So let's say you, um, hypothetically got your rocket tangled in a 350,000 volt transmission line 94 feet high...

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"You'd think having an obstruction on a major distribution line - which is almost certainly causing a line fault - would be a priority."

It's only across one phase. No fault. If it has dropped across two phases there would be a noticeable "fault sound" and stuff would move :)
 
UPDATE: No longer on the line. No sign of it in the immediate area. FPL said they have NOT been there to remove it. Fresh tire tracks. Going up with the Marco Polo unit to see if the payload/parachute section drifted into tall bushes nearby. Will scour the area and report back.
 
timbucktoo said:
Have you talked to Tom?
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Yes. He went out to check on it and there was no sign of it anywhere. But the winds have been very strong and it could be into the hedge row and bushes. It’s disheartening that the booster wasn’t in plain sight. That would’ve fallen basically straight down.
 
Orien said:
... it might look something like this:View attachment 464392

Assuming the power company would have it down by Tuesday, how worried would you be about the following:

1. RRC3 in av bay
2. JLCR exposed to the elements.
3. Mobius 808 #32 camera exterior mount.
4. Interior Camera with exterior lens.
5. Marco Polo transmitter in the payload section.

I'm just curious because surely no stupid schmuck is going to fly into 20 mph winds with these 1000' from the launch site.
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They can have it. You won't survive that shock.
 
We have power lines coming off of the Seabrook Nuclear plant running along the edge of one of our fields on their way to a blending plant 30 or so miles away. About six years ago our local power company was nice enough to harvest an errant rocket off of the 234 kv line; the really nice part was them not charging us the $5000 or so it cost to perform the extraction. They told us if the shock cord had been a little bit longer there was a possibility of a short that would have tripped a breaker at the plant; that would have been a $1 million turnaround, we were told. At that point, with the help of our Deputy Fire Chief in charge of Safety, we negotiated a compromise that would allow us to keep using the field, a city park.

We agreed to move the HPR pads a couple of hundred feet further away from the lines and would not fly any HPR if the wind was blowing toward the lines (the normal wind direction is away from the wires or parallel to them). We even limit the LPR and MPR to 1000 ft if the wind is toward the wires. Every time a rocket veers off toward the wires for whatever reason, my heart stops. So far, we've not lost the field.
 
Orien said:
... it might look something like this:View attachment 464392

Assuming the power company would have it down by Tuesday, how worried would you be about the following:

1. RRC3 in av bay
2. JLCR exposed to the elements.
3. Mobius 808 #32 camera exterior mount.
4. Interior Camera with exterior lens.
5. Marco Polo transmitter in the payload section.

I'm just curious because surely no stupid schmuck is going to fly into 20 mph winds with these 1000' from the launch site.
Click to expand...
The title of this post is awesome
 
I had an egglofter at NARAN-22 that landed on a low power line. It might have placed better if allowed to continue to to the turf. The power company recovered it for me in time at no cost.

However, the point want to make is that the probability of snagging a power line is directly proportional to the length of your "shock cord". If you are going to use one of those super long cords, at least make it so long that the valuable parts of your rocket will land on the ground after it snags the power line. :rolleyes:
 
Alan15578 said:
I had an egglofter at NARAN-22 that landed on a low power line. It might have placed better if allowed to continue to to the turf. The power company recovered it for me in time at no cost.

However, the point want to make is that the probability of snagging a power line is directly proportional to the length of your "shock cord". If you are going to use one of those super long cords, at least make it so long that the valuable parts of your rocket will land on the ground after it snags the power line. :rolleyes:
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However, if it does snag a high tension wire (greater than a few kV) then DO NOT touch the rocket or cord. The cord can conduct enough current to KILL YOU..
 
Alan15578 said:
I had an egglofter at NARAN-22 that landed on a low power line. It might have placed better if allowed to continue to to the turf. The power company recovered it for me in time at no cost.

However, the point want to make is that the probability of snagging a power line is directly proportional to the length of your "shock cord". If you are going to use one of those super long cords, at least make it so long that the valuable parts of your rocket will land on the ground after it snags the power line. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I should have packed 100 feet of shock cord so the rocket would touch the ground and be instantly vaporized? Am I missing something here?
 
Orien said:
I should have packed 100 feet of shock cord so the rocket would touch the ground and be instantly vaporized? Am I missing something here?
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That directly depends on the Voltage carried by the wires.
Higher Voltage allows conduction of Current on higher resistivity item like shock cords.
It is the Current that will KILL you or cause the rocket to catch fire.

If your 100 foot long cord got onto a 350,000 Voltage line then touched the ground it may vaporize.
If on a 17,000 Voltage line it may catch fire or possibly not do anything noticeable until you touch it.
 

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