Well, it launched but I was not able to see any ascent from here in eastern Georgia nor any barium cloud later on. Oh well.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Saw it in Pennsylvania, near Philly, it was spectacular!

__________________
Clubs: BARC, MDRA

Ok, let's talk rockets. IIRC, it was a Black Brant XII. Which has Teros and Taurus stages.
The Teros came from a project that started after WWII and was in service into the 70's. The Taurus is the old Honest John motor. Are these motors surplus from the 50's/60's production runs like the old Nike boosters? If so, that double based propellant is really hanging in there!

Edit: I meant Talos, not Teros.

__________________
I love sanding.

All I saw in Playa Mujeres was a giant Can-O'-Nuthin' !

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

From Wikipedia: Black Brant XII
Black Brant XII (a.k.a. Talos Terrier Black Brant Nihka), a four-stage rocket with a Mk 11 Mod 5 Talos booster first stage, Terrier booster second stage (pre 2013 Taurus booster motors were used), Black Brant V third stage and Nihka fourth stage,[38] Black Brant XIIA

Peter Alway's Rockets of the World 2002 Supplement references the Taurus second stage, but apparently they are no longer available, so the current vehicle uses a Terrier. I have always appreciated the Talos booster and its brute force used to accelerate the ramjet powered second stage.

Glad that they were able to launch on the last day of the window. Didn't see it here in North Texas...

Chas

__________________
Charles Russell, MSgt,USAF (ret.)
NAR 9790, Lvl 1
SAM "Balls Three"

The Terrier was born of the same Bumblebee project as the Talos. My question still haunts me. Are the Talos and Terrier vintage 1950's/1960's double base motors or were some produced more recently?

__________________
I love sanding.

Fairly cool looking liftoff photo released by NASA of the launch last night.

Link: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/...nates-night-sky

I know it just zoomed off the pad at launch! I stepped outside right after liftoff to see if I could see any of the ascent (no), so I missed the actual coverage of the mission. I guess I need to check back at their YouTube channel...I suspect the recording of the coverage is probably there.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Glad to see the picture. It was sooooo fast off the pad all I saw was a flash. Coverage wasn't great because of the cloud cover.

__________________
Don
NAR 53455
"Carpe Diem"

Gary said on his FB page that his company (RCS) made the spin motors used on it.

__________________
Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558