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MaxQ said:
Well, I have a feeling Rockets will sell a DVD...for anyone that wants to see it that bad....(don't ya think?).
Click to expand...

Well, I will end up buying atleast 3-4 magazine copies and 2 DVD's Its something I want to have since I was apart of it.

I actually owe all of this to my grandfather. He left my father and I with some cash(when he passed) and part of that went to the N motor. So Grandpa, thank you for the great gift.

Ben
 
I am stunned speechless...

Congrats for a pic perfect flight,

AAAAWWWEEESOOOOMMMEEEEE !!!!!
:headbang:
 
N I C E

Congrats to the whole crew, and a big thankyou to the sponsors and to those who are sharing videos

That was really coooooool !!!!
 
That was great. Congrats again to Steve and all his supporters.

I was surprised to read that NASA is interested in putting it on display, but Steve has to think about it.

I saw that one parachute got hung up on the fins. Does anyone know if this this damaged the rocket?
 
Zeus-cat said:
That was great. Congrats again to Steve and all his supporters.

I was surprised to read that NASA is interested in putting it on display, but Steve has to think about it.

I saw that one parachute got hung up on the fins. Does anyone know if this this damaged the rocket?
Click to expand...

It did not damage the rocket. The only damage (that I saw) was a zipper about 3-4 feet long.

Ben
 
Congratz to Steve!

Kudos to Neil G and our MDRA club members and donors who worked extremely hard to make this project a success.
 
ben_ullman said:
It did not damage the rocket. The only damage (that I saw) was a zipper about 3-4 feet long.

Ben
Click to expand...
What I saw upon recovery inspection....

The service module on the third stage has a zipper on each side...small ones about 6-8 inches long.

The main stage had that 3 foot zipper...there was minor internal damage to the internal fairings between the parachute compartments.

One fin fairing on the booster stage was split in two at the base.

Not bad for 1,600 lbs. getting yanked and then hitting the ground under canopy....maybe the wrapped main canopy on the fin can helped support the back end...that and the soft ground.

Anyway...Steve does auto body repair...I suspect that this would be a piece of cake to fix it up for show.
 
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Here are my photos. Web friendly versions. The Hi Res turned out even better.

Awesome flight! Steve couldn't have asked for a better day, crowd, flight, and more support that he got on this. Everything just fell into place(after careful planning). Nice job, Steve and MDRA!


Steve-speaks.jpg

pre-launch-up-close.jpg


The candle is lit...

Ignition.jpg

liftoff.jpg
 
Last edited:
Clearing the tower....

clearing-tower.jpg

go-baby1.jpg

blue-skies.jpg


Here you can see the N motors have burned out and the mighty P is still going...

N-motor-burnout.jpg
 
coasting.....but not for long

P-burnout.jpg

coming-down.jpg


Looks like one chute tangled and didn't inflate....

chute-tangle.jpg


Didn't matter- safe recovery all the way...

lower-half-chutes.jpg

upper-half-chutes.jpg
 
Congrats Steve and thanks for sharing with us
Thanks also to foose4string for the pics
I was there to
 
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MaxQ said:
... the tower was moved from it's original position about 10 feet over...the blast deflector was kicked out and landed quite a distance......saw a weld crack in the tower base...that rocket kicked butt.
Click to expand...

That's scary - imagine the tower moving that far while the rocket is halfway up... coulda been very ugly and a rotten end to someone's day!

Glad that didn't happen - and yep, it was an awesome flight!
 
n5wd said:
That's scary - imagine the tower moving that far while the rocket is halfway up... coulda been very ugly and a rotten end to someone's day!

Glad that didn't happen - and yep, it was an awesome flight!
Click to expand...

In one of the videos I've seen, you can see the tower lean while the rocket is still on it. And the rocket arced accordingly.

Fortunately, the flight went very well, and only one of the C-9s tangled.

-Kevin
 
troj said:
In one of the videos I've seen, you can see the tower lean while the rocket is still on it. And the rocket arced accordingly.

Fortunately, the flight went very well, and only one of the C-9s tangled.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Kevinis correct. It moved as the rocket was on it and the last button was still on it and that is why it made a large ARC over the crowd instead of landing more behind/inline with the pad.

Ben
 
Well done Steve and the crew and to rockets mag for a great job with marketing and PR.

Our hobby has been further legitimized.
 
That was simply incredible. I was surprised with how fast it left the pad. I was not expecting that for such a large project.

Very kewl :)
 
jflis said:
That was simply incredible. I was surprised with how fast it left the pad. I was not expecting that for such a large project.
Click to expand...

With big projects, it's very important you either half twelve million feet of rail, or get the thing up and get it moving quickly -- the large cross section presents a lot of surface for even a small breeze to push against. Take your time getting up to speed, and you'll have a major problem.

-Kevin
 
ben_ullman said:
Kevinis correct. It moved as the rocket was on it and the last button was still on it and that is why it made a large ARC over the crowd instead of landing more behind/inline with the pad.
Click to expand...

Ben, one of the folks on the Tripoli-Houston mailing list says that their analysis of the video makes them believe that last button caught on something on the tower itself and lifted the tower up with the rocket, and that's how the tower moved 10 feet during the launch. Does that jibe with your analysis?
 
n5wd said:
Ben, one of the folks on the Tripoli-Houston mailing list says that their analysis of the video makes them believe that last button caught on something on the tower itself and lifted the tower up with the rocket, and that's how the tower moved 10 feet during the launch. Does that jibe with your analysis?
Click to expand...

Just a guess, but if that's the case, it's possibly due to a joint in the rail getting out of alignment when the tower itself flexed.

I don't know what type of rail they use on that tower, nor if there's a coupler of some sort across the joint to keep the ends together.

-Kevin
 
There is nothing that I can add that has not already been said about such an awesome flight. Standing close to it on takeoff was quite an experience. The thunderous roar, the pillows of smoke, the trembling ground, the screams of glee from the spectators, the inflated canopies overhead, all added to the experience. To see it majestically stand proud during the landing was a fitting end. My hat goes off to Steve Eves for sticking with the project and sharing it with the rocket community.

Webster will have to redefine perfection, at least when it comes to rocketry.

Congratulations

From my vantage point, it appeared that the blast move the tower. I did not see anything hang up and there was no damage to the launch rails on the Saturn V after landing.


007
You Only Live Twice . . .
and twice is the only way to live
 
troj said:
Just a guess, but if that's the case, it's possibly due to a joint in the rail getting out of alignment when the tower itself flexed.

I don't know what type of rail they use on that tower, nor if there's a coupler of some sort across the joint to keep the ends together.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

The rail would have had to been quite out of alignment. His buttons were ball bearings so they rolled pretty good with the rocket.

It seemed to be the pure thrust that moved this thing.

Ben
 
I'd like to forward a some thumbs-up to the Higgs family, who own the property where the launch took place. They and their neighbors are THE BEST of folks. Thanks to them from all of us!

And while I'm at it- Nicely done Steve!
 
Dr.Zooch said:
I'd like to forward a some thumbs-up to the Higgs family, who own the property where the launch took place. They and their neighbors are THE BEST of folks. Thanks to them from all of us!

And while I'm at it- Nicely done Steve!
Click to expand...

haha very true. They let us take a crane all over the property. They are they best!!

Ben
 
Since the guys who sit next to me work on the roller bearings inside the cargo compartment of the C-17 cargo jet, I can tell you that friction can be very "interesting". If there is enough force in the wrong direction, even a ball bearing or a roller bearing will transfer some force via friction.

You have to consider how much the tower weighed, and how much excess thrust there was (Total thrust minus Rocket GLOW and assuming drag is fairly low while on the launcher). Also consider the normal force acting on the guides/buttons/rollers whatever times the coeifficent of friction.

One good way to verify any calculations or modeling would be to construct a boilerplate and subject it to loads similar to the liftoff loads and see if the tower is lifted/moved.

James_Bond said:
There is nothing that I can add that has not already been said about such an awesome flight. Standing close to it on takeoff was quite an experience. The thunderous roar, the pillows of smoke, the trembling ground, the screams of glee from the spectators, the inflated canopies overhead, all added to the experience. To see it majestically stand proud during the landing was a fitting end. My hat goes off to Steve Eves for sticking with the project and sharing it with the rocket community.

Webster will have to redefine perfection, at least when it comes to rocketry.

Congratulations

From my vantage point, it appeared that the blast move the tower. I did not see anything hang up and there was no damage to the launch rails on the Saturn V after landing.


007
You Only Live Twice . . .
and twice is the only way to live
Click to expand...
 

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