DMC-FX7
ƒ/2.8
5.8 mm
1/320
100

Out at the launch pad, the igniters are inserted into each engine (in this case, a cluster of a K and four J engines) and attached to the alligator clips that bring the ignition current from the control pad.

Hey, Rocketeer: Your icon reminds me that “Got Fin?” would have been a great t-shirt for the supersonic launch attempts….

The fins shredded right off this rocket as it blasted through the sky. The shock wave at Mach 1 emanates from the nose cone and burns the paint right off the side of the rocket as the pressure wave moves down.

5 responses to “Cluster Bottom”

  1. A suppository with a bang!

  2. eewew…. you can feel the burn…. notice the blisters on the bum….

  3. For a great sense of what happens to the fins, check out how they flop in the "fin flutter" video link at the top of http://www.videorocketry.com

    Lots of great videos there…. =)

  4. I just posted a video of this rocket’s supersonic shred on Revver. The rocket screamed to Mach 2 on a L-size motor, and the pressure wave ripped the fins off making it temporarily unstable (corkscrew). You can hear the warning siren (something I was used to hearing by that point… =) and the chatter of people spotting the fins and other chunks as they rained down around us. A classic RUD – “ Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly”.

  5. real dynamic photo. I can feel something is being built here…
    gonna use this for my thesis :D:D

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