Quote from: iamlucky13 on 09/18/2009 08:23 amAside from the obvious question of, "In what way did they beat NASA?" there's the more revealing question of "In what way did they beat the four teenagers who did this six months ago with a balloon that sent back real time telemetry?"Well, I'm not an economist, but I am good with the calculator.The cost for the 4 teenager's system: $1350The cost for this system: $150I think that should be a little more clear what this group has done that none other has
Aside from the obvious question of, "In what way did they beat NASA?" there's the more revealing question of "In what way did they beat the four teenagers who did this six months ago with a balloon that sent back real time telemetry?"
A curious?: With it being so easy to loft a camera (payload, per se) to extreme heights, are there regulations/rules to follow to avoid men-in-black-suits making an appearance at your doorstep? Does the FAA or other agency need to know if you are lifting metal cameras or other 'hard' objects into (possible) air-traffic routes even if the items are not in 'controlled airspace', so to speak?
$150 as the total cost for the system is bogus.
If I want to duplicate it, it'll cost me $150.
The Rocket Modeller II java applet on nasa's site is a good way to answer some of these questions.A simple pressure-fed liquid fuel rocket engine is a good fit for this, since you can get away with a much lower combustion chamber pressure when you're at 100,000ft. That's how I'd do it, anyways.
Yeah, that applet got me hooked. I have been trying to make a model rocket that would launch into lunar orbit. The best I've done so far is a 2 stage design with C engines (and VERY little else, just a paper tube and tiny paper fins, which I tried to remove but could not) - and I've been able to make it to a little over 4700 FPS. But I think I need over 6000 FPS to make it into lunar orbit, can someone confirm?