AUSROC Update

[Jim Bowery]

et...@levels.unisa.edu.au writes:
> These trials did not go without problems however. During the first test,
>the liquid oxygen ball valve did not open fully due to moisture freezing
>around the ball. This resulted in an insufficient quantity of lox reaching
>the chamber and, hence, erratic burning.

First Gary Hudson/SSI, then AMROC and now AUSROC -- when are these
LOX-based rocket developers going to learn to take an engineering
sledge-hammer to the LOX-valve freezing problem?

Now wait... a more important question is: Why is it that modern
rocket designers refuse to learn from the (disasterous) experiences
of others?

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[Phil G. Fraering]

j...@netlink.cts.com (Jim Bowery) writes:

>et...@levels.unisa.edu.au writes:
>> These trials did not go without problems however. During the first test,
>>the liquid oxygen ball valve did not open fully due to moisture freezing
>>around the ball. This resulted in an insufficient quantity of lox reaching
>>the chamber and, hence, erratic burning.
>
>First Gary Hudson/SSI, then AMROC and now AUSROC -- when are these
>LOX-based rocket developers going to learn to take an engineering
>sledge-hammer to the LOX-valve freezing problem?
>
>Now wait... a more important question is: Why is it that modern
>rocket designers refuse to learn from the (disasterous) experiences
>of others?

Something just occured to me about Gary Hudson and the Percheron:

_Where_ was the Percheron built? I'm wondering if it was maybe
built and tested in some arid part of California, then hauled
out to arid Matagorda Island's 90 % humidity and blown up after
ice froze the lox lines...

Does anyone here know Mr. Hudson?

--
_\|/_ Help me! An alien Computer Virus
/.\ /.\ has eaten my .sig!!!!!!
\_/|\_/ <-------------- Stop it before it eats yours!
\-/ Phil Fraering p...@srl01.cacs.usl.edu

[et...@levels.unisa.edu.au]

In article <NmuekB...@netlink.cts.com> j...@netlink.cts.com (Jim Bowery)
writes:

>First Gary Hudson/SSI, then AMROC and now AUSROC -- when are these
>LOX-based rocket developers going to learn to take an engineering
>sledge-hammer to the LOX-valve freezing problem?
>
>Now wait... a more important question is: Why is it that modern
>rocket designers refuse to learn from the (disasterous) experiences
>of others?

AUSROC is an amature rocketry group. They make rockets for fun, not for profit
as SSI and AMROC do. In designing rockets they want cheap and easy designs.
They are not out to lead the world in rocketry designs. AUSROC does try to
learn from the experience of others, but there is no substitute for actually
doing it yourself.

The third series of static firings have now been successfully achieved for
AUSROC II. Peak thrust was 11.5 kN. However, after about 5 seconds the thrust
starts to drop due to not enough helium pressure. The launch from Woomera
is now set for July/August. More details in the next AUSROC Update.

--
Steven S. Pietrobon, Australian Space Centre for Signal Processing
Signal Processing Research Institute, University of South Australia
The Levels, SA 5095, Australia. ste...@sal.levels.unisa.edu.au

[Jim Bowery]

ste...@sal.levels.unisa.edu.au writes:
>The third series of static firings have now been successfully achieved for
>AUSROC II. Peak thrust was 11.5 kN. However, after about 5 seconds the
thrust
>starts to drop due to not enough helium pressure.

How does your thrust to weight ratio vs time curve look when you take
into account rising isp due to altitude and lowering weight due to
propellant loss?