Reference / Paper · 2002
Peak of Flight #82: Sci-Fi Adventures - Four stories from our readers
Apogee Components' Peak of Flight newsletter, issue 82 (2002).
- peak-of-flight
- apogee-components
- model-rocketry
Reference / Paper · 2002
Apogee Components' Peak of Flight newsletter, issue 82 (2002).
Apogee Components' Peak of Flight newsletter, issue 82 (2002).
I S N S U E E - 8 2 W S M L A E Y , 3 1, T 2 T 0 E 0 2 R Sci-Fi Stories Four Out-of-this-World Adventures •• Orion Orion -- Archers Archers to to the the Stars Stars •• We We Left Left Late Late •• Orion Orion Luxury Luxury Shuttle Shuttle •• StoneBreaker StoneBreaker $150 IN PRIZES Apogee Aspire Flies Over 1 Mile Saturn 1B Poster Astronauts Autograph Apogee Artwork 1 1 3 0 E l k t o n D r i v e A s u i t A 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite Colorado Springs, 80907 USA C o l o r a d o S p r iCO n g s , C O 8 0 9 0 7 www.ApogeeRockets.com w w w . a p o g e e r o c k e t s . c o m orders @ApogeeRocket s.com o r d e r @ a p o g e e r o c k e t s . c o m phone 719-535-9335 fax 719-534 -9050 Ph one 719-53 335 Fa x 719-5 34-905 0 I S S U E P E 82 A - M A Y , 3 1, K 2 0 0 2 O F APOGEE F l I G H T “Amaze Your Friends- They’ll Applaud When Your Apogee Aspire Rocket Roars Higher Than One Mile High” Remember that last launch you went to when there just didn’t seem to be any rockets that inspired you? Everything being flown was woosh-pop, whoosh-pop, whoosh-pop. Even the big stuff didn’t seem all that impressive. Sure, it made a deeper whoosh, but it just didn’t seem to make heads turn and get people to say ‘wow.’ Now I would like you to picture a scene where people come racing back to your prep area after you just got back from launching your Apogee Aspire rocket kit. They will all want to know what the heck was “that” thing. They weren’t paying much attention to the rockets being flown, but all of a sudden, they heard something very unique. The rocket that made the commotion just kept going, and going, and going. It just didn’t seem to want to quit. When they looked up, all they saw a long thin wisp of smoke that reached from the ground to an astonishing height. They gasped. “That thing must be more than a mile high,” they tell the guy next to them. Do you want to wake up and then blow the minds of spectators at your next rocket launch? Then pick up the Apogee Aspire rocket.It slices its way to over a mile high. Here’s a tip from Eric Benner : “I love the Apogee Aspire. I have flown it twice, and that thing flies great. You may want to tell people that they should include a return shipping address, including country and planet!” The Apogee Aspire is always a fantastic flight. And if you use the long burn F10 motor, it echoes and echoes and echoes as it ascends slowly and majestically. It isn’t one of those punch-in-the-gut high speed flights. This is a nicely clean liftoff that is easy to see from liftoff to when the bright chrome streamer comes out at apogee. In a word, it seems to define: efficient. The Apogee Aspire sports that “classic rocket shape.” It’s sleek streamline design seems to cry out for a beautiful skyblue day; like it was saying “launch me, launch me.” Even when it is just sitting on your desk, it looks like it is carving a path through the air. Everyone that walks by seems to stop and do a double-take at it. They’ll marvel at the simple elegance of the rocket and how lightweight it is when they pick it up. There is another benefit to owning a Apogee Aspire kit. While it has a decent size to it, the rocket is well under a pound at lift-off. It doesn’t require a special waiver to launch. Wherever or whatever launch you go to, the Apogee Aspire rocket is a legal model rocket. So when there is no waiver and you can’t take out your honking-huge rockets, you can still get that overpowering giddy feeling of reaching fantastic heights and getting people to notice what you’ve done. You’ll come home with a nice smug feeling, knowing you wowed a lot of folks. The Apogee Aspire is also an easy-to-assemble rocket. If you’re pressed for time and need to build several different rockets for the launch this coming weekend, you’ll find that it goes together quickly. You’ll probably finish it in half an evening, giving yourself plenty of time to work on other rocket projects too. If you are a parent, and you want to give your kids a bigger rocket to work on, the Apogee Aspire is a great choice. As your child builds it, they will learn the basic guiding principles of rocketry, so that you will be able to tackle other rockets that are more complex and daring. The kit has all the classic components that will teach younger rocketeers how to build true aeronautical vehicles. This includes a real balsa wood nose cone, precision die-cut balsa fins, water-slide decals, and high quality kraft paper tubes. The rocket also comes with a long chrome-silver streamer, so you can easily see the rocket on its ultra-high flights. The rocket can also us a wide variety of motors—it does come with an adapter to use the 24mm C, D and E rocket motors. So if you don’t want to launch the rocket into orbit, cont. on pg. 3 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.A pogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRockets.com phone 719-535-9335 fax 719-534-9050 PAGE 2 I S S U E P E 82 - M A Y , 3 1, A K 2 0 0 2 O F APOGEE F l I G H T “Amaze Your Friends- They’ll Applaud When Your Apogee Aspire Rocket Roars Higher Than One Mile High” cont. from pg. 2 you can simply choose a smaller rocket engine. This rocket is a real value at its price of $15.95. It is the only model rocket kit on the market that can fly over a mile high on a single, inexpensive, F motor. Most high power kits with this capability cost more than $60, and then you still have to use bigger-more expensive rocket engines. Like all Apogee’s rockets, this kit comes with my personal money-back guarantee. If you aren’t completely satisfied with it, simply return it back to us for a complete refund. I’ve built my reputation on making good quality products and providing superior customer service — so put me to the test. pleased on how good this rocket flies, and how well it impresses your friends and other spectators. Click Here, or cut and paste into your web browser this URL: http://www.ApogeeRockets.com/aspire_rocket.asp And there’s more... If you order the Apogee Aspire kit by June 7, 2002 I’ll send to you FREE my Technical Publication #5 - “Obliterating Old Altitude Records.” This report (valued at $2.00) gives you the guidance you need to make kits like the Apogee Aspire to fly even higher. I’m sure that you’ll love bragging to your friends how you hold the national altitude record for the highest flying model rocket. Is that not a big enough value for you? OK. I’ll throw in a free copy of my CDROM video book: “Building Skill Level 1 Model Rocket Kits” to the first five people that order this kit right now using our secure web site ordering system. That’s an additional $12.95 bonus! Just put in the comments field “Am I one of the first 5 to get the free CD-ROM?” If you are, I’ll personally acknowledge the fact, and I’ll send out the free gifts right away. Go right now to our web site right now and place your order for the Apogee Aspire kit. I’m confident that you’ll be P.S. If you are not satisfied with the kit, send it back for a full refund - but keep the free gifts! I’m that confident you’ll love this kit. 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.ApogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRockets.com p hone 719-535-9335 fax 719-534-9050 PAGE 3 I S S U E P E 82 - A M A Y , 3 1, K 2 0 0 2 O F APOGEE F l I G H T Rocketry Essay Contest The purpose of this competition was to write a story about one of the Shrox plans that have appeared in this newsletter. We had 4 entries, and since they were all fairly short, I've decided to print them all in this issue of the e-zine. I had a great time reading these stories. I hope that you enjoy it too. If you do, and if you'd like to see more stories like this, please drop me a note. Tim Van Milligan [email protected] First Place (18 and older division): “ORION A r c h e r s t o t h e S t a r s™ ” by jon Hatch For years, visitors not in prime physical condition have had to make the trip from Earth to the new crop of ultra-luxury high orbit hotels and back in stasis fields, thus missing the gorgeous fade of sky blue to black as the boundaries of humanity's final frontier envelop the adventurous traveler. Absent was the spectacular rainbow of colors displayed by the heating of the air in the high-speed early to mid stages of re-entry. Well, NO LONGER!! We at Orion have finally perfected the heretofore theoretical process of inertial compensation, reducing the perceived force of high-g acceleration to the feel of the slightest breeze. Now you can revel in the spectacular view while enjoying a martini (bone dry; shaken, not stirred) instead of suffering through the smell of nitrous oxide to make stasis more bearable. If the view isn't your speed, enjoy a quick game of baccarat, roulette, or one of our many forms of video and holographic entertainment. Enjoy a massage or one of our many other onboard full-servise spa amenities. You'll almost be disappointed to see your destination appear to magically descend into panoramic window of our regal forward observation lounge. There is simply no other Earth to high-orbit service out there that can even approach the level of service you will find when you choose Orion. We're so sure of it that if you ever find someone else who offers what we do at ANY price, we'll not only refund the difference, but will cover your expenses with our competitor*. The Orion Luxury Shuttle...it's not the best way into space...it's the ONLY way into space! *excluding tax, gratuity, applicable interplanetary duties, amenities, and upgrades. Compensation available only for competitor holiday travel dates that coincide with either the vernal or autumnal equinox. Some exclusions may apply. Contact your local travel agent for details. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or jettisoned valuables. 2nd Place: "We've left it late." by D o n a l d Q u a l l s I sit here in my cockpit, trying not to fidget. The launch 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.A pogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRockets.com phone 719-535-9335 fax 719-534-9050 cont. on pg. 4 PAGE 4 I S S U E P E 82 - A M A Y , 3 1, K 2 0 0 2 O F APOGEE F l I G H T PEAK OF FLIGHT Rocketry Essay Contest timer on the panel counts down the seconds until it's my turn. Every ten seconds, my ship is buffeted by the blast waves as one of my wing men launches, catapulted up the mountain side toward the east, right along the equator -- because it's so critical we get every last meter per second, we don't even light our rocket engines until we're clear of the rail, already climbing through 3000 meters at half again the speed of sound. We've left it late. Humans always do. See, there's an asteroid coming, on a collision course with the Earth. It's not very big, as asteroids go, only a little over a hundred meters across, but that's plenty; the Barringer Crater in North America was made by a slightly smaller rock about a hundred thousand years ago, and it probably killed every living thing within a hundred klicks, not to mention being a prime candidate for starting the last ice age cycle. So, with only a couple years before the encounter, we started to build our fleet: two dozen identical Shatterlance ships, just big enough to carry a pilot, life support, some computer gear, the fuel they need for the intercept -- and a single Stonebreaker/AX missile. It's most likely a one way journey; theoretically, we have enough fuel to do a Lunar skim return, and enough heat shielding to survive a reentry that makes the Apollo 13 burn-in look like a spin in the park, but there's no margin at all. And every man and woman in the wing is a volunteer, selected from a roster of over a thousand of the best pilots alive. I just have to wonder, as the last of my wing men launches and my timer begins the final ten second count, why we didn't start this project more than eight centuries ago, when this rock was first discovered. cont. from pg. 5 was decided by the CEO’s that a plush Space Shuttle was a necessity for the journey to Earth’s orbit. After all if you are going to take the worlds most expensive journey you should arrive in style. The Orion Luxury Shuttle was lovingly nick named the Galaxy Goose by the 107 engineers commissioned to design and manage the building process. With a price tag exceeding 3.7 million dollars this state of the art space ship can hold up to 25 people including pilots and flight crew. The interior is tastefully designed in rich tan and deep blue leather s. The seats are unlike anything you have ever sat on in an airplane. You could say they are strait out of the movies with a splash of Buck Rodgers. This is a good thing because famed designer Ralph Lauren III would not have it any other way. Luxury reeking of more luxury is what this is all about. Although the trip from the Earth’s service to the Space Station only takes about 25 minutes the return trip is another thing all together. You depart the Station at lighting speed with a heading to the Moon. Once you are about 25,000 miles out the Shuttle then turns a complete 540 degrees for all on board to absorb the stunning view of the Moon, the Earth and the Space Resort orbiting between them. Upon completion the Orion then starts a slow return to the Earth’s surface giving all on board a peaceful chance to reflect on what they have experienced. Winner in the catagory under 18 years: "STONEBREAKER" by David Stamp "Orion Luxury Shuttle" by Scott Foust After completion of the Global Space Agencies prized GSA Space Station, some extremely wealthy private companies decided the time was right to build the first Space Resort. During construction of the $2 billion 5-star orbiting hotel it JUNE 15, 2009 U.S. AIR FORCE 20th SPACE COMMAND, COLORADO "Houston, we have a problem". "Say again, please". "Repeat, Houston, we have a problem. We have a solid object inbound, headed for Earth. This thing is approximately cont. on pg. 6 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.ApogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRockets.com phone 719-535 -9335 fax 719-534-9050 PAGE 5 I S S U E P E 82 A - M A Y ,3 1, 2 0 0 2 K O F APOGEE F l I G H T Rocketry Essay Contest cont. from pg. 5 one-tenth the mass of the moon, or big enough to destroy most life forms on Earth if it impacts. We have maybe a week. Judging speed on an asteroid headed straight for you is a little difficult." U.S.A.F. AEROSPACE DEFENSE CONTROL CENTER, HOUSTON "Alert the President and the NASA Control Center of the inbound threat", barked a burly General George Wills. "We're gonna need pretty quick reflexes and a ton of luck to survive this one", Wills confided in the NCO sitting in front of him. OVAL OFFICE, WASHINGTON D.C. "Get General Burns on the phone", ordered President John Kelly. ered by fragments, or detonate a nuke nearby to send it off course. There is no nuclear weapon on Earth capable of a large enough explosion to redirect this away from the Earth. The only remaining option is destruction. A number of largescale nuclear detonations directly in front of the asteroid would blast it apart, slow down the fragments, and send many fragments off into space. The delivery vehicle is the Air Force ADM-190 Stonebreaker/AX Aerospace Defense System" JUNE 16, 2009 BOEING AEROSPACE FACTORY, WASHINGTON The factory manager has just received a direct order from Gen. Burns to finish production of the brand new ADM-190 Stonebreaker/AX missile and related hardware in twenty-four hours. Twenty-five partially constructed missiles lay on the factory floor, awaiting guidance hardware and warheads. AEROSPACE DEFENSE BATTERY, OREGON "Yes, Mr. President?" "General, I have just given you the authority to do anything within you power, and that you deem necessary, to stop, destroy, or divert the inbound threat. Any use of nukes of land-based missiles must be authorized be me." "Understood", replied General William Burns. This partially constructed battery designed for ADM-190 missiles, remains unfinished due to Defense Department funding cuts. Six launchers and one radar control/guidance center have been constructed. Crews are busily readying the battery for the missiles. The Control Center is running over the launch sequence and has locked onto the incoming asteroid. GENERAL BURNS' OFFICE, THE PENTAGON "I need a strategic assessment of the size, strength, and speed of the asteroid, and an estimate as to the force and weapons necessary to destroy it", ordered Burns. TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER General Burns has just received the report, and is currently reviewing it. It reads: "The inbound asteroid is about one-tenth the mass of the moon, composed of heavy metals and volcanic rock. It is traveling approximately 20,000 miles per second. The only options are either nuke it into a thousand pieces and get show- JUNE 17, 2009 BOEING FACTORY Workers are putting the final touches on their newest achievement, produced in record time, twenty-five asteroidbusting missiles. They are loaded onto trucks to be hauled south, to Oregon. AEROSPACE DEFENSE BATTERY It is late evening when the trucks arrive with the Stonebreaker missiles. They are rushed to the launchers and wired to the Control Center. Just minutes before, two trucks 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.ApogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRocket s.com phone 719-535-9335 fax 719-534 -9050 cont.on pg. 7 PAGE 6 I S S U E P E 82 A - M A Y , 3 1, K 2 0 0 2 O F APOGEE F l I G H T Rocketry Essay Contest cont. from pg. 6 arrived from the Naval Ordnance Facility in California with the precious two-megaton nuclear warheads. They are quickly fitted to the missiles and the fiberglass shroud replaced. Only one thing remained JUNE 18, 2009 CAPITOL BUILDING, WASHINGTON D.C. has acquired and locked onto the asteroid. Missiles are primed and onboard systems are go. Prepare for six-missile launch. Ignition in 5–4–3–2–1–Ignition. Control, we have liftoff of all six weapons. All missiles are go. Missiles now exiting the atmosphere. Individual missile radars have acquired target; time to interception now four minutes and counting." "Control, one missile experienced guidance failure. Other five still go. Approaching target. Missile proximity detona- General William Burns is addressing the US Congress. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to request Congress' authorization to launch nuclear-tipped ADM-190 Stonebreaker/AX missiles at the inbound asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The United Nations has given this task to America because our country is the only one equipped to combat this enormous object. The world is calling and counting upon you to authorize this attempt. It is our only hope of survival beyond the 22nd of this month. Thank you." Following a unanimous vote, Senator David Watters announces the decision. "General, you have your authorization. The United States Congress has unanimously voted to launch nuclear weapons at the asteroid threatening Earth. Let us hope and pray that this bold attempt to save the world is successful in destroying the asteroid. God help us." AEROSPACE DEFENSE BATTERY Gen. Burns sent the launch authorization message to the Battery Control Center, and the Battery Commander has begun the launch sequence, as launch controllers report status. "Target distance and speed have been verified. Radar tors will begin detonation sequence in five seconds." "We have five good detonations. This is the critical moment." "Five minutes have passed. Radar still obscured by debris." "Ten minutes since detonation. Radar has picked up no debris larger than a basketball. Asteroid destruction successful. NASA estimates fallout zone to be five hundred miles wide, stretching from Brazil to Saudi Arabia." "Control, Mission Accomplished!!!!!" Archives of this Newsletter All the articles t hat have appeared in this newsletter are archived at http://www.apogeerockets.com/edu cation/newsletter_archive.asp 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.ApogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRockets.com phone 719-535 -9335 fax 719-534-9050 PAGE 7 I S S U E P E 82 A - M A Y , 3 1, K 2 0 0 2 O F APOGEE F l I G H T Saturn 1B Poster Mark writes: "Just thought I'd show you the images taken at the autographica fair saturday. As you can see I got Walt Cunningham and Jerry Carr to sign the poster. Walt was very impressed and gave me his business card to send him some 3D artwork for his website. I let him have 3 or 4 posters to take back with him which he was very happy about." Apogee still has plenty of posters left in stock. While they are not signed by the astronauts, they are worthy of being signed. They are of exceptional quality, and they'd be admired by all your rocketry buddies. You should pick up your posters today, which you can get by going to the Apogee Components web site. Above: Walt Cunningham puts his name on a Saturn 1B poster Below: Mark Piatowski(left) poses with Walt Cunningham Above: Jerry Carr examines the poster Below: Walt and Jerry smiling for the camera Mark Piatowski, the illustrator that created the awesome new Saturn 1B poster (http://www.ApogeeRockets.com/ saturn_1b_poster.asp) has sent me these photographs to share with you. They are of retired astronauts Walter Cunningham, and Jerry Carr, whom were attending a fair in the UK last month. Both astronautsrode the Saturn 1B into earth orbit. 1130 Elkton Drive, Suite A Colorado Springs, CO 80907 USA www.A pogeeRockets.com orders @ApogeeRockets.com phone 719-535-9335 fax 719-534-9050 PAGE 8 8 PAGE Enhance Your SATURN ‘SUPER-SCALE’ Modeling Expirience With High-Quality Reference Photos, Drawings, and Documentation. Original Apogee SATURN V prototype under construction Saturn V displayed at Kennedy Space Center Adding accurate additional detailing to any scale model is always challenging. Even more challenging can be the often frustrating search for the technical information needed to construct those details. Mike Dorffler Replicas helps end those long searches by offering scale model rocketeers a single sourse for documentation for many subjects on easy to use CDs. These CDs contain large collections of photos, videos, drawings, and documentation selected to provide the highest degree of detail for the various vehicle components. Escape Motor Details S-IVB APU Details The two new Saturn V and Saturn 1B CD collections cantain an in-depth quantity of reference data and documentation every Apogee Saturn modeler should have. The five-disk History Series set contain hundreds of photgraphs, official NASA vehicle drawings, and NASA documentation *.pdf format, including the actual Saturn Flight manuals. Price for this set is $70 plus $3.50 Priority Mail shipping. The eight-disk John Pursley CD Set contains one of the finest collections of high-resolution, highly detailed photgraphs of both the Saturn V and Saturn 1B found Anywhere. The set also contains a great series of photos of the earlier Saturn 1 assembly and launches, and the Saturn V on display at the Johnson Space Center. One of the CDs offers a photographic historical look at the Apollo 11 launch and lunar landing. The price for this superb collections is $90 plus $3.50 Priority Mail shipping. Email Mike Dorffler at [email protected] for further details. Special pricing is available for those Modelers who have purchased either the Apogee Saturn V or Saturn 1B kits. Ask for a full email * .pdf catalog of all the Mike Dorffler Replicas scale subjects on CDs. H-1 Engine Installation In Saturn 1B mike dorffler replicas TM MIKE DORFFLER REPLICAS 2418 Greenway Circle - Canon City, CO 81212 Email: [email protected] Saturn V S-II Connections Super Saturn V F-1 Engine Details