Archives for the 'rockets' Category
Ares I-X Launch Photos
Published on 4 Nov 2009 at 12:21 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under NASA, rockets.
It’s been a week since the Ares I-X launch, so you are probably wondering where the pictures are. After the launch, I tried to clean up as best I could in the bathroom at the space center, and I headed straight to the airport to catch my plane back to DFW. Upon returning, I have […]
Triboelectrification trouble
Published on 27 Oct 2009 at 2:40 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under rockets.
Well, the launch did not go as hoped for this morning. Last night, the forecast was for only about a 40% chance of the launch getting off. This morning, when I got up to head over to the space center, I saw stars! Things were definitely looking good! Then, as we headed to the launch […]
Read ‘Triboelectrification trouble’
Ares I-X
Published on 25 Oct 2009 at 11:07 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under rockets.
If everything works out OK, then NASA will launch a new rocket this coming Tuesday: the Ares I-X. And, if everything works right, I’ll be there to witness it!
The Ares rockets and Orion crew module are supposed to eventually replace the Space Shuttle in NASA’s inventory of craft to ferry astronauts to and from space. […]
Standard Missile-3
Published on 27 Feb 2008 at 6:33 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under rockets.
Last Wednesday night, while a lot of us were watching the lunar eclipse, the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70) fired a missile to shoot down the defunct USA-193 satellite. The missile’s kinetic warhead struck the satellite at an altitude of 133 nautical miles, shattering the satellite. A cloud of expanding gas from the […]
Hydrazine
Published on 16 Feb 2008 at 12:34 am.
38 Comments.
Filed under rockets.
Hydrazine, N2H4, is a commonly used rocket propellant. The hydrazine molecule is basically what you get when you couple two ammonia molecules, by removing a hydrogen from each one. It is a reactive substance, and quite toxic. Hydrazine is a colorless liquid at room temperature. Its melting point is about 1° C, […]
Shooting down USA-193
Published on 15 Feb 2008 at 2:05 pm.
21 Comments.
Filed under politics, rockets.
Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that the US Navy would attempt to shoot down a US reconnaissance satellite that is out of control and spiraling back to Earth to an uncontrolled reentry into the atmosphere. The missile used to do the job is to be a modified Standard Missile 3, developed for use with […]
Delta rocket explosion
Published on 16 Nov 2007 at 7:30 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under rockets, video.
This is a video that I found on YouTube about a Delta rocket exploding on launch.
In the early days of rocketry, the rockets tended to explode a lot. It happens less often today than it did in the early days, but it does still occur. That is why they launch these things from […]
