public officials speak at hotels, conference centers, and other public places, which often attach their logos to the lectern or on the walls. No one expects that the speaker is there as a spokesperson for Marriott or whatever. The workarounds will probably turn out to be more troublesome for Obama than if he had just given the speech and left the symbols alone.

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My friends at Media Fusion, the company that does most of the animation and graphic design work for the Ares Projects, also had a slight role in the Stephen Colbert brouhaha.

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This one was bizarre to me. There are some folks out there who have it in their heads to ban a font type, Comic Sans. Apparently because bad causes have used the font on their messages, it therefore follows that the font is tainted and must be banned. Like Obama's unnecessary covering of Christian symbols at a Christian college, this is just plain silliness.

Do I have anything else to say? Probably, but it's Friday, and I need a little downtime. Peace and happy thoughts, all.

University Student Launch Initiative





This was my first time attending this event. The USLI is a NASA-sponsored competition that gives college students an opportunity to launch rockets and payloads. They must design their own rockets and payloads and use off-the-shelf rocket motors. The event this year was held at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, which is about a 30-minute drive from Madison, 20 minutes from Huntsville proper. Explanations will be provided as feasible. I showed up late because I had other chores, so I didn't get to see everyone's launch.





Nope, no kidding. This was a farm.
































Utah State's hybrid rocket parachutes safely to Earth. The goal of the launch was to achieve an altitude of one mile (not sure if that was one mile above Alabama's ground level or one mile above sea level). Utah State reached 4,400 feet. Apparently they would have done better, but their automated speed brake opened at around 3,600 feet, thinking it was at 36,000 feet. Given that, they still managed a pretty good flight--nearly a straight-arrow 7-degree flight. How do I know it was 7 degrees? Actually, I don't. However, that's about the same angle the Shuttle flies at, and the vehicle looked like it had that trajectory.



































Crowds were better than I thought they'd be--maybe a couple hundred people. However, the organizers (NASA?) didn't consider getting a count. The Student Launch Initiative for junior high and high school students will be next week; they might do so next week.
































The weather was decent when the sun was out, but the winds were going steady at about 20-30 miles per hour, and clouds made things quite chilly for those of us wearing t-shirts.





























The Ares folks brought their 20-foot (~1:16 scale) Ares I model. You don't realize how big that thing is until you put it next to a car.



































The stuff below is the avionics package for Fisk University's entry. In addition to all the avionics, the payload included a rover that was designed to move around on the ground after landing. While the aft end of their rocket nosed in for a perfect "lawn dart" landing, the rest managed to land in such a way as to allow the rover to do its thing. Impressive!

































Not surprisingly, Fisk's vehicle was the biggest rocket I saw while I was there.

































The Vanderbilt team prepares its rocket for launch.
































Here, the Vanderbilt team carries its rocket out to the pad. There was about a 500-foot separation between the crowd and the launch pads. Given the winds, though, that was hardly a guarantee of safety.






































Auburn's parachute opened rather close to the ground. This was done on purpose, I was told, so that the teams would not have to go running for miles and miles to pick up their rockets. The Vandy rocket's parachute took quite awhile to open, as it was set to deploy at 500 feet...above sea level. Why does that matter? Because, someone informed me, the plains of northern Alabama are at about 240 feet above sea level.

































We had a brief visitation from a UFO, but I was the only one who saw it, and we all know how unreliable I am with shooting my camera...

































I can't rightly recall whose rocket this was, but like all the others, it made an impressive roar off the pad. Nobody had issues on the pad, and while I was there, only one rocket "augured in."

Not sure whose rocket this was, but it was pretty. I especially liked the detailed work they put in to making their sensor hookups look "official."

Whose returning vehicle is this? The Shadow knows...











I believe this was the Vandy rocket after it was fetched from the corn field. That Alabama clay does stick well, doesn't it?
















This is Auburn's rocket. It was on the pad at the same time as the rocket from Menominee, Wisconsin. However, I was not paying attention to the right pad...












...because the rocket nearby was the one that was launching.











Crowd shots.






















We had an entry from the Midwest: Menominee (me-NOM-uh-nee), Wisconsin. They had a pretty sharp looking vehicle and a smooth ballistic flight. However, the winds took it in an unfortunate direction--toward the farm--and the parachute didn't deploy. One of the students reported that they were flying at 170 miles per hour when they cratered into the corn field. The pieces were cast into the back of a pickup truck, and a HAL5 guy and I joined in the post-mortem. The team's altimeters survived with minimal melting/scorching, but they were unable to get any data from them on-site. And did I get any pictures of this? Hell, no. And why not? Because the camera batteries chose that moment to conk out on me. D@MN IT!!!