Rockets of the World Nitpicks Wanted

[grillsjosephbus]

My biggest nit pick is that it's not in print any more!

Well my biggest nitpick is that all the supplements were never integrated in the basic book

 

[PeterAlway]

My biggest nit pick is that it's not in print any more!

Yeah, the author has really been lazy since the 4th edition. He keeps claiming he's working on it, but you never see any results.

 

[David Schwantz]

how does one get the supplements? I have the 3rd edition.

 

[PeterAlway]

how does one get the supplements? I have the 3rd edition.

Order from ASP Rocketry, ARA Press, or eRockets.biz

 

[bad_idea]

Yeah, the author has really been lazy since the 4th edition. He keeps claiming he's working on it, but you never see any results.

5th Edition release day will be an international holiday for rocketeers.

 

[cwbullet]

I can't wait for the fifth.

 

[David Schwantz]

I have #3. Does anyone know what the differences may be?

 

[PeterAlway]

I have #3. Does anyone know what the differences may be?

I don't recall exactly anymore. I took a few minutes to check out a couple of changes I recall making, it it turns out I had done them before the 3rd edition. So I'm not sure if there are any changes in actual content.

 

[David Schwantz]

Thanks.

 

[mjennings]

Was grabbing some space shuttle data today and the Xb for the nozzle of the SRB is 1000.25, the aft of the skirt is at 1930.637. page 292. Sorry if this has been caught above already, remembered this thread and didn't have time to read all post.

 

[astronguy]

Yeah, the author has really been lazy since the 4th edition. He keeps claiming he's working on it, but you never see any results.

Is there any projected publication date for the 5th ed. ?

 

[PeterAlway]

Was grabbing some space shuttle data today and the Xb for the nozzle of the SRB is 1000.25, the aft of the skirt is at 1930.637. page 292. Sorry if this has been caught above already, remembered this thread and didn't have time to read all post.

That's new to me! I did check my source document and it's supposed to be 2000.25, which you probably guessed.

 

[PeterAlway]

Is there any projected publication date for the 5th ed. ?

The plan is to get it done before the total solar eclipse...

...of 2017

I promise to have it by the next total solar eclipse in the lower 48 states.

 

[mjennings]

That's new to me! I did check my source document and it's supposed to be 2000.25, which you probably guessed.

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[astronguy]

The plan is to get it done before the total solar eclipse...

...of 2017

I promise to have it by the next total solar eclipse in the lower 48 states.

So, by 2044, not very encouraging, sir.

 

[PeterAlway]

On the bright side, I've spent some quality time on the layout. I'm starting with the Gunpowder era, lifted mostly from "The First Seven Centuries of Rocketry" and am and now in the German rocketry section, lifting from Spaceflight Dreamers, WW II rocketry, and V-2 stuff. I'm just starting to assemble new material on a couple of rockets (Nebelwerfer and 8 cm aircraft rocket) tthat I haven't published elsewhere.

That is to say that I'm chugging along again.

 

[bad_idea]

That is to say that I'm chugging along again.

That's great to hear, Peter. Looking forward to the fruits of all your hard work.

 

[troj]

On the bright side, I've spent some quality time on the layout. I'm starting with the Gunpowder era, lifted mostly from "The First Seven Centuries of Rocketry" and am and now in the German rocketry section, lifting from Spaceflight Dreamers, WW II rocketry, and V-2 stuff. I'm just starting to assemble new material on a couple of rockets (Nebelwerfer and 8 cm aircraft rocket) tthat I haven't published elsewhere.

That is to say that I'm chugging along again.

Is the plan to integrate all the supplements into the new edition?

Last time I bought a copy, we ended up building a massive Delta III. Your book was the genesis of that project - my wife was flipping through, saw that and said "That's cool"

-Kevin

 

[PeterAlway]

Is the plan to integrate all the supplements into the new edition?

Last time I bought a copy, we ended up building a massive Delta III. Your book was the genesis of that project - my wife was flipping through, saw that and said "That's cool"

-Kevin

Bear in mind that this plan generates a tremendously thick book. Wonderful if I can pull it off, but kind of expensive to print. I'm talking 2 inches thick or more.

 

[bad_idea]

Bear in mind that this plan generates a tremendously thick book. Wonderful if I can pull it off, but kind of expensive to print. I'm talking 2 inches thick or more.

This is a hobby where we turn money into smoke. I think you'll find plenty of takers.

 

[DocSeuss]

Bear in mind that this plan generates a tremendously thick book. Wonderful if I can pull it off, but kind of expensive to print. I'm talking 2 inches thick or more.

Is printing it as two one-inch volumes a viable option?

 

[cwbullet]

It will sell no matter what for it is in.

 

[troj]

Bear in mind that this plan generates a tremendously thick book. Wonderful if I can pull it off, but kind of expensive to print. I'm talking 2 inches thick or more.

I'll gladly give you money today for a book on Tuesday....

 

[WizardOfBoz]

I'm intrigued. I'm a fanatic for drawings - I write math models of disease for a living and my bubble diagrams show hundreds of different internal compounds and tissue. If the pictures in the update are like that of the Terrapin above, this is a book I'd buy.

Regarding software, there are two elements. One is the format that we do the work in. Inkscape, Illustrator, etc. That's the software WE interact with to make the drawing. The second element is the output. In my work a vector format (SVG) works best as it can be expanded to see details. In fact, if I'm publishing a model that has a proprietary section, I print out a 300x300 GIF file, screen capture, and blow it up. I suspect that for a print copy, a larger gif is as good as anything, as Peter says. But in the digital publishing future, rocket builders will appreciate the vector format. IMHO.

Cool books. Thanks for taking up the effort to update them, Mr. Alway.

 

[SolarYellow]

But in the digital publishing future, rocket builders will appreciate the vector format. IMHO.

Absolutely. I hate not being able to zoom in and see details. Especially if the called out dimensions are incomplete and I'm forced to scale the drawing.

Cool books. Thanks for taking up the effort to update them, Mr. Alway.

Over and over.

 

[PeterAlway]

If I generated a product where you could zoom in as far as you wanted to, I'd have to make drawings infinitely accurate and detailed. There is a point where I say "You can't see that in a 300dpi drawing, so I'm calling this done." Keep in mind that I have drawn up something around 506 pages of drawings completed and converted into 300 dpi GIF files. This is how it's going to be done if it gets done at all.

 

[bad_idea]

@PeterAlway Do you by chance have any scale data on ATACMS? I don't recall seeing it in the books I have (3rd edition and all the supplements except for Goddard, Spaceflight Dreamers, and First Seven Centuries), but admittedly my memory isn't the best. Would love to see ATACMS in a future edition. (I've seen some data online, but I don't know how reliable it is.)

 

[PeterAlway]

Nope, nothing on ATACMS. I've only been actively looking for pre-1970 missiles, and that's not on my list.

Peter