Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ƒ/11
70 mm
1/1,250
640

So, I found a cool video perspective for the little camera that I was testing this weekend at NASA Ames. From the fin tip, it looks back through the dual motor plumes back at the crowd and the huge Zeppelin hangar. This LOC Starburst was one of my earliest rocket builds, and it has not flown for years.

Well, that was in theory. The two black powder motors were pretty old, and both ceramic nozzles blew out at ignition. The rocket lost all thrust and the motors burned out with a fanfare of smoke. The blast plate was covered with some goopy black liquid. Local opinion is that it comes from the delay charge burning inefficiently while not under pressure. (detail below)

11 responses to “Afterburn”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    macro shot of the residue goop.

    Residue Goop

    Never seen that before… It dripped down onto the tarmac.

    Reply
  2. Erik Charlton Avatar
    Erik Charlton

    Ohhhh…Lets see that video Steve!!!

    Video!
    Video!
    Video!
    Video!

    Reply
  3. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Uh, well, the next launch was a beauty… two Aerotech E15 motors in a smaller rocket, just like this one, but doh!… the camera was in a dangerous position and took the first impact of landing… working on file recovery…. stay tuned…

    (and I just tested the 60 fps full-HD video cam this evening… I am strapping a camera on everything this weekend… Bringing four HD cams and two mini-cams…)

    Reply
  4. obskura Avatar
    obskura

    which camera is that? I have a GoPro HD which I’m very happy with – takes 1080p @30fps, and 720p @ 60fps, comes in a waterproof, shockproof case. It’s a little bigger than the one you show. The picture quality is quite good, and a lot better than what I saw from other cameras (mostly due to the great wide-angle lens with good AR coating, and more importantly the 15 Mbps MP4 compression. Most other HD cams I looked at have visible compression artefacts, and in the end deliver less than SD, especially if there is motion. The GoPro is excellent at 720p, but for 1080p the 15Mbps are not quite enough if there is motion.
    I just damaged mine by strapping it onto an airplane (without the shock proof case) and crashing the airplane into the ground at 100km/h vertical impact, after which the camera fell off and rolled into a pond… Still works, but the lens is chipped… 🙁 and no video recovered unfortunately (did I press record???)
    This means I’m currently considering to buy another one – would be good to know if this one is an viable alternative! Can you maybe post some un-recompressed video stills? It’s impossible to tell the actual quality on youtube, as it’s all recompressed quite badly for HD…

    Reply
  5. Dr DAD (Daniel A D'Auria MD) Avatar
    Dr DAD (Daniel A D’Auria MD)

    I like the duct tape on the camera. Ah, so many good uses for duct tape!

    Reply
  6. TomiTapio Avatar
    TomiTapio

    How much did that residue goop artwork sell for??

    Reply
  7. DixonTJ Avatar
    DixonTJ

    I second the statement, "Never seen that before…" What motors were used for the first launch attempt?

    Reply
  8. Astrocatou Avatar
    Astrocatou

    All good stuff here….

    Reply
  9. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    DixonTJ: these were Estes E9-6 classic BP motors. The ceramic nozzles were not to be found anywhere near the pad (and the rocket did not lift up).

    Tomi: a Jackson Pollock rocket!

    obskura: I considered that one, but really wanted something streamlined, for rocket strap-ons… So I will be testing the CountourHD in the desert this weekend. It even has two "frickin’ lasers" for frame alignment post-attachment.

    The gearcam (top photo) is much lighter, and they claim it can hang on to Mach 1 with duct tape! I’ll test that…. =)

    Reply
  10. Dr DAD (Daniel A D'Auria MD) Avatar
    Dr DAD (Daniel A D’Auria MD)

    Never underestimate the strength of duct tape! A few years ago I flew on US Airways. The folks behind us were having some trouble with the overhead compartment. The flight attendant was clearly not having a great day and was rather flustered. At one point she abruptly slammed the thing shut and blurted out, "well what do you want, half the plane is fixed with duct tape"! I almost requested to deplane, before disembarking. As I recall I ordered two scotches after take-off. It was an inappropriate statement, but probably had some basis in truth. After all was said and done, we made it to our destination. I’m investing heavily in duct tape!

    Reply
  11. Pieces of Eye Avatar
    Pieces of Eye

    Nice, I really want to get the CountourHD for skydiving.

    Reply

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