Northwest Indian College Space Center

We successfully tested a parachute recovery rocket. It was made from two 2 liter bottles spliced together with a Tomy Timer as a parachute release mechanism. It worked; however, the delay was a little heart-stopping long. The ‘chute opened about 20 feet above ground!

The next three launches were of a rocket made from 2 “NOS” energy drink bottles spliced together. There was no recovery device except for the traditional “lawn dart” recovery system.

All launches achieved good altitude.

The Northwest Indian College Space Center was formally launched to a small crowd of well-wishers consisting of several faculty, administrators, staff, and students. We had cooperative weather and not too many technical difficulties and were able to launch five rockets that were captured on video and an additional five launches not captured.

Mariya Williams was the Range Safety Officer; Robert Skaggs, the Fuel and Launch Control Officer; Shelley Macy, data collection; and, Marcia Jimmy, video. Guest launchers were Janice Brendible, Brian Compton, and Dave Oreiro

Mariya Williams and Kyle Koos launched their designs. Both were slightly unstable; however, they tumbled unharmed to the ground.

The parachute rocket was built from two 2 liter bottles glued together with a Tomy timer as a side-eject parachute release mechanism. The timer worked, the parachute did not eject and we had a magnificant lawn dart recovery.

In the video and on the ground you can see Ariel, our High Powered Rocket, that was brought out, uncompleted, for introduction.

Hello everyone,

The Northwest Indian College Space Center has scheduled a launch for Thursday, January 21, 2010 around noon on the ball field behind Student Services. You all, of course, are cordially invited. Please bring cameras to record this historic endeavor.

Some of you witnessed a design concept test today. It used minimum fuel and pressure, and while the altitude wasn’t remarkable, the straightness of the flight was notable. You also saw some of the challenges encountered.

Thursday we will be launching several student-built rockets, two “ring” finned rockets, and our second attempt at a rocket that will eject a parachute at apogee and float gently to the ground.

Once we have gentle landings, we’ll launch a miniature video camera and an altimeter. This is the next step in our quest to build a water and air pressure rocket to challenge for the world record.

Please bear in mind that if winds are higher than 5 kts (yes, we do have a portable weather station to keep track of flight conditions), and/or it’s really rainy and cold, it will be necessary to scrub the launch and wait for the next window of opportunity.