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Space Science

Catching Up With The Rocket Guy 105

Posted by timothy from the smaller-portion-please dept.
Jedi Holocron writes "The full article is at Space.Com and reports on the current status of Brian "Rocket Guy" Walker's home-brew space program. This is the guy who is planning to build a rocket in his backyard, funded by his toy inventions. He's scaled back from an X-Prize launch to a mere 15,000 feet with a sky-diving return. This could be the next ride installed next to Disney's Mission:Space if he has his way!!! All told he's now calling it an amateur rocket, however it doesn't look like the model rockets I remember."
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Catching Up With The Rocket Guy More

Catching Up With The Rocket Guy

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  • I'm sure when it blows up it will make leaps and bounds for the american space agency.

  • Ejection System (Score:5, Funny)

    by GaelenBurns ( 716462 ) <gaelenb@assuranc ... es.com minus bsd> on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:01PM (#7342287) Homepage Journal
    I imagine is shooting him out of the top with a parachute on his back the way that an Estes does.

  • It's nice to see... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by r_glen ( 679664 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:02PM (#7342293)
    Some people don't give up on their childhood dreams
  • So at what point does his 'rocket' become a mistaken intercontinental ballistc missle threat for North Korea? I just know some country will use this as an excust to test their own 'backyard rockets', only to result in accidental off course situations over japan... ;)

    • Re:Interesting (Score:2, Interesting)

      by jd ( 1658 )
      More importantly (for him, anyway), at what point does his rocket become a mistaken missile -from- North Korea, and get zapped by rampant psychotic anti-missile laser systems, ABM rockets and sleep-deprived USAF combat pilots?

      The expected failure rate on that system they're supposed to wheel out in a few years is going to be high. They won't have tested it, and if it's anything like the systems that shot down the Iranian airliner "by mistake", it only has to fail once for this rocket guy to skydie.

      • Re:Interesting (Score:4, Insightful)

        by DoraLives ( 622001 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @08:07PM (#7342754)
        The expected failure rate on that system they're supposed to wheel out in a few years is going to be high

        Concur.

        and if it's anything like the systems that shot down the Iranian airliner "by mistake", it only has to fail once for this rocket guy to skydie.

        Count on it to fail at least twice.

        Failure number one: Mistaken identity is made, live fire at Rocket Guy.

        Failure number two: The fucking thing misses Rocket Guy cleanly and then goes on to take out a 757 minding its own business at 45,000 feet, two states over.

    • Re:Interesting (Score:2, Informative)

      by twiddlingbits ( 707452 )
      I hope you were not serious. 15,000 feet is not that high, we have mountains that high in the USA. ICBMs reenter at 200,000 feet plus and have a screamingly high velocity. Plus anyone watching on radar would see it go UP first. If he is smart enough to build it I'm sure he will notify someone he is launching it. It won't look like an ICBM -- I guarantee. (apologies to Justin Wilson) I just hope he launches it somewhere (like the middle of the desert) that whatever comes down does not hurt anyone or destroy
      • RTFA.

        The ultimate goal is to go straight up 50 miles. There are no plans for orbit, just to fulfill the childhood dream of a private citizen. Orbit requires going at least 170 miles up and going 17,000 MPH around the earth. Lots of up and lots of sideways. Going up to a straight up to a stop and dropping back down is different.

        • Re:Interesting (Score:2, Informative)

          by twiddlingbits ( 707452 )
          I did RTFA. I'm not worried about his FUTURE plans, that will never happen for a number of reasons. He even realizes it... When the self-made space traveler began the quest several years ago, the idea was to fly up 50 miles to the border of space. He has since stepped back from bankrolling a full-size rocket design to a more modest missile -- one that shoots to 15,000 feet. .... Walker is not gunning for the X Prize. That's the worldwide competition to hurl passengers to the edge of space and snag a $10
          • The folks going for the X-Prize aren't going to making the kind of velocity neccessary for an extreme heat shield. As I understand it, they'll be making less velocity than even Alan Sheperd's Mercury-Redstone shot. Some heat protection is neccessary but far less than a typical orbital re-entry. And it's pratically a non-issue for a straight up straight down profile envisioned for the original project.

            BTW, the Redstone was a single-stage rocket an reached a height of about 100 miles.
          • The 15000 foot rocket is designed soley to test the systems. If it works, it won't take much to scale up the rocket and he'll have the bigger one.
            You're right, he's not gunning for the x prize, that would require going into orbit. He wants to shoot 50 miles straight up and come straight back down.
      • Once the rockets are up,
        who cares where they come down?
        That's not my department!
        (...says Werner von Braun.)

  • When you catch up with the rocket guy (Score:5, Funny)

    by PD ( 9577 ) * <slashdotlinux@pdrap.org> on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:04PM (#7342313) Homepage Journal
    There's some equipment you might need when you catch up with him. For example, this might be useful. [specialtyhearse.com] And to load him up, you might need one of these. [bdel.com] Of course, to be truly prepared, make sure you have access to plenty of these [supplies-cleaning.com] and some of this. [cleansweepsupply.com]

  • It's cool that he's a toymaker (Score:4, Insightful)

    by macshune ( 628296 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:04PM (#7342314) Journal
    and that he's building a *rocket*. I'm sure this will inspire a lot of kids to go into science if it works.

    I'm also sure it's good for him because he can turn around and make action figures of himself and his rocket!
    • Toy Story III - Invasion of Mars. Film at 11!
  • I wish him luck and hope that nothing ever tragic happens to him, but if any story sounded like the start of a Darwin award description, this has to be it.

  • For the obligatory Carmack post (after all, he IS a rocket scientist). Here, at /., John Carmack is the true J.C.

  • Can Elton John take any legal action? (Score:5, Funny)

    by public_class_name_ex ( 643076 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:09PM (#7342345)

    I thought *he* was the rocket man?

  • hmm that's easier alright (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:10PM (#7342351)
    He's scaled back from an X-Prize launch to a mere 15,000 feet with a sky-diving return.

    Isn't that what a lot of small airfields propose under the name of "parachute jump" for $100, 1-hour training session included for first-timers ?
  • This could be the next ride installed next to Disney's Mission:Space if he has his way!!!

    This is just wonderful, this is gonna remove all the prestige from winning a Darwin Award!!!
  • end up coming back down, dreams included. Good to see he as gone to compressed air as a propellant, it'll be a lot less messy if/when it fails.

  • Favorite Quote (Score:4, Funny)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) <bittercode@gmail> on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:15PM (#7342386) Homepage Journal
    In carting the rocket on a truck around town, Walker said he hangs a simple right to bear arms sign on the back: "I take my second amendment rights real seriously."

    If I owned one of these I could change my bumper to stick to read "My rocket has killed less people than Ted Kennedy's car" That would be sweet.

  • The article mentions that he has his own distillery for making 90% pure hydrogen peroxide. John Carmack has mentioned he's been having problems procuring H2O2 of higher purities. What's holding him back from making his own?
    • He's not a ChemE ?

    • Re:hydrogen peroxide (Score:3, Informative)

      by Tmack ( 593755 )
      Most of his suppliers IIRC had a stipulation that stated they would not attempt to concentrate the peroxide. He does have one guy distilling some 90%, but it is taking alot of time to get any significant quantity. They have also been having a good bit of success using just the 50% and have been experimenting alot with that. 50% would be a better alternative if they can get it to perform well, its easier to get, less dangerous than 90% and probably less expensive. The only drawback is that it isnt quite as p
  • "What's the chance of failure," he added, "when you have a pressurized vessel with water, compressed air, and a cork in the bottom? Probably higher than he admits. However, once the rocket reaches a certain height, it doesn't matter what it does, becuase he has a parachute on anyways and is expecting to use it. I am not a rocket scientist, but I know that he'll have to have some pretty light stuff (and a light passenger), because he's going to need A LOT of the stuff. That being said, I wish him the bes

  • If he only wants to hit 15K feet... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ElGuapoGolf ( 600734 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:21PM (#7342419) Homepage
    If he's only shooting for 15,000 feet, why not just build a modern day ME163 rocket fighter? I seem to recall that it could fly at around 30,000 feet, and there was an improved B version that had enough fuel for 15 minutes of flying time.

    If they just fixed the whole nasty "randomly exploding" problem it was prone to, it could be fun.

    I don't know much about the lil rocket, but didn't the Russians also build a version? Anyone know anything about that?
    • Hell, I can drive my car on a paved road [byways.org] above 14,000 feet.
    • that reminds me of the time I met an elderly German gentleman while working as the desk clerk in a local motel.

      Seems as if he only had one leg.

      Turns out he was a ME163 pilot and lost the leg to a young man flying a Spitfire who managed to hit him and blow his leg off in the process, but not quite take his Komet out of the sky.

      My elderly friend said getting shot with the 50 calibre through the upper leg knocked him unconcious.

      So consider what ensued: You wake up in agony, only to look down and see that one o

      • And now for obvious joke ripped-off from rec.humor.funny:

        A Spitfire World War II pilot is reminiscing before school children about his days in the air force. (Joke best delivered with a good, thick British accent)

        "In 1942," he says, "the situation was really tough. The Germans had a very strong air force. I remember, " he continues, "one day I was protecting the bombers and suddenly, out of the clouds, these fokkers appeared.

        (At this point, several of the children giggle.)

        I looked up, and right
        • I think I should point out that 'Fokker' was the name of the German-Dutch aircraft company

          Dutch, that is. Anthony Fokker fled Germany at the end of the Great War and continued to build aircraft in The Netherlands till his death in 1939 (more info here [worldonline.nl]).

          Fokker Aircraft continued to design and build marvellous aircraft but selling them became a problem. Finally in 1996 (after the Dutch Gov't withdrew financial support and Deutsche Aerospace had bought it) they went bankrupt.
          Stork [stork.com] now maintains Fokker
  • Why don't we all put our heads together and come up with a DIY space ship made from Home Depot supplies. We are all smart enough right? Collectively?
    • We're smart enough to build it if you are smart enough to ride it.

    • First: notice the first part of the name: home. A lot of neat/useful things for someone with a home to work on. Not a whole lot useful for a rocket designer. The wrong tools for the job, and the wrong metals. Not a big deal though, most areas have a metal store nearby that sells plenty of useful things, and can help you find the tools. (In rulal areas these stores are common too, farmers do a lot of repairs themselves)

      Money. I'm not gonna spend my money on your stupid idea so naanny-nannay-boo-boo.


    • Problem is that IQ isn't additive, it works more like resistors in parallel: let's assume (realistically) that each of us has an IQ of 150. Then if 3 of us get together, the groups overall IQ will be

      IQ = 1/(1/iq1 + 1/iq2 + 1/iq3),

      which works out to just 50, well below the "rocket science" threshold of 80. As group size increases, group IQ tends to zero, a phenomenon well-known in programmer and government circles.

      So to conclude, we're better off building our rockets individually. Perhaps we could share
  • ... when i was a kid i used to dream of doing stuff like this all the time. I would draw out schematics of various vehicles and modes of transportation.

    Nowadays, building a rocket is liable to get you arrested for being a terrorist or something.
    • This from Estes Rockets [estesrockets.com]:

      Homeland Security Act and Model Rocketry

      The Homeland Security Act includes the "Safe Explosives Act" which has placed even more responsibility on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in an effort to keep explosives out of the hands of terrorists. As would be expected there are now more explosives regulations. However, some of the information that has been provided to and reported by the media has several issues confused. Visit http://www.atf.treas.gov/explarson/safexpact/mo [treas.gov]
  • This could be the next ride installed next to Disney's Mission:Space

    Or at the very least, a very spectacular entry as a future Darwin Award.

  • Inter-Continental Ballistic Lawndarts (Score:3, Funny)

    by mikeophile ( 647318 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:32PM (#7342502)
    Anyone up for a game over the Rockies?

  • Catching up with the rocket guy? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Are you sure the Rocket Guy is not trying to catch up with the road runner?

  • TechTV had him on 'Invent This!' (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gatekeep ( 122108 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:34PM (#7342509)
    This guy was recently on Invent This! [techtv.com] on TechTV.

    He talked about some system to distill 50% peroxide into 90%. Didn't Carmack say that wasn't feasible to do in the volume he needed?

    • Re:TechTV had him on 'Invent This!' (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Thagg ( 9904 ) <thadbeier@gmail.com> on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @10:16PM (#7343677) Journal
      One problem is that Carmack's H202 suppliers demanded that he sign papers saying that he wouldn't concentrate the H202 any further, IIRC.

      You've got to hand it to Carmack, he takes things seriously.

      One of Carmack's biggest problems now is where to launch his rocket, as the parachute descent could end anywhere within a few dozen mile radius, and it's hard to secure that large an area. He's seriously considering going to a powered landing just so he can land it at a particular place.

      The X-Prize is seriously hard. I'd be surprised if anybody actually makes it by the specified cut-off time of Jan 1 2005.

      thad
    • He talked about some system to distill 50% peroxide into 90%. Didn't Carmack say that wasn't feasible to do in the volume he needed?

      Carmack is going ~20x higher and hence needs a lot more peroxide. I think it's almost two orders of magnitude more- Walker's distillation system doesn't have the capacity- it would take a year or so to make one tankful for Carmack's needs IRC (Carmack needs to launch twice to win the X-prize).

  • Tougher for the individual... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by drenehtsral ( 29789 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:41PM (#7342553) Homepage
    As technology advances, it becomes tougher for the small-scale individual to do pretty much _anything_ themselves. I'm really psyched that this guy is trying.

    When airplanes were new, anybody could build a decent one that would compete with at least the low-range commercial ones. Same with computers, cars, operating systems (but then, hey, look at Linux now!). I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter how may people call this dude a fool, I think he's doing something really cool =:-)
  • This is starting to sound like some of my more ambitious software projects.

    Next scaleback: The Catapult Guy!
    • It's nice to see people dream, but is this guy practical enough to pull it off? If you read about his other inventions that went nowhere, they all end "... unfortunately...." and the mean old ugly world cops the blame for why his invention never became the next big thing. My gut instinct is that the rocket will also end with an unfortunately.

  • Quote (Score:3)

    by Eric Seppanen ( 79060 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @07:50PM (#7342610)
    If anyone knows who originally said this, I'd appreciate hearing about it. It seems appropriate here:

    A ship poorly built is a raft
    an airplane poorly built is a cart
    a rocket poorly built is a bomb.

  • I am mighty relieved that the rocket guy has scaled back his plans. My brother and I were so sure that he was going to die in his previous plan that we reserved the domain name deadrocketguy.com. Afterwards, I was so ashamed about it that I never mentioned it to anyone, but now that he's going to live, I'm going public.
  • Wasn't there some guy a some years ago who tied a bunch of helium balloons to his lawn chair and soon found himself a few miles high?
  • Long interview on The Space Show [thespaceshow.com]

    Also, the story adheres to Slashdot's usual standards of accuracy, as Rocketguy never did have plans for an X-Prize launch.
  • Why don't we launch things a few thousand feet closer to space in the Rocky Mountains? Wouldn't that save fuel and reduce launch costs?

    • Re:Mountian Launch? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by grozzie2 ( 698656 )
      Most launches are to an orbit that is not a polar orbit, so, they tend to launch eastbound, to gain the extra little push in that direction from the rotation of the earth.

      When choosing a launch location, a very significant factor is the downrange property damage considerations. Since modern rockets tend to be devices that explode on a fairly regular basis, and they do so when travelling at very high speed, there is a very high likelihood of high velocity 'junk' impacting downrange of the launch point.

      W


  • "He's scaled back from an X-Prize launch"

    He may no longer be going after the X-prize, but, I gotta say, it sure sounds like a Darwin Award just waiting to happen.

  • Alert the FBI (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    He's got a centrifuge, he's mixing his own rocket fuel, he's made rockets capable of reaching several miles. This guy is clearly a terrorist! Someone, quickly, alert homeland security!

    Really though, his setup is extremely cool. But how much cooler would it all be ... if it were in a Volcano *muhahahahaha*
  • there was a television interview with Mr.Walker some time ago and he talked about the availability of goverment surplus equipment he bought for cents on the dollars, military and space programs, pumps, motors, nozzles, machined exotic metals, he literaly bought close to a million dollars(or more) of "stuff" for a few thousand. It is great that these kind of garage sales are available, he must of been like a little kid when he saw what was available and it probably helped a great deal in the $ department. Pe
  • I read through his site on all the projects that were bigger than a Nerf cannon(which probably never passed safety inspections anyway). Every one of them failed. Lack of investors, leaks, flawed designs, etc. He even failed to make a stretcher kit for the military, something about a lack of quality in aesthetics.

    His ideas didn't stink (except a Nerf pressurized cannon, that just screams lawsuit), but his execution really choked. Inventor geeks need two friends: a gifted machinist and a die-hard salesma

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