Logo

Title

Home Page   About Us   Astra Satellite   Membership     

Updates  Publicity and Sponsors   Activities and Fundraising    Store

Aurora 1 successfully launched!!

July 19, 2009

 Commemorating the

40th Anniversary of Apollo 11

  
The Dionysus Project

Dionysus (formerly called Rocket) was successfully completed with the launch of Dionysus 1 and Dionysus 2.  The objective of both launches was to test the propulsion system and recovery system.  Both launches had successes and failures.  The failures were minor and showed the GASG team what needed to be corrected.  The easy corrections helped ensure a successful Aurora 1 launch.

The Aurora Project

Aurora PatchGeneral Aviation Space Group firmly believes that our future is above us, and that some good ideas must go forward even during difficult times.  President Kennedy made the point that we chose to go to the moon because it is hard; difficult times must not stop good ideas from progressing.

On Saturday, July 18, 2009, General Aviation Space Group (GASG) in conjunction with The Space Museum in Bonne Terre arrived at the sand flats ready to launch the postponed Aurora 1 rocket.  Gary Streeter, co-founder and Executive Director of GASG reluctantly cancelled the launch scheduled for Saturday, July 18 due to the high winds.  "Safety is our number one concern," Streeter said, "and this airframe is not designed for the winds we have today."  GASG proceeded with the ceremony, however, the highlight of which was Advisory Board member John Pertzborn playing the National Anthem on his harmonica.

Originally, GASG and The Space Museum had planned to have everyone that attended the launch or took part in the manufacture of Aurora 1 sign the recovered rocket.  However, due to the delay in the launch, everyone was able to sign the rocket while it was still on the launch gantry on Saturday.  This was a crowd favorite.  Those signatures flew with Aurora 1 and will be visible when the rocket will be displayed in The Space Museum in the future, and many of those who signed will be able to show their children and grandchildren for many years to come.  Additional attendees on Sunday were able to sign the recovered rocket.

The Aurora 1 was designed and built by members of GASG and The Space Museum.  The seven-foot tall, four-inch diameter Aurora 1 airframe was made of phenolic.  The unpainted airframe of Aurora 1 looked like a cardboard tube, but is much stronger, lightweight, and highly resistant to flexing, corrosion, and moisture. 
Phenolic is the name usually given to a resin made of phenol and an aldehyde.  Phenolic sheet is a hard, dense material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of paper or glass cloth impregnated with synthetic resin.  When heat and pressure are applied to the layers, a chemical reaction (polymerization) transforms the layers into a high-pressure thermosetting industrial laminated plastic.

Phenolic resin was the first synthesized resin, and was marketed under the brand name Bakelite, which still exists.  Plugs on electronic devices, handles for pots and pans, and the screw-tops on most sodas are just a few applications for which phenolic is widely used.

The Aurora 1 launch was meant to be a propulsion test.  If the rocket motor performance was as the numbers indicate in Streeter's numerous calculations, GASG will move forward with designing and testing larger vehicles for the next phase, the Astra Phase. 

Sunday, July 19, 2009, dawned clear and calm; perfect conditions for a rocket launch at 11:00;  The Aurora 1 performed exactly as expected with the rocket accelerating in scant seconds.  It was momentarily lost when the smoke blended with the clouds behind but within seconds, many of the onlookers spotted the parachute.  The two halves of the rocket separated with the tail section landing within the sand pits.  This section is important for recovery because it contains the motor which will be analyzed to check the accuracy of the burn data. 

Frank Spavele and Lindell Gray of Midwest Rotor tracked the rocket in their helicopter, hovering over the area where the nose section landed.  A GASG volunteer, Ace Fouts, scrambled into the ditch and recovered the front half of the rocket.  It was important to retrieve this section because it contained the altimeter to verify the altitude Aurora 1 achieved, the external foil from the Apollo 11 command module Columbia, and a sheet of paper explaining the signatures on the airframe.  Everyone in attendance watched with great anticipation as Streeter unscrewed the nosecone section to retrieve the altimeter.  Struggling to read the LED display in the bright sunshine, Streeter was able to determine that Aurora 1 exceeded 3100 feet.  The ecstatic Streeter said, "We definitely achieved our goals on engine design, formulation of the propellant, and it exceeded our expectations."

What's next for GASG, The Space Museum, and the city of Bonne Terre?

Following engine analysis, the Aurora 1 will become part of The Space Museum's collection.  GASG and The Space Museum will begin designing Aurora 2 which will attain an altitude of approximately 10,000-12,000 feet and three-stage rockets which will lead to the future design of Astra 1.  The next focus of GASG will be on staging.  There will soon be expanded educational programs for schools and a student-shadow program.

More information and photos are contained in GASG's official newsletter, The Blast Pad.  Subscriptions to The Blast Pad may be purchased for $5 per year but subscription is included as a benefit to all members.

Watch the news coverage from KFVS-12 from Cape Girardeau, MO on Sunday's launch.  This was broadcast on the 9PM news on 7-19-2009.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSxHsYqRnoE

The Astra Satellite

In 1927, an unknown pilot flying an unknown airplane built by an unknown airplane company approached unknown St. Louis businessmen to back his flight.  The world would soon know this pilot's name was Charles Lindbergh who chose to honor Spirit Logothose businessmen by naming his Ryan airplane The Spirit of St. Louis.

 Now in the next century, an unknown rocket scientist is building an unknown launch vehicle that needs to be backed by unknown St. Louis entrepreneurs.  Instead of the Atlantic Ocean being the dark void being crossed into the unknown, the crossing for the next century is space.  The rocket that will carry the Astra Satellite will honor those who sponsor this space flight by being named Spirit of St. Louis--The Next Century. 


Satellite ConceptGASG's satellite known as Astra, will be smaller than the Prosteshyy Sputnik satellite that launched the space race in 1957. Just as Sputnik kick started the space race, Astra will kick start the general aviation in space.  Yet the Astra will carry telemetry to record its location in space, and it will be tracked by ham radio operators all over the world.  In much the same manner as Sputnik, Astra's radio transmitter will relay inside and outside temperatures at its locations in space.  Astra will carry a solar-powered battery charger to transmit the information, and it will orbit the earth indefinately.

Astra will also carry a DVD bearing the names of those who have elected to be part of the General Aviation Space Group by purchasing a commemorative certificate. 

(right: Astra Satellite Concept Model)

Certificate

click here to purchase a certificate

CONTACT US:
General Aviation Space Group
P. O. Box 189
Belleville,
IL  62222-0189

GASpaceGroup@aol.com

© General Aviation Space Group
Link buttons courtesy of www.freebuttons.com
 [home page] [about us] [the Astra satellite] [Membership] [Updates] [Space Education Prism Ribbons]
[Publicity and Sponsors] [contact us] [Activities and Fundraising] [Store] [links]