Today’s rocket launches at WSMR were nothing if not eventful. Four tests were conducted today, and though all managed to leave the rail in a manner of speaking, none were quite the launch any of them were working towards.
The Anahuac rocket was the first test this morning and actually did leave the rail at 8:00 a.m. Shortly into the flight, it developed a burn through the side casing of the motor which caused it to spiral and nose over into its descent. No recovery deployed and it entered the range like a big dart after which the engine casing blew off. Despite this, it was still the most successful launch of the week in terms of altitude. There are conflicting reports as to the actual altitude therefore I will not release that information until final confirmation at a later date.
Booker T. had two rockets this year. One was their normal senior class rocket, and the second was a colaberation by three of their graduates from last year, Dillan McDonald, Oswaldo Vasquez , and Leslie Cosme .
These three took over their failed rocket from last year, and rebuilt it attempting to fix all the issues that prevented it from leaving the rail in 2016. They took it upon themselves to do their own fund-raising and sponsorships in order to pay for their project. These three very determined individuals would not settle for leaving their rocket behind. This vehicle, known as Golden Eagle 5, was the first of the Booker T rockets on the rail today. It tested at 9:15 this morning.
Unfortunately, it was still not the flight they had hoped to achieve. The vehicle ignited, but the engine case sheered off at the bolts and hung on the rail. The rest of the rocket continued to lift off the rail under the power of Nitrous and flew only a small distance before tumbling through the air and coming in ballistic not far down the range. So in a matter of speaking they got off the rail this year, but not truly a whole rocket launch. In spite of this they are still to be congratulated for accomplishing this rocket on their own.
Golden Eagle 6 was Booker T’s second rocket for the day. It had good lift off of the rail, but also developed a side burn out near the top of the engine casing and also nosed dived into the ground. Preliminary reports from optics at WSMR have the vehicle achieving 138 meters (400′) and 14 seconds of flight.
Alamo Heights repaired their rocket from the failed launch yesterday and were able to retest at 2:23 this afternoon. This turned out to be the most unusual and entertaining launch of the week. The vehicle ignited and smoked on the rail. It appeared at first that it would not lift off, but it did begin to lift about half way up the rail, before falling back down, shearing off the load cell and landing on the deck. The engine continued to burn and make small bounces as it sat there. It began to show Nitrous leaks, but the engine fired again and it began lifting up the rail a second time. About half way up it faltered hanging in place for several seconds before finally clearing the top of the rail. It was a short 9 second flight before it too developed a side burn and began to tumble end over end toward the ground. It landed engine first, popped the nose cone off, and then the engine broke free sending the body into the ground where it began its own short flight as it expelled the remaining Nitrous, did a vertical hop off the ground and crashed. Even with this dramatic flight, the vehicle did achieve 134 meters(300′) before it’s demise.
The mission was then called complete, and clean up and pack up began as this was the last day of testing for SystemsGo, students, and WSMR personnel.
Safe travels to all schools heading home, tomorrow. It is back to Texas and the upcoming Fourth of July Holiday, tomorrow. As for tonight, the team enjoyed dinner, drinks, conversation and an early bed time.
www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org .Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.
On the Wings of Angels 