9:33 p.m.: Rocket test fizzles

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October 11, 2008

By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer The Herald Bulletin Sat Oct 11, 2008, 09:35 PM EDT

ANDERSON — “Houston, we have a problem.”

The phrase, tightly linked to NASA and space exploration, could have perfectly described the situation at Anderson Airport on Saturday for a much-smaller rocket.

The University of Dayton Advanced Rocket Team’s scheduled test of its 23-foot synthetic kerosene-powered rocket was stalled Saturday as the team looked for ways to fix a broken safety valve.

The rocket was scheduled to be tested at 9:30 a.m., but as of Saturday afternoon, the team still was looking for ways to fix the valve, which controlled the flow of liquid oxygen to the kerosene, fueling the rocket’s engine. A new launch was planned for around noon today.

“We’re continuing to experience delays, but it’s not scrapped,” said Pete Bitar of Anderson companies AirBuoyant and LunaTrex, which sponsored the rocket’s creation. “(The team members) came up with a solution they think is going to work, and they’re starting to run some diagnostic tests.”

The problems were good practice for the team, which consists mostly of University of Dayton students majoring in engineering. Many of them will go on to use mechanics similar to the rocket’s in their jobs.

“This is very Cape Canaveral-like,” Bitar said.

The team is in Anderson testing the engine of the rocket, the same type of engine used on part of the Atlas rocket that carried famous astronaut John Glenn. The rocket was not set to fly this weekend, but would be tethered to the ground so the team could measure its thrust and set its trajectory.

“We’re pretty certain it’s going to work,” said team adviser Rick Wills, a research engineer for the U.S. Air Force.

Despite problems early Saturday, the rocket was set to be tested Saturday afternoon, but continuing problems with the safety valve pushed it back to today.

Bitar funded the rocket project and provided the Anderson airport hangar where the team worked on the rocket this weekend.

“It’s outreach for our aerospace program,” Bitar said. “It’s also about reaching out and making space accessible. It’s in the hands of everyday people.”

Bitar said he hoped to make Anderson a leader in aerospace by taking its automotive heritage up a notch.

“Aerospace in Anderson is very possible,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to put a placeholder in the books to say Anderson has its eye on aerospace. Could we become a spaceport? Absolutely.”

The University of Dayton students are getting a hands-on education with the rocket, Wills said. Eight students are on the team now, but in the three years it’s taken to build the rocket, about 25 students have worked on it.

“That’s the point of this whole program, is just to get hands-on experience,” Wills said.

The process, as seen on Saturday, is also a lesson in patience.

“Everything will work perfectly, except one little thing, and this one little thing won’t work, and it infuriates you,” Wills said.

Working with the team has been fun and exciting for Margaret Ratcliff, who serves a supporting role in the project. Ratcliff, a former Purdue University professor, is seeking her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Dayton.

“The team is a lot of fun,” she said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie and openness.”

Senior aerospace engineering major J. Michael Newman, the team’s president, spent Saturday morning with three other team members making sure the test site was ready for the rocket in hopes of a test run.

“It’s pretty exciting and a little nerve-racking,” he said.

And, as at NASA, if something goes horribly wrong, Newman will be ready to get back in the game.

“We’ll just pick up the pieces that are left,” he said. “We won’t give up.”

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Rocket specs

— 23 feet long

— Fueled by synthetic kerosene with help from liquid oxygen and helium

— Steering jet engine LR101, donated by Orion Propulsion

— Ignited by standard rocket igniters

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9:33 p.m.: Rocket test fizzles

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