Final supersonic flight of our all-carbon-fiber Mongoose 98 at BALLS 25

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ƒ/9

100 mm

1/3,200

640

Blast off with the Black Rock in the distance. Compilation Video

She flew well after a rebuild from all the bits that remained after a supersonic shred (aka a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) overhead at Mach 2.5 at the same launch event five years prior (video)

UPDATE: she was found months later, and flew again in 2017 in California. Woot!

4 responses to “Final supersonic flight of our all-carbon-fiber Mongoose 98 at BALLS 25”

jurvetson

Oct 3, 2016 at 11:46 pm

Prep work at Thoeny camp. Wiring up the flight computers (they log flight parameters and trigger key events, e.g., the deployment of a small parachute at apogee and a large one 800 ft. from ground): Measuring out 2g of gunpowder. Ignited by computer, the solid powder expands in a gas burst, pushing the airframe components apart when triggered:An ad-hoc fix to extend the length of the all-thread by a few mm to seal the avionics bay…. I used a Dremel to cut the thread and then a coupler to extend it: Our intrepid pad crew, ready for launch Propellant details and photos here

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gsikich1

Oct 4, 2016 at 10:26 am

It has been awhile since you posted some launch shots. These are interesting. What altitude did you achieve?

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jurvetson

Oct 8, 2016 at 7:22 pm

Simulated to 13K ft. and Mach 1.3

but… alas, this was her final flight… Apogee failure means the carbon fiber Faraday cage blocked the RF transmitter, and the smoke grenade was stuck inside as well. I have a phone number on her on various places, so hope springs eternal.

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jurvetson

Oct 8, 2016 at 10:55 pm

Sharpie pen applied phone number to the rescue! I just got a call from a guy camping at Frog Pond. He found my rocket! Everything is accounted for. woot!! Can’t wait to see if the strap on video cam survived.

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