Shoot the Moon

5 responses to “Shoot the Moon”

1. 

   benjiman

   Jul 29, 2007 at 4:29 am

   So what exactly is the relationship between too much of the lithium grease and the failure of the delay charge?

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2. 

   msamaclean ©

   Jul 29, 2007 at 5:01 am

   Ahhhh, but it looks so good going up! Great shot.

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3. 

   Erik Charlton

   Jul 29, 2007 at 4:02 pm

   So sorry…the NORAD was a great rocket. But as you know, NORADs tend to prefer a ballistic return.

   

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4. 

   jurvetson

   Jul 30, 2007 at 4:24 am

   heh… good point…

   msamaclean: so true. Especially with a motor so long that it sticks 6" out of the rear of the rocket. =) I had to tweak the RockSim model to see if this baby would fly straight..

   benjiman: we use the lube on the o-rings and sides of the motor casing to help trap the high pressure gases and keep them away from the metal casing (the AP burns hot enough to melt aluminum). But, for old-school motor ejection, the burning propellant ignites the delay charge (timed to coincide with apogee), which ignites the BP charge that separates the nosecone from the airframe and thereby deploys the parachute. If excess grease gets between the delay element and BP, it may not burn through and the BP never ignites…. leading to the proverbial lawn dart.

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5. 

   BenODen

   Jul 30, 2007 at 8:35 pm

   Wow, darn, that’s a pretty educational trip you had! It’s enough to get even me down just hearing about it!

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