systemsgo.org – Page 21 – On the Wings of Angels

Fredericksburg Rockets 2016-Thursday, Day 1

Tomorrow is the start of Fredericksburg Rockets 2016. There is a 30-50% chance of thunderstorms all day tomorrow with a front moving through the area, so be sure and bring your rain gear.

Below is the schedule for tomorrows launches, There are currently 11 schools with a total of 21 rockets scheduled. I will try to post each days schedules in this blog.

Thursday, May 12, 2016
School Name	# 1st Level Tsiolkovsky	# 2nd Level Oberth
Birdville CTAL Lynn Barrett	2	2
Fredericksburg High School Andrew Matthes		1
Granger High School Chaston Kubacak	1
Hamilton High School Seaborn Ashby	1	1
Harleton HS Karen Brasher	1
Heritage High School Rebekah Hyatt	1
Kingwood High School Louis Mascolo	3	1
Marble Falls High School Randy Guffey	1
New Diana High School Shawn Warden		1
New Tech Odessa High School Richard Lindner	2
Roosevelt High School Jessica Quisenberry	2	1
11
Schools Launching
Totals	14	7
May 12^th Total Rockets	21

Good luck to all the schools. If I get a chance to do some updates during the day tomorrow , then I will but don’t count on it. It will probably just be one at the end of day. Here is the link to the live stream again.

http://livestream.com/accounts/3165037/events/5367166

Event details will be available here each day of the event. Daily reports featuring schedules, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will also be posted.

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.

Have a great evening. I will see you at T minus 10 tomorrow morning.

Rockets 2016 Only a Day Away!

The start of Rockets 2016 is just over the horizon, so now is the time to send out some reminders. The Fredericksburg launches will be held at Stewart’s Hillview Ranch in Willow City Texas. Launch days begin Thursday, May 12, continuing on Friday, May 13, Saturday, May 14 and ending on Sunday evening, May 15.

Launch times are slated to be from 8:30 to 5:00 each day provided that everything runs accordingly with weather, arrivals, and mechanical readiness. Unfortunately weather could be an issue. Right now thunderstorms are predicted for Thursday and Sunday. Of course, it is Texas weather so anything goes, and so will the rockets at each opportunity Mother Nature provides. Rain does not stop this event, only delays it until the clouds give another clear opening. That does not account for severe weather conditions that would have to be dealt with as they happen for the safety of all.

Both sites are located north of Fredericksburg off Farm to Market road 1323. Site 1 for Exhibitors and Rocket Prep is located in Willow City at the Willow City Volunteer Fire Department, located at 2553 Ranch Road 1323 . Site 2, the vehicle Launch Site is located at Hillview Ranch. Signs will be stationed along the route to direct from State Highway 16 to the individual sites. The following is a map provided by SystemsGo website for driving directions and site locations.

SystemsGo offers live streaming of this event provided by Livestream.com . The following link offers the site location for this feed. It will be active by 9:00 a.m. on Thursday morning for viewing and comments. This link can also be found on the SystemsGo website.

http://livestream.com/accounts/3165037/events/5367166

Although there is no charge for the event, and these launches are open to public viewing, parking and seating is limited due to safety requirements. For this reason, SystemsGo has a provided a link for you to pre-order tickets for those in your party. This also provides SystemsGo with a way to monitor the number of people in attendance each year. This is in no way meant to discourage your attendance, but is instead to help them provide a great experience for students and spectators, while doing all possible to monitor safety issues and attendance numbers at any one time during the launches.

https://www.greateventseats.com/events.php?lID=92

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as events get closer. Daily reports featuring schedules, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events.

Fredericksburg/SystemsGo’s STEM Program Launches More than Rockets

As Fredericksburg Rockets 2016 counts down 2 more days until launch, this now 20-year-old program boasts much more than just building and blasting rockets skyward. This Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program has bolstered the careers of many Texas young adults.

Hands on learning experience in STEM career basics like Engineering and Technology, Engineering Design and Presentation, Advanced Engineering Design and Presentation, Engineering Design and Problem Solving, and research and development, in a course setting that promotes project application has inspired many of our Fredericksburg students, as well as students across the state of Texas to follow a career in the STEM or business fields. Rockets may have been the catalyst that helped to teach them these skills along with other fundamental work place uses including teamwork, critical thinking, analysis, testing, leadership, innovation, invention, individual accountability, and work place compatibility, but the program itself was the deciding factor that created a lasting interest for these individuals to pursue related career fields.

Many students have gone through the program in the last 20 years, just here in Fredericksburg, let alone schools all across Texas that have been using this same model from SystemsGo. Unfortunately there is no recorded number to tell us how many, but just at an average of 17 students per class per grade level, that is approximately 1100 students here in Fredericksburg alone. Multiply that by 43 active schools currently on the list of participants that have joined the program over the last 20 years, and that is a lot of Texas students whose lives have been impacted by the program. New Mexico schools may soon be joining this program as well so that number will increase even more as the program expands outside of Texas.

The following, is just a handful of individuals, some from the early years of the program and some from more recent years. All of them credit the SystemsGo program for encouraging them and helping them to achieve where they are today.

Robert Deaver: FHS graduate 1998, BS in Electrical Engineering at University of Texas at San Antonio, MS in Computer Engineering at University of Tennessee. He was in the SystemsGo program in the first two years of it beginning and worked on the design, construction and flights of Redbird 1 and Redbird 2. He is currently an Electronics Engineer at Real Time Systems in Fredericksburg and a Team member of SystemsGo. Previously he worked at IBM and Dell.

Josh Jung: FHS graduate 1999, BS in Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University. He spent sophomore through senior years in the SystemsGo program working five Redbird rockets including:

RB-2: 8″ diam, 15′ tall, M-engine, 3 experimental recovery systems
RB-3: 2.5″ diam, 6.5′ tall, K-engine, Mach -1 rocket
RB-6: 3.5″ diam, 6′ tall, Mach-2 rocket (summer project)
RB-7H: 8″ diam, 20′ tall, hybrid engine, WSMR first attempt
RB-8H: 8″ diam, 27′ tall, hybrid engine, WSMR flight (upgraded the RB-7H)

Josh is currently the Director of the Falcon 9 Stage Test at SpaceX. He has previously been the Director of Ground Support Equipment, and Director of the Texas Test Site also at SpaceX.

Melissa Jung: FHS graduate 2001, undergraduate studies in Engineering at University of Illinois, ACOG in San Antonio, Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes Illinois. She was in the SystemsGo program her sophomore through senior years.

Melissa is currently working as an Avionics Electronics specialist on airplanes in the US Navy stationed in Norfolk, VA. Previously she worked as a patrol officer in the Fredericksburg Police Department.

Chelsea Burow: FHS graduate 2012, currently working on her BS at Texas Tech University in Physics with a Mechanical Engineering minor . Chelsea was in the SystemsGo program her junior and senior year. Their group built and launched RB-12.

She is unsure about her plans after graduation, but is looking into places like SpaceX, NASA, and SystemsGo. She continues to help with the SystemsGo launches to current date.

Derrick Loth: FHS graduate 2012, currently working on a dual major in Business Finance and Business Management at Texas Tech University. He was in the SystemsGo program his junior and senior years. He was part of the team that built and launched RB-12.

He graduates May 2016 and plans to work for the FDIC as a Federal Bank Examiner.

Kasey Burow: FHS graduate 2013, attended Basic Training at the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, IL. She was in the SystemsGo program her sophomore through senior years.

She is currently in the US Navy stationed at the Norfolk Naval Station in Norfolk,VA. She is an Aviation Structural Mechanic on Sea Dragon helicopters in Helmineron 12 & 14.

Austin Walters: FHS graduate 2014, attends the University of Texas at San Antonio, and is working on a dual Bachelors in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He was in the first full 4 year program offered by SystemsGo at FHS. He helped build and launch RB-15.

He plans to work for one of the Aerospace companies like SpaceX after graduation.

Anissa Kneese: FHS graduate 2014, currently attending Texas A&M. She is studying Mechanical Engineering. She was also in the first full 4 year SystemsGo program at FHS. She also helped build and launch RB-15.

She would like to work for one of the Aerospace companies after graduation. She continues to help at each year’s SystemsGo rocket launches.

While trying to find information on individuals for this piece I found the following link by Shaun Pyka done somewhere around the 2012-2013 school year. It show cases a slide show of many more past students and where they were at the time. Some of the work information may not be current anymore, but is still gives a good idea of how much this program has impacted the lives of its students.

http://slidegur.com/doc/1128314/shaun-pyka—systemsgo

More event details will be available here in upcoming days as launch dates get closer. Daily reports featuring schedules, school names, results, pictures and some editorial content will be posted during the events.

Day 348-Rocket Season Launches in 21 Days

Only 21 days until the sounds of high-flying rockets fill the air over Willow City, TX with the launch of Fredericksburg Rockets 2016. SystemsGo’s innovative STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program featuring a rocketry/aeroscience curriculum is set to begin launches on May 12-15, 2016 at the Stewart Ranch in Willow City, TX.

As of March 9, the Fredericksburg launch schedule has 78 vehicles on track for testing. Twenty-nine schools are slated to participate.

The following weekend, May 21-22, 2016 launches continue in Houston, TX. The current schedule there, includes 12 schools and 27 test vehicles.

Later this summer, at White Sands Missile Range the final days of launches will commence with the Goddard level rockets, the largest in the program. The final date determined by White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), is yet to be announced.

If you are in the Willow City area on the mentioned weekend you should come out and watch. It is a fantastic sight to behold, and the energy and enthusiasm from the students is fun and contagious. Fredericksburg launches are open for public viewing and both Fredericksburg and Houston have live streaming available to view online at the time of the event.

Day 62- SystemsGo Team Ends Another Successful Year

The SystemsGo team traveled home from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico today. They left Alamogordo around 0800 and arrived safely in Fredericksburg around 1845.

They have now completed another successful year with launches in Houston, Willow City, and WSMR. The group helped students attempt the launches of over 90 Tchaikovsky and Oberth rockets and 6 Goddard level rockets.

Now they take a short needed break before getting fired up for a new year with more schools, students and rockets. It won’t be long and the “launch season” will be back again.

SystemsGo transitions back to helping schools and teachers implement this STEM based program so that more students can participate in this system of learning.

That concludes Thursday’s WSMR Rocket update.

www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited. SystemsGo is a Texas-based STEM curriculum program.

Team photo includes from left to right, Brett Williams (SystemsGo founder), Cade Ottmers, Brian Heffner, Josh Hampton, Chelsea Burow, Gene Garrett, Steve Burow, Randy Kuhlmann, Robert Dever, and Andrew Matthes (FHS STEM program instructor).

Day 61-Rockets at WSMR-Final Launch Day-Update

Today was the final launch day at WSMR for this year’s participating schools. Alamo Heights High School was scheduled for launches of two separate rockets today, one that they were unable to launch while at WSMR last year, and a new one from this year’s class. Union Grove was on standby for a second attempt if time permitted.

The SystemsGo team and the high schools had another early start to the day arriving at WSMR at 0400, with an eight hour window for launches. Transition times between launches were running at two hours each, which allowed all three launch attempts to be completed quickly, everything to be packed up, and the group off the range by 1800.

Alamo Heights started off with their new rocket at the pad. They had a successful fill, fire, and launch. The vehicle climaxed at 17,000 feet, and then nosed over and came down ballistic. What was recovered from it was in pieces.

Alamo Height second rocket, the return from last year took the pad next. It too had a successful fill, fire, and launch, leaving the pad behind and reaching an altitude of 34,000 feet. This rocket also came down ballistic, and they were only able to recover the motor section.

Union Grove was able to attempt a second launch. They had a successful fill, which ended in a vehicle malfunction that caused the injector system to open but no ignition. Speculation is that the Estes motor inside with the electric match did not light because of a possible wire short in the rocket.

That concluded the launch series at WSMR for this year. To recap out of six vehicles, there were two successful launches each with failed recovery systems. One more low altitude launch with in flight mechanical failure causing premature landing and continued burn out. One complete hang fire on the rail. And two scratched due to vehicle malfunctions at fill.

Congratulations to all five schools for getting this far. There are schools every year that aspire to be here, and do not make it. You have accomplished a great deal. You have all met the objective of the program which is to create a scratch built rocket, have it completed and ready for flight, and on the rail attempting launch at White Sands Missile Range. The goal of flight, may have been elusive, or perhaps achieved but still problematic, but you made it here, and each of you has something to learn from the event and some will have the chance to study, fix and try again. All of you are in an elite group of past and present students that attempted to launch a rocket at WSMR.

Tomorrow is another long day of travel as the SystemsGo team and participating schools all head back to Texas. Hopefully it will be a safe, smooth trip home without any issues.

That concludes Wednesday’s WSMR Rocket update.

Tune in again tomorrow for an update from Thursday’s trip home from White Sands Missile Range this week.

Day 59-Rockets at WSMR -Launch Day 1-Update

Monday was another long day for the SystemsGo team, students from Marble Falls and Anahuac High Schools, and WSMR officials as they commenced the first day of tests. Start time on the range at 0400 was with no electricity due to lightning strikes the evening before, but this was quickly corrected.

The Fill and Fire System completed set up with the addition of the Comm Readout Displays which allow the bunk house and the pad to see a digital readout of the temperature, pressure, and weight for the vehicle on the pad during the launch preparation sequences. The full system was tested and minor glitches addressed which brought it to 100% working and readiness. Throughout the day the system was reported to work great and continued at 100%.

Marble Falls was originally scheduled to test a 0830, instead it made it to the pad at around 1200. The vehicle passed its final fill and fire tests and went vertical around 1230. The survey team set the angel at 85 degrees with an azimuth of 355. Six Nitrous bottles were loaded into the tank. At this point it almost over pressured and began to release venting liquid instead of gas. At 175 lbs and 900 PSI the vehicle was determined ready for launch. Switches were good, and flame was good, but the injector failed to open and the rocket went into a still fire burn on the pad, continuing to burn for four minutes, until the bottom began leaking the nitrous.

Army rules forbid any contact during this time and for 30 minutes after the fire burned out. At that time the Oxidizer crew was allowed to approach and evaluate the vehicle. The rocket was too hot too touch delaying removal of it from the pad for another hour.

Minor damages were reported to the launch rail and trailer, but nothing that would affect or delay any future launches at this time. Instead it was just enough to give Captain Garrett something to do over the summer again.

At approximately 1400 Anahuac’s vehicle was brought to the pad and cleared for launch. At fill, one and a half bottles were loaded into the tank at which time it began leaking out from a vehicle malfunction, and Anahuac had to be scratched.

This concluded the tests for the day, setting today’s successful launch rate at zero. Any school that actually makes it this far is still a success for the simple fact that they attempted a launch of a vehicle of this size. They still have post analysis to do and challenges to over come to prevent these outcomes in the future.

Mother nature was reported to have attended the tests today as well and thrown her own challenges into the range for the crew to overcome, as well as find some humor in once they had passed. First a large dirt devil spawned right on top of the range and attempted to steal one of the large staging tents, causing a commotion as individuals scrambled after and reset it. Later, two birds were fighting on a transformer out by the pad, when a loud pop resounded, right after which one bird fell to the ground while the other made its escape and the power at the pad went down. Luckily they were using generators so this did not affect the pad and they continued as it was being fixed.

The crew spent fourteen hours at the range today, with an 8 hour launch window. Tomorrow they begin their day at 0900 with a shortened 6 hour launch window due to some other military tests scheduled for that morning early. Union Grove High School will be first followed by Booker T Washington High School. Both rockets are reported to be at 100% and waiting.

That concludes Monday’s WSMR Rocket update.

Tune in again tomorrow for an update from Tuesday and a schedule of Wednesday’s launches at White Sands Missile Range this week.

Day 58-Rockets at WSMR Setup Day

SystemsGo had a productive first day today in spite of a long night on the road getting in around 0200 and a short night of sleep. They were at the range bright and early Sunday morning to set up for the launches and finish and evaluate rockets.

The SystemsGo team split into groups. Captain Garrett and Steve Burow headed up the group at the pad setting up the launch rail. Robert Dever and Randy Kuhlmann set up the Fill and Fire system and proceeded with on-site testing. Brett Williams and Chelsea Burow rolled out all the cabling and connected the electrical systems and after which they helped Andrew Matthes who was overseeing the student groups with final checks and problem solving on rockets.

The first four schools for this Goddard level program were there with their rockets ready for leak and readiness tests. These tests are standard operating procedure used to create safeguards and ensure a successful launch as long as there are no internal parameters that cause the rocket to fail. No rocket will launch without passing these tests. An initial fail does not mean that the rocket is scratched for launch, only that the school has a short window of time in which to correct the issue so that it may be retested, pass and proceed to launch. Time constraints do not allow for continuous testing so the vehicle must pass quickly or be pulled from the launch sequence.

Marble Falls first test showed a minor problem, they were able to fix the issue and passed their second test. They are ready to launch and are scheduled as the first school for tomorrow morning at 0830.

Anahuac is scheduled to launch second tomorrow, but they are currently still working to resolve an issue shown in their test.

Union Grove is scheduled as first launch on Tuesday morning. They passed all their leak and readiness tests and are on standby for launch from 1200 to 1600 Monday in the event that Anahuac is not ready, or extra time allows.

Booker T Washington passed their leak test. They are scheduled as the second launch on Tuesday and are currently still finishing some last minute adjustments.

Set up and systems tests also went well. The new Fill and Fire system tested at 100% minus the Comm Readout Displays because a thunderstorm and lightning in the area prevented them from setting up that part of the system. This display allows mission control and the pad to communicate by sight through a constantly evolving digital readout in order to better coordinate launch sequences without the delay of radio communications, allowing for more safety and efficiency during the Fill and Fire, and count down stages. This last component will be set up early Monday morning and will complete its readiness check before the first launch, putting the full system at 100%.

A few members of the SystemsGo team got drenched in the fast approaching storm while they were down at the pad trying to put Marble Falls’ rocket on the rail so that it would be ready for launch Monday morning. Instead it was covered and left to be raised on the rail early Monday morning.

The Army has allotted an eight-hour window for testing tomorrow. The day begins at 0400 at the range for the SystemsGo team to accomplish these last necessities left from set up today. Then at 0600 the survey team shows up provide angel and azimuth settings for the launches to ensure they perform in a set area of the range for safety and recovery. Then if everything is in perfect order, Marble Falls will test their rocket launching at 0830. Anahuac or Union Grove will follow as quickly in succession as readiness allows.

Tune in again tomorrow for an update from Monday and a schedule of Tuesday’s launches at White Sands Missile Range this week.

Day 41-June 19-21, Fredericksburg Area Festival and Event Update

To start, the house has really been quiet since both the girls are back at their places again. We had a wonderful visit and I already can’t wait to see them both again. Of course that will be about 6 months for Kasey, possibly Christmas time.

Chelsea will be in and out some during the summer months. She will actually be in for the Goddard rocket shoot at WSMR in July. Of course she won’t be here much. Hopefully I will get to go along this year, but I am still not sure at this point. The Goddard level rockets are the “big dogs” of this program, hence why they have to haul them to a missile range in New Mexico to test them.

I will probably be doing an informational piece on them closer to the actual date, but if you just can’t wait, as always the address is: www.systemsgo.org

Looking ahead a bit to the rest of the week, there are a whole lot of things going on in Fredericksburg, Stonewall and our great area this week and weekend. The Chamber Calendar is full. Here is a calendar copy and recap.

6/18/2015 Summer Farmers Market “Get Fresh, Buy Local”
6/19/2015 Annual Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo
6/19/2015 Fredericksburg Trade Days
6/19/2015 Fredericksburg Theater Company presents “Evita”
6/20/2015 Father’s Day Food and Wine Pairing at Rancho Ponte Vineyard
6/20/2015 Thomas Michael Riley Music Festival in Luckenbach
6/20/2015 Cooking Class at Urban Herbal
6/21/2015 Fredericksburg’s Weinstrasse Father’s Day Event

This calendar can be found here: http://www.fredericksburg-texas.com/events/

The next four days really have a little something for almost everyone. Thursday, the Farmer’s Market has lots of fresh items from vegetables, fruits, cheeses, canned good, Gulf Shrimp, pizzas, live music and a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy while you shop. For more information on this weekly summer event here is the address: http://www.fbgfarmersmarket.com/

Friday evening, The Fredericksburg Theater Company begins their summer production of “Evita”, a musical production by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. This story portrays a rag to riches story of an Argentina First Lady. Show dates are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2:00 pm, and July 4th at 3:00 pm. The theater is located at 1668 S HWY 87. Tickets are $29/Adults and $12/children. For more information call 830-997-3588 or go online at http://www.fredericksburgtheater.org/

For Friday through Sunday, the direction for fun, food, entertainment, festivals, wine and shopping is definitely east. East US Highway 290 houses the locations for most of the places to be and see for the weekend. The Stonewall Peach Jamboree, The Thomas Michael Riley Music Festival, and the Fredericksburg Trade Days begin Friday.

The Fredericksburg Trade Days runs Friday and Saturday, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 to 4:00 pm. Parking is $5 and good for the whole weekend. The venue is located 7 miles East on US Highway 290 across from the Wildseed Farms. There are over 350 vendors of all kind. Food, music and refreshments for adults and children are available. For more information: http://www.fbgtradedays.com/

Luckenbach, Texas hosts the Thomas Michael Riley Music Festival starting Friday at 5:00 pm to 11:45 pm, Saturday from 1:00 pm to 11:45 pm, and continuing on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for Friday or Saturday night, Sunday afternoon is free. Twelve different performers, including Larry Joe Taylor, The Wolf Sisters, Jamie Richards, and Cooder Graw will take the stage on hourly intervals ending Friday and Sunday evenings with Thomas Michael Riley. A complete schedule is available at http://www.luckenbachtexas.com/ or http://www.thomasmichaelriley.com/8thannualmusicfestival.html

Stonewall hosts its 54th Annual Peach Jamboree Friday and Saturday. This is a family fun event with nightly CPRA Ram Rodeo and dance featuring Jody Nix on Friday and John Conlee on Saturday. Tickets are $15 Friday, $20 Saturday or a weekend pass for $30. Children ages 3-12 are $5. Entrance to the grounds on Saturday during the day is free. There is a parade, mutton bustin’, Peach Queen Contest, baking preserves, and salsa contest, 42 tournament, washer pitching, Kids patch, BBQ, peach eating and numerous other activities for your daytime entertainment. Rodoes begin at 6:00 pm both nights followed by the dance. For more information call 830-644-2735 or http://www.stonewalltexas.com/

Saturday from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm there is a Father’s Day Food and Wine Paring at Rancho Ponte Vineyard at 315 Ranch Road 1376. Cost is $90 and includes demonstration and three food and wine parings with Chef Rachel Ponte. For more information http://www.ranchoponte.com/

Also on Saturday, located at 407 Whitney Street, Urban Herbal presents a cooking class on “Farm Fresh class of Salad, Quiche and Tart”. Reserve your seat in advance. Class starts at 11:00 am at a cost of $75. This recipe session will also include a wine paring for your new do it yourself easy menu. For more information call 830-456-9667 or online at http://www.urbanherbal.com/

If you are at a loss as to what to get Dad for Father’s Day, and he is a wine lover, then, Inwood Estates, Mendelbaum Cellars, and 4.0 Cellars have an event that’s “just for Dad.” They are hosting a mini wine tour event, called Fredericksburg Weinstrasse Father’s Day Event, with wine tastings, food paring and live music. Tickets are $35 and include all three wineries. Visit between noon and 4:00 pm and receive a 19 oz. crystal Bordeaux glass. For more information call 830-997-2304 or visit http://www.fredericksburgweinstrasse.com/

There is an event and entertainment for all ages in Gillespie County and the Fredericksburg, Stonewall area this weekend. Hope to see you at one or perhaps all of them. Have a great weekend.

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