Kitties & Rockets

Canon PowerShot S100

ƒ/2

5.2 mm

1/30

500

Dogs, Monkeys, Water Bears have all been in orbit. But no kitties.

In the final crunch to prepare for BALLS this weekend.

Tonight: carbon fiber layup (step 4 of 5), painting and Matrix body wrap, avionics bays, CO2 parachute deployment system integration, shear pin taps, simulation work on the N5800 CStar and N2600 Skidmark motors.

This fiberglass beast and the sleek carbon fiber bird (reconstituted from the parts that shredded overhead last summer at Mach 2.5) are almost ready to fly.

11 responses to “Kitties & Rockets”

jurvetson

Sep 20, 2012 at 6:45 am

and among all this, tubular curiosity
Maru, elogated
And from these remains, I have rebuilt the carbon Mongoose stronger than before:

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la gatta sul tetto

Sep 20, 2012 at 9:54 am

he just wants to co-operate!
😀

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solerena

Sep 20, 2012 at 2:37 pm

looks like they cannot be first in a rocket but can be first in a warp drive:D very cute:)

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Shamagu

Sep 20, 2012 at 4:03 pm

When I first saw this photo, I thought it was a "cone of shame." Nah, just a kitty doing what kitties do.

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jurvetson

Sep 20, 2012 at 4:53 pm

Just gotta make sure they are not in there when I pack the chutes and CO2 cartridges…

Warp is right. The fiberglass rocket is 12 feet tall, and now wrapped entirely with this graphic:

Rocksim:

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complex dog

Sep 20, 2012 at 5:27 pm

What a fantastic series on several levels! I love cats and I love rockets. How could I not favorite this shot? 🙂 Great capture Steve and best of luck with the launch. "Let’s light this candle."

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steelhive

Sep 20, 2012 at 6:56 pm

Cats have this whole space travel thing figured out. They’re waiting until it’s been proven safe using inferior species. First came testing at the lowest rung of the evolutionary ladder – dogs. We’re in a prolonged period of testing using primates, including humans. The first cat flight might happen in our lifetime.

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js.brain

Sep 20, 2012 at 11:17 pm

Warped and wrapped! 12 feet tall, How are you transporting it?

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Spaceaholic.com

Sep 21, 2012 at 12:45 am

What is the rated ISP of that solid cat propellant?

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Drift Words

Sep 21, 2012 at 1:22 pm

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/85496853@N00] so true!

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jurvetson

Jan 6, 2013 at 2:31 am

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/85496853@N00] — I pointed this out to a certain entrepreneur I know… and that the Russians even took turtles around the moon, and I made the case for moon kitties as the secret payload. There was agreement, perhaps just to humor me. =)

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/34476140@N07] — it’s Warp 9 Lives

Meanwhile: First dog in space, laika boss!

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Kitties & Rockets

11 responses to “Kitties & Rockets”

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