Looking out over the vintage Zeppelin hangars on the NASA Ames base and the South Bay of Silicon Valley.

My Starburst rocket with Boostervision HD cam on board drag raced an Aerotech Sumo and captured both the scene of the NASA facility and the speck of the other rocket racing up after me.

I was flying two Aerotech F32-8 Blue Thunder motors and I used oversized igniters to make sure they both lit simultaneously, and to give a little kick start to the drag race. =)

Frame grabs from the flight video below.

I also posted photos of my Mirage of Stickers, BInder Thug, and Double-E.

8 responses to “NASA is Still Flying Rockets”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Blastoff, with the red Sumo rocket on the right, ready to give chase
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.17.04 AM

    The kids look like ants
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.21.11 AM
    The shadow on the right of the rocket (looking like a fin) is of the Sumo rocket leaving a white smoke trail on the left, barely visible as a screaming black dash in the video.

    A closeup of the next frame (the Sumo chaser rocket is the black dash is off to the left with the white smoke trail coming from the center):
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.21.59 AM

    The big door of Hangar One is stripped of its siding, showing its metal endoskeleton
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.23.37 AM

    High over NASA Ames Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.24.46 AM

    Arcing over
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.25.10 AM

    Popping the ‘chute at apogee
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.26.35 AM

    Whipping about Silicon Valley
    Screen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.26.57 AM

    The back side of Hangar One and the Kuiper Airborne Observatory planeScreen shot 2011-08-21 at 11.31.46 AM

    And my launch perspective, looking back to the flight line, with my Dad watching on the left:
    IMG_8038_2

    HD video link if you want to view full screen.

    Reply
  2. Pieces of Eye Avatar
    Pieces of Eye

    What do you think of Blue Origin? I heard they are doing a 250,000ft launch soon with a VTOL rocket. Just heard about them today and not really sure what advantage a rocket controlled decent would have that would warrant all the extra fuel and reduced payload….

    Reply
  3. jitze Avatar
    jitze

    Neat video! Whoever organized and got permission for this venue desrves a medal – dealing with NASA is one thing (they’re on the same side as rocketeers one would assume) but getting "the tower" at a Federal airfield to deviate from standard procedure… wow!

    From your last shot above, it looks like the skins are finaly coming off hangar 1, does this mean the Navy has committed to fix it? For comparison see here @jitze1942

    Reply
  4. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Well, wow, it just so happens that helped organize a geek tour to visit precisely those destinations from this altitude… but with a bit more hang time!

    @jitze1942 – I sure hope so. It will be a very cool art project if left naked.

    As for launching at NASA, the logistics and trailblazing efforts are masterfully handled by the LUNAR rocketry club, the largest in America. When they lost their launch site in Livermore in 2008, I solicited ideas online, and focused my effort on NASA Ames Director Worden to explain the situation. Luckily, he fondly remembered model rocketry as a child, and sympathized that there was no legal launch site anywhere in the Bay Area. His lieutenant also did launches at Goddard with his children, and so we had the air support we needed.

    @physicsman – I wish Bezos & team well. Their founding team comes from the DC-X effort. The key advantage is reusability, and a secondary benefit is the ability to visit other worlds (parachute and wing based recovery is useless on the moon for example).

    Reply
  5. solerena Avatar
    solerena

    Cool, I like the information below from Lunar rocketry club, so we can be ready here in Silicon Valley:D

    "What to Do When a Rocket Lands in Your Back Yard
    This page is for all of you who live near where we launch rockets who might find one in their back yard. Model rockets don’t always go where we want them to go and while we try very hard, they often parachute into people’s back yards, onto a roof, or into a tree. The kids and adults who built these rockets often have many hours of work into them and would really like to have them back. Even if the rocket is broken, we still want them back as there are often engine mounts, electronics, and other parts in them that can be reused. If people can just let us know where the rockets are are, we will take care of getting them back.

    When a rocket parachutes into your yard there should be nothing in it that can hurt you. While the engines will be hot, there is no longer any fire in them by the time they reach the ground. You are much more likely to damage the rocket by picking it up than having it hurt you.

    Pick it up gently. Most of the small rockets only weigh an ounce or two and are made with thin paper tubing and balsa wood fins. Carefully fold the parachute, wrap the lines around it and stuff it in the rocket tube. If it doesn’t go in easily, just leave it out."

    Reply
  6. TomiTapio Avatar
    TomiTapio

    Nice view.

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

    Amazing clips from onboard video. As ususal an interesting post.

    Reply
  8. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    thanks y’all… and she stars in a belated issue of LUNAR Clips:

    LUNAR Clips Starburst

    Reply

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