Model Rocketry and Spacemodeling

Scale Projects \| Modeling Apollo \| Rocket Hardware \| Tech & Tools \| Cool Rocket Stuff \| Favorites/Links \| Buy It Online \| To The MOON! \| About Me	10/30/09

Updates:

10/28/09
NEW! Web Page linked to the Accur8 Products Web Store
Model Rocket, Spacemodel, and "General" items available on the Accur8 eBay Web Store.

7/16/09
Updated S-IC Fairing history, data, photos
Minor revisions and clarifications with illustrations and images added to clarify the genesis of the S-IC airscoops.

7/15/09
Saturn V at Johnson Space Center
A look at the Saturn V at JSC from its arrival in 1977 until it was enclosed in its own building in 2005. Here's what it looked like in the 1970s.

7/07/09
Saturn S-IC Lettering
Find out just how the small lettering on the Saturn V first stage looked. It's a little "non-standard."

7/06/09
1:10 Scale Vanguard
Two-stage Vanguard from 1999 with gimballing motors in first and second stages.

Welcome to Model Rocketry and Spacemodeling!

If you are interested in scale model rocketry, model rockets, static spacemodeling, and general model-building information (particularly scratch building), this site will have a little bit for you.

It will contain items that are of particular interest to me that I would like to share with the rest of the modeling community. I am particularly interested in pre-Space Shuttle manned programs with an emphasis on Apollo.

Keep an eye on the Modeling Apollo and To The Moon links for ongoing updates related to the Saturn V launch vehicle and other hardware of the Apollo program. Modeling Apollo holds more relevance to those interested in building models from the Apollo era while To The Moon deals more with the history and technical aspects of Apollo era programs and vehicles.

And, since you got here via ACCUR8.COM I should tell you that Model Rocketry and Spacemodeling IS "Accur8 Spacemodels". I will, from time to time, make various items available for sale here on this site.

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If you are into practical scale modeling and nice personal insights to the hobby, scale data, tips and techniques, and just plain "non-extreme" rocketry, then visit Meatball Rocketry.

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for the BEST display or flying Saturn V and Saturn IB kits produced! Visit Apogee to see an incredible array of model rockets and supplies.

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Saturn V, Saturn IB, Mercury Redstone, Apollo, S-IC, S-II, NASA, Little Joe, Little Joe II, Navaho, Cape Kennedy, Constellation, Orion, F-1, J-2, Apollo 11, Apollo 8, Apollo 9, Apollo 10, Apollo 12, Apollo 13, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17, Apollo 1, Apollo 4, Apollo 5, Apollo 6, Apollo 7, Little Joe II, Mercury, Gemini

NASA's Latest Bizarre Rocket Flies!

NASA's latest test vehicle was launched from the Wallops Flight Facility (VA) on July 8, 2009 at 6:26 a.m. to test an alternative launch abort system that could be used on future Ares/Orion and other manned spacecraft. Dubbed the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) it does away with the traditional single motor tractor-style "Escape Tower" configuration used by NASA for Mercury, Apollo, and Orion and instead uses four motors along the sides of the spacecraft in abort situations.

The "Max" in the name of the system is in honor of Maxime (Max) Faget who was primary designer for systems such as the Mercury capsule and is patent-holder for the Aerial Capsule Emergency Separation Device...otherwise known as the "Escape Tower."

Though the vehicle appears to be a two-stage rocket, it consists of only a single four-motor stage. Also, for this first flight, there were no escape motors on the simulated "capsule" with the flight being primarily a test of the configuration of the vehicle and the sequencing of separation and recovery events.

For rocket modelers, the MLAS should make for an interesting Scale or Sport Scale NAR competition subject.

Go to the NASA MLAS Photo Gallery

Go to the Wallops MLAS Press Release

Go to MLAS Preparation and Launch Video

Photo Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

NARAM 2002 Mercury Redstone

The most recent major flying rocket project that I have managed to complete was this 1/12 scale Mercury Redstone 8...the second U.S. manned spaceflight lofting Gus Grissom in Liberty Bell 7.

Far left photo is of the Penrose, Colorado NARAM 2000 (National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet) original Mercury Redstone model with only an RC ejection recovery system. Center photo is the entirely new 2002 version (with autopilot and RC recovery) prior to loading on the launcher at NARAM 44 (2002) in McGregor, TX. and gives some idea of size of model...yet it weighs just 3 pounds complete with a hen's-egg "eggstronaut". The photo on the far right is a still frame capture taken from a video by James Duffy who videoed the NARAM 2002 model on its winning flight. Click on any of the photos for the NARAM 2002 launch video.

Click here for full flight video by James Duffy (.WMV format, best for broadband connections...right-click to download)

Rocket on a Rope...?

Also from NARAM 2000 is this interesting flight from the Giant Sport Scale event shows what happens when you attempt to fly a very "non-rigid" rocket. This 1:1 scale model of the Goddard's first successful liquid fueled rocket (I don't recall who the modeler was but will post here if I find out) proves that if a rocket isn't rigid enough to be pushed into the air in a conventional manner with the motor at the rear then it likely won't do any better with the motor pulling things along. Basically, it behaves very much like a very small unstable rocket trying to pull a mass at the end of a rope into the air.

Watch the video which is shown both in real-time and at 1/10th actual speed. What's wrong in the video? Well, watch the guy near the chair and the young man next to him. Also, the rocket nearly zeros in on Richard Ng (the gentleman in the shorts and with a bag in the lower right of the frame...and who casually walks back to the "disaster site" to collect his soft drink sitting on the ground).

The slow-motion portion of the video shows the "dynamics" of the rocket frame-by-frame as it heads skyward and then toward the camera. Believe it or not, the sound during the slow-mo is what the original sound is like played at 10% speed...no dubbing, editing, or sound "enhancement" other than just "playing it slow."

Click here for full flight video by John Pursley (.WMV format, best for broadband connections...right-click to download)

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This site was last updated 10/30/09