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 like this, in the bigger picture this makes sense and is a good direction for all of us! However, safety needs to be the forefront of the process as you are now dealing with items that can kill and with laws written in blood. But as a engineer that owns his own CNC, investment casting, and welding shop with a 3d printer. I look forward to contributing any way I can.
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.
I completely agree; however, I am a huge fan of 3D printing and making things open source. I work for NASA in a propulsion research lab and if there is any effort to make propulsion more accessible regardless of the scale, I am all for it.
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...
Now this is what I'm talking about. I know one of their 'Team' members, Tim Pickens. He really is an interesting person. He and a few others built a rocket propelled truck using roofing tar and nitrous oxide (I think) with a Xbox 360 controller.
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.
I think the Feds would have no problem with anyone Designing Liquid or Solid fuel rocket engines, inherently stable airframes, Telemetry or Data Acquisition systems, but start putting guidance systems on rockets, now you have a problem. NAR or TRA would explicitly forbid any form of guidance on Rockets except what a well designed airframe would provide.
I have a friend in Korea called Kim who is quite excited about the idea..
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.
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