Canon PowerShot S90
ƒ/2.5
6 mm
1/30
80

They arrived today from Rocket-Santa! Whooa-ho-ho-ho!

The Falcon9 model on the right is available on Amazon, and I plan to built it for a local launch. Although it says the largest motor it can take is an Estes C6-5, I will probably try an Aerotech D10-7 with twice the punch in the same volume.

The Falcon9 Heavy on the left is a contractor’s model for display here. It is being prepared for a launch at Vandenberg AFB.

Next month, I hope to watch the Falcon9 launch that will dock with the ISS. From today’s news: “Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are psyched about a mission next month that will open a new era of commercial cargo deliveries to the orbital outpost.

U.S. flight engineer Don Pettit likened the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the pioneering opening of the American West in the 19th century.

“It’s sort of the first of many wagons coming up here to bring us supplies,” Pettit said Wednesday.

“I think for all of us, we’re very excited about it,” added U.S. astronaut Dan Burbank, the current station commander.”

P.S. Updates and many SpaceX photos here, and the ones I have posted here.

24 responses to “SpaceX Model Rockets”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    detail of the metal motor clusters… with the modular reuse that allows them to reduce cost

    IMG_7100

    The back of the box… with the specs on the Falcon9, details on the first commercial spacecraft returned from orbit, and the fun disclaimer:

    "Model in this box will not reach speeds of the magnitude described above. It will however return to you in much less time."

    IMG_7108

    Reply
  2. curly bikes Avatar
    curly bikes

    I’m also watching the Falcon 9 progress. We are scheduled to go up in mid-2014 on a Falcon 9 headed to ISS. Nice models.

    Reply
  3. meta59361 Avatar
    meta59361

    Here’s a launch photo of someone else’s model (from a recent DART launch). contestrockets.tumblr.com/post/15293798476/spacex-kit-see…

    Reply
  4. BillS49 Avatar
    BillS49

    YESSS SpaceX – US inginuity is still around, go for the stars…

    Reply
  5. " biscator " Avatar
    ” biscator “

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkUQeIk3hSw

    Reply
  6. Lars Plougmann Avatar
    Lars Plougmann

    When can we expect to see a Lego version?

    Reply
  7. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    Beautiful lunar white Phalaenopsis. Wonderful color coordination with that rocketship and the careful arrangement of all those important outer space mementos in the office, that some of us do notice. Of course it is all those little things that are so key to a an overall happy space office mission yet are often taken for granted at a place like Amazon.

    Reply
  8. Astrocatou Avatar
    Astrocatou

    I hear 190 million $ worth of Titanic artifacts is coming up for sale in NYC in April…

    (not to jinx anything !)

    Reply
  9. solerena Avatar
    solerena

    Cool SpaceX toys:)

    Reply
  10. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveh56] Titanic artifacts are coming up for sale? $190M are presumably not legal to auction anywhere in NYC other the the FED. Interesting that we feel free to have all artifacts from a mass grave like the Titanic open for salvage and auction yet all space shuttle artifacts are strictly US gov property and illegal to deal in.

    http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/000765.html
    Jinx? That is highly non-scientific don’t you think? If we succumbed to that primitive irrationality we would have just had Apollo 14 and no memorable Tom Hanks performance.

    Reply
  11. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    anyway, meanwhile SpaceX shared a photo of the Dragon spacecraft on Facebook:

    Reply
  12. Chucil Avatar
    Chucil

    If a similar long-stem orchid as the one in the background was taken into a Dragon for a flight, with the "Defying Gravity" from the Wicked playing, the orchid will experience the changes. It would be interesting to grow orchid, other plants, etc. in Soyuz and ISS, then later Mars.

    Reply
  13. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    The The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft has its own Russian Orthodox priest and holy water mojo Siberian shaman looking guy as an assistant….

    Reply
  14. solerena Avatar
    solerena

    Lol, this is hillarious:)

    Reply
  15. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    That cracks me up. Flying Soyuz, you gotta have faith… =)

    Meanwhile, a SpaceX employee sent me the flight photos from his Falcon9 Heavy experiment, using parts from three F9 kits and a few other items:

    20111231_FH_liftoff_IMG_4419_CROP_640

    20111231_FH_boost_IMG_4429_640 . 20111231_FH_parachutes_IMG_4432_640

    To the kits, he added two bamboo chopsticks and two standard Estes nose cones for the side stages; single D engine powered (the side stages are empty); two parachutes on the main rocket, one on the capsule; eight fins but it still needed about an ounce of extra mass the nose for stability.

    Reply
  16. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    The US equivalent of holy water and priest blessings? For US commercial travelers that would undoubtedly be ink and lawyers for the key launchpad rites. In China you would probably get some kind of light noodle soup happy meal kids serving you.

    Reply
  17. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    This is a bit of serendipity about space memorabilia legality as Apollo 13 came up in that context here while this story was breaking:

    newssun.suntimes.com/news/9853547-418/nasa-questions-apol…

    Reply
  18. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    " NASA inspector general " I don’t WTF often but WTF, NASA has its own inspector general? What, like they have their own space agency police force like the postal service or some other such force. They get guns and badges? Like they are going to take over investigations at area 51 when the USAF loses control of the situation?
    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57353710/apollo-13-commander...
    OMG! This is total madness…..
    oig.nasa.gov/

    I hope all your moonrocks, asteroids, meteorites and all other US govt. cosmic debris have proper documentation. "NASA agency inspectors observed the suspects at an international rocket and missile information exchange where agents purchased contraband explosive devices, telemetric detonators, and other classifed technologies concealed in crates of illegal cosmic memorabilia."
    Perhaps my Zenish first impressions of this are wrong but it does look like if you are serious in the US aerospace / space ship business, like Boeing in my hometown of St. Louis for example, you might just want to deal directly with the USAF, Navy or even intel-land and not deal too much with NASA at this point? NASA might come around and want to squeeze test your moonrocks. Jeeeez, even little old ladies getting stung at Denny’s for god sake…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfsLfXQFoc

    Reply
  19. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Much expert discussion of the NASA saga here on CollectSpace.

    Meanwhile, here’s a cool panorama view of the Dragon capsule, just released for the kickoff of the Year of the Dragon.

    Reply
  20. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson] You guys should all get some dragon tattoos when it is mission accomplished, or maybe some dragon stylish super bowl rings if you have a thing against body art. I have no issues flying experimental FAA certified ac but this never came up in the context of private spacecraft. Presumably spacecraft do fall, ahh, under that agency authority in the US. I guess they will have to start giving out private space pilot certifications or just add it on to your basic private pilot requirement. Multi engine, IFR, CFI, Orbital Vehicle. Lots of simulator time. No buzzing the space station, releasing any dangerous objects, basic stuff.

    Reply
  21. Minnesota's Ryan Avatar
    Minnesota’s Ryan

    ok I have to ask, Space X is about to launch tomorrow morning @ 4:55 a.m.! What the heck is wrong with these mission managers? They have only had a few flights and have never flown to the ISS. Wouldn’t it be kind of important to see the vehicle in ample amount of light during launch? Instead, it is being launched in pure blackness. Makes no sense whatsoever! If this thing fail during launch, there will H*LL to pay! They won’t have the optical cameras available like they do in the daylight.

    Reply
  22. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    They have a precisely defined launch window to be able to synchronize orbits with the ISS. It’s not like they want to work through the night.

    Reply
  23. jgury Avatar
    jgury

    Hey, you can’t say I did not give you a heads up about using Russian Orthodox priests for good launch mojo:

    Reply
  24. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Elon with FH Model at Vandenberg AFB launch facilityDetail of the metal motor clusters, with the modular reuse that allows them to reduce costIMG_7100The back of the box… IMG_7108with the specs on the Falcon9, details on the first commercial spacecraft returned from orbit, and the fun disclaimer:

    "Model in this box will not reach speeds of the magnitude described above. It will however return to you in much less time."

    Reply

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