This could be our sister site ;-)
DIYRockets is a global space company helping humanity establish a civilization in space by building an open space frontier.
Our mission is to lower the cost of space exploration as much as possible by generating extremely low-cost knowledge and technology through open sourcing and crowdsourcing. We believe in harnessing the talent and resources of all to build a democratized space industry.
Comments
I have to agree with Adam! A few people working propulsion in labs is awesome but opening it up to the public will speed up the process and create cheaper technology and make it more affordable to Build Civilizations in Space using 3D Printing Technology and Jet Propulsion Technology.
Joshua, Adam, I think here is the one big point that makes the difference.
The difference between hobby rocketry and spaceflight is just soooo much bigger than the difference between a hobby UAV and a Predator (really...).
I think the goal of "establish a civilization in space" is a little abitious...
Awesome I was looking inside my Furnace the other day at the 4 jets that shoot a very powerful and long burst of fire and was picturing all the DIY Cheap Rocket Parts inside used furnaces. I might have to reconsider tinkering with old furnaces.
Nice points Marc! I had the same thoughts too about "DIY Rockets". Some things just shouldn't be as openly accessible to the masses... powerful rockets definitely being one of them. Fortunately, there are organizations setup (NAR, Tripoli) to help regulate the amateur rocketry scene in a safe and responsible manner. Of course, anyone can still fabricate their own motors (solid, liquid or hybrid) on their own. But if someone is going to do that, most likely (hopefully) they've sought out enough education to do it safely (and within the law).
In the case of the competition outlined at the above DIY Rockets site, I'm pretty sure that printed stainless-steel rocket motors are prohibitively expensive enough that only serious persons would attempt such an endeavor anyway.
Let's merge the efforts! @Chris - when's the first official ARDU-rocket version coming?
Not sure if this is going to work... Some reasons:
- DIY-Drones was founded out of interest, led to a community and then to commercial success. They try to start from the end (probably encouraged by the success story here?) Not sure if a community will form around this. I see not benefit, yet.
- Rocket technology is just a magnitude harder than UAS/model aircraft. And you can hurt yourself much easier and more severely.. Think why amateur UAV is growing so fast compared to amateur rocketry (which has been there much longer).
- Governments/regulators are sceptical about amateur UAS. What do you think they will be about amateur (open source) rocket technology? I bet they will try to keep that field..
Don´t get me wrong. I´m a space enthusiast and also have worked in the field for some time. It just does not sound realistic... Physics is strong in space flight :-)
That's funny... I just looked to see if that domain was available the other day and came upon that same site.
Rocketry sure is a lot of fun, and a whole other world of challenges. I've made my own composite fuel in the past (not played with liquid motors as shown at the DIYRockets site yet). Recently I've been doing research in the area of rocket electronics towards the goal of attitude control / stabilization (to keep 'em pointed up). Gyros seem to be the key to this, with very low bias/drift (on the order of a few deg/hr). Basically tactical grade. These MEMS gyros tend to be fairly expensive, beyond the ordinary hobby budget. But still very interesting nonetheless. I've got a site being developed specifically for MEMS sensors (MemsSpecs.com - Making MEMS parts easier to find).