Short notice, but May 31st launch in VA

This, from former ROCC member Bob Schomer:

"Hi Ralph, Mike, Giovanni and Chuck,

 I am not as plugged in to the VA/NC rocketry community as I would like to be and I would like to invite you to a launch this coming weekend.  Originally this was planned as a 2 day Tripoli Commercial launch, but I'm not sure we have the numbers to justify a two day launch, but I am willing to do that if it make a difference to fliers coming from farther away.

 Our launch site is a good size with waivers to 9,000 AGL.  I would strongly recommend dual deployment for anything over 4K and need to have the right conditions for anything over about 6k.  Wildman VA Kevin Dunn will be there on Saturday and preorders are encouraged.  The field is decent, with hills and a fair amount of flat ground with a good size clearing of about 3,000 by 4,000 feet with only about 5% trees and then about 30-60% trees further out.  There is the New river to the south about 4,000 feet away from our main launch site.

 If anyone has any questions about our launch site or our launch you can refer them to our website (nrvr.org) or send them my email address.  Our hopes are to have monthly launches throughout the year.  We are also looking at a potential site that's almost 1 mile by 3/4 mile with no trees and is flat as a pool table near Wytheville VA, but that won't happen for a while still.

Thanks

 Bob Schoner

TRA #143, New River Valley Rocketry "

So, if you're icthin' to fly and want a pleasant drive up into VA, then head on up!  dr

April launch spectacular... report

Or is it the spectacular April launch spectacular report... I can't say, but here it is. We may have lost the May launch due to the wheat crops, but to tide you over for a bit here's Roy's report on the April launch festivities, and boy, it was a doozy! dr

Click to read more ...

May Launch Cancelled

Just got an update from Ralph/Kip, grain is heading out, meaning we can't fly till it is done. So it's possible we might be able to launch in June. Please keep checking back for updates.

John

ISS HD Earth View up and running on Ustream

OK, imagine that you're NASA, and every time you want to put a camera into space you have to get it custom made at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet today, off-the-shelf HD cameras are available that might do the job for just hundreds, or maybe thousands of dollars, orders of magnitude cheaper. 

That's what the new HD Earth Viewing experiment, delivered to the ISS just a few weeks ago on the last Dragon supply mission, aims to test. Can a consumer off-the-shelf (COTS) camera survive and thrive against the harshness of the space environment. There's 4 cameras, from manufacturers like Panasonic, Sony, and Hitachi, enclosed in a box with a camera facing in all 4 directions. There's some more details on NASA's site HERE, a great info graphic HERE, and more info HERE on Universe Today.

You can watch it live, 24-7, on Ustream at this LINK.

It's also a great way to unwind by the way, and you really get a sense of just how fast traveling at 18,000 mph really is. 

dr

April 26th & 27th Thanks

What a weekend! We had one of the best weekends in a long while for rocketry, a camp-out, a night launch, a swap and shop (kind of, I hope that went as well as I think it did)...  just, well, WOW. Let me be the first to say thanks to all the folks that pitched in and made it happen and also came out to enjoy it.

Doc R.

April 27th update

Hey folks...  what a GREAT DAY we had on Saturday!! Absolutely beautiful flying conditions and a really good, albeit windy at about 1000', night launch.

Here's the bit you need to know... Sunday looks to be another georgeous day, and it may, if the wheat keeps shooting up like it is, be the last full-field day for a while. The wheat is about a foot to 18" tall through most of what we call the north fields, and it's already tough to find things in it, and I'm talking some fairly big rockets.

So come on out and FLY darn it!!    Doc R.

April 26th & 27th - Launch - Swamp Meet - Night Launch - Campout

When: April 26 & 27, 2014

Where:   The Williams Farm. See Web Site for directions if you are new.

Set up Time:  9:45 am - We need Volunteers! 

Launch ends:   Approximately around 6:00 PM so we have some light to close up.      

Remember that this is a working farm, so dress accordingly, sturdy shoes and suggest you dress in layers so you can take layers off and on as the temperature changes.

LCO/RSO Rules

1. The RSO will be required to be Level 2 minimum, ROCC member, and a NAR/Tripoli member. The same person can volunteer to RSO/LCO in a given time slot, as long as they meet the RSO requirements.

2. The LCO will be required to be Level 1 minimum, ROCC member, and a NAR/Tripoli member.

3. Rockets that will be required to be inspected by the RSO:
   a. Any rocket flying on an E motor or above.
   b. Any rocket using more than one motor, either clustered or multi stage.
   c. Any rocket weighing more than 1 pound.

4. Groups that come out to launch will have a Level 2 member assigned to them to make sure all rules are being followed.

Duty signups sheet will be at the front table for RSO/LCO. If you’re a Level 2, we need you to volunteer!!!!

Events:

Swamp Meet - bring stuff to sell that you no longer need!

Saturday Night Launch, including high power. See rules on this site for the night launch. http://www.rocketrycarolina.org/contest-info/

Saturday Night Campout!

* Ken will be onsite for both days! 

ADDITIONAL, RE Night launch:

I have set the NOTAM to close at 5:00 PM on Saturday, so that we can all get a break for dinner and set up for the night launch. The night NOTAM opens at 8 PM and goes till 9:30.

Remember to follow the guidelines set forth in the night launch pdf, which you can download from the contest rules link in the sidebar.

Basic guidelines, all flights are to be I impulse or below, the rocket must be illuminated at all times while in flight and we strongly suggest a back-up lighting system.

There will be a dual check-in system for RSO. All rockets must be preflighted during the day Saturday, and you will receive a special flight card. On going to the pad, you will need to bring that flight card with the first approval to the RSO table to be checked in before you go to the pads. Your flight will be approved for a rocket & engine combo that will be checked for the 1,500' wavier complience.

I will have a table set up for the night flights during Saturdays flight day and we can answer any last minute questions. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have a big concern and I'll try and get you an answer by the end of the day Friday.

Thanks, Doc R.

April 26th & 27th - Launch

The April launch is right around the corner! In addition to the regular launch activities don't forget we have the following additions:

1. Swap Meet - Bring your rocket stuff you no longer want or need and sell it to the people that can use it.

2. Campout on Saturday night.

3. Night launch on Saturday night.

Altimeter / Dual Deployment Class

I wanted to thank both Dave Popkin and David Strunk for taking the time to prepare an excellent altimeter class yesterday. No doubt all in attendance learned something, and/or contributed to the discussion.

Also, I would like to thanks Louise Ferrell for providing the meeting facility.

If anyone has any ideas for future classes, please let me know.

A website for the truly geeky

It's science festival time around the country right now, and that includes the facilities of NASA. I caught something the other day that I thought was really cool, particularly if you love communications and technology.

There was a class taking the tours around JPL and one of the lecturers was the director of the NASA Deep Space Network, the folks that keep in contact with the various far-flung vehicles that have left the planet and, for Voyager, the solar system.

What caught my fancy was when they said that... "oh, yeah, all of this communications monitoring data is available in real time on the internet..."

Oh, so COOL!... here's the LINK

You can go and see the current state of the network, how fast the data is moving, who's on line... etc.

I think the topper was the bit with the Voyager spacecraft, that comunicates at the whopping speed of about 150 bits per second and a round-trip time of about a day and a half!

dr