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From Apollo to RocketMavericks Civilian Aerospace.

Tom and Rob came by with the latest flight avionics which we will be testing this summer. Those are the sections in blue – with RF transmission of GPS and remote pad operations (so rocket activation and setup can all be done wirelessly from a safe distance).

RocketMavericks’ new website just launched (with some of my photos and video, and some professional stuff too =)

In contrast to the multi-GB SD card in each flight computer, the white cube in the background is a 114 kB of core memory from Apollo. Those cores still contain a portion of the Saturn V flight program. (more info)

It’s going to be a crazy summer. Several hundred pounds of propellant mixed. 3 airframes with 4 engines each, ready to go Mach 3… to sample the biome of the stratosphere and beyond.

8 responses to “Flight Computers”

  1. Sounds like a very fun summer. I take it these avionics are custom fabricated?

  2. Sorry Steve. Clotho Beagle IV will break Mach 4.5 and 150K AGL.

    The biosampling system on board being developed by NASA’s Astrobiology Research Institute and Stanford’s Department of Biology and Oxford Univeristy will bring back new organisms from the edge of space that should help us better understand how to modify our own biology for space travel.

    May also get some insight on how life started here on earth.

    Fingers crossed!

  3. That Saturn V computer is a great find, there can’t be many around anymore. Congrats!

  4. tom – I was assuming P motors for this summer…. But yes, the Q’s will be barn burners!

  5. Steve, how the heck did you get a hold of Apollo/Saturn V core memory????

  6. =) many sources… I am still learning…. Wait ’til I post photos of the Apollo 14 docking ring. That came from the National Air & Space Museum

  7. and now, a detailed writeup on this memory blockMemories of the Saturn V

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