Project OMEGA
(A Toho Studios production)

By Mark Schrader

Project OMEGA: Stop Monster Zero !

A Planet in Peril... T' signs from t' recently deployed deep space sensors were clear. Somethin' big was headed this way. And if t' visitors from the so-called Planet X were t' be believed, it was another monster—this one much worse than t' self defense forces had countered previously. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' media had recently dubbed this new threat “Monster Zero.” “Monster Six” would be more like it, me hearties, arrr, he thought, shiver me timbers, tryin' unsuccessfully t' keep his cynical side at bay. Begad! Aye aye! T' only good Prof. Hideo Itokawa could think o' as a result o' his country’s latest round o' “monster trouble” was that his space program had received a huge influx o' resources. He looked up from t' data printouts and out at t' launch complex where hundreds o' workers scrambled t' assemble t' massive Omega booster. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! But for what purpose? T' Agency had done a remarkable job implementin' his plan to upscale his soundin' rockets, creatin' a massive booster capable o' launchin' a sizeable payload outside o' earth’s orbit. Well, blow me down! T' Agency chiefs had gone so far as t' deviate from their namin' convention for new rocket systems. They had gone straight from Lambda t' Omega—an appropriate step considerin' the peril faced by t' planet. Prof. Begad! Begad! Itokawa had even developed what he thought might be the first step in riddin' t' planet o' space-borne invaders once and for all. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Its genious be in its simplicity. An electrified net charged by an orbiting platform trailin' a highly conductive cable in t' earth’s own magnetic field. Avast! T' simple prinicple o' generatin' a current through a changin' magnetic fields would charge t' power grid with an irresistible force. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! No creature could survive this awesome power. But how t' deploy t' system? T' Agency simply had nay yet developed t' means o' puttin' men in space that it needed t' field and operate the grid. Only t' American Gemini program, which t' Americans were usin' to learn t' actually work in space, arrr, had developed t' expertise and technology necessary t' pull this off. That’s when it hit him…Grissom. Prof. Begad! Blimey! Itokawa had traveled t' America as a visitin' lecturer some years ago. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Cap'n Virgil Grissom was t' intense young man at his lecture at t' Air Force Institute of Technology whose insightful questions had forced him t' reexamine t' critical elements o' his theories o' rocket propulsion and design that had resulted in the Omega booster. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Grissom was t' leadin' American astronaut and had just completed t' latest manned Gemini mission with another astronaut. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! If anyone could lead t' Agency in its mission t' deploy t' electrified grid he had designed t' destroy Monster Zero, it was Gus. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' raw power o' his massive Omega booster coupled with t' finesse and expertise o' t' American Gemini-Titan manned space program might be just what it took t' save the planet…

Initial Idea

I was excited that t' theme "multiple engines" was chosen for DESCON 14. Avast, me proud beauty! After a rushed and lackluster entry in DESCON 13, arrr, matey, I was anxious t' get started with a deliberate plan for this contest. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I’ve built several clustered, staged, arrr, and even parallel staged rockets before, matey, matey, shiver me timbers, but which o' these would make t' best possible entry? Easy: all o' t' above! A large model rocket usin' a three engine cluster in the booster, two parallel stages, me hearties, ya bilge rat, all mated t' a 24 mm sustainer.

My original idea was t' use t' Japanese Lambda soundin' rocket as a scale subject. Aye aye! Unfortunately, after I’d done all t' scalin' I realized that t' gap I’d have t' stage across was on the order o' 20+ inches--too risky without electronics. Begad! I did like t' look of the Lambda design, shiver me timbers, though. Ya scallywag! That’s where t' 1960s science fiction genre came into play. What if t' Japanese space program had received a massive boost because o' t' monster threat from space durin' this time frame? Toho Studios, producer o' all those great monster movies I enjoyed as a kid, also dabbled in sci fi and included several space-based monster themes in their movies includin' me all time favorite--Monster Zero. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I thought it would be a neat “what if” scenario if Toho brought in contemporary space programs into one o' their films.

My intent was t' keep t' basic lines o' the Lambda soundin' rocket but t' make this a manned rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! I had considered a Gemini Titan nosecone from Balsa Machinin' Service and actually purchased one for this project but opted instead for a simple balsa BT60-20 balsa transition section I had in me parts box. Blimey! Blimey! T' booster is BT80 with parallel stages of BT55. Begad! T' shape o' t' strap on boosters is consistent with those o' the Lambda. Arrr! T' sustainer is BT80 transitionin' t' BT60 with a paper transition section.

T' booster is a three engine cluster (1X24mm and 2X18mm) and I used three 1/8^th inch plywood rings from Thrustline Aerospace. Begad! T' parallel stages have single 18mm motor mounts.

Booster Construction

T' booster is BT80 with a three motor cluster. Begad! T' central 24mm motor stages t' sustainer. Avast! T' two outer 18mm motors fire their ejection charges after sustainer ignition t' deploy two 12 inch mylar parachutes. T' shock cords are lengths o' 100 pound kevlar cord from Apogee attached t' eyebolts in t' uppermost centerin' ring.

Booster fins are 1/8^th inch balsa and have two inch tabs extendin' through t' wall t' t' central 24mm motor mount tube.

Fin Slotting

One tip t' pass on for tube slotting. Ahoy! I use fin wraps printed from t' free program VCP t' use as guides for fin slotting. Simply print out your wrap with t' appropriate thickness o' fin stock, arrr, tape securely t' your body tube, me hearties, mark t' upper and lower extents o' your slots, matey, and cut with either a hobby knife or Dremel cuttin' wheels.

Parallel Booster Attachment

Parallel boosters are attached t' the sustainer usin' 1/8^th inch dowels and launch lug stock. Aye aye! I used 1/16^th inch basswood stock attached t' t' parallel stages as a standoff for t' dowels. Blimey! Begad! Sets o' parallel launch lugs are then glued directly to t' main booster. Well, blow me down! This arrangement provides positive attachment t' the booster in t' event that its motor doesn’t light. Avast, me proud beauty! You don’t want to risk a booster comin' off under thrust and then lighting.

T' BT55 parallel booster sections are connected with a tube coupler. Blimey! They are have kevlar shock cord attached t' the motor mount in t' aft and t' t' balsa bulkhead in t' front.

I used Apogee Fix It epoxy clay t' build up the area around t' dowels and standoff t' give a more aerodynamic appearance.

I cut t' booster tubes at an angle after I had glued t' balsa bulkhead in place. I used a technique based on one published in Apogee newsletter #121. A quick and dirty way t' come up with a template for cuttin' tubes at angles is t' do a screen capture o' t' page in the newsletter, me hearties, shiver me timbers, paste into your favorite photo editin' program or PowerPoint, and crop so you are left with this graph.

Now you need t' adjust t' width o' t' image to equal circumference o' your tube and t' height t' give you t' desired angle. Arrr! Print and cut out t' guide, arrr, allowin' enough extra width t' form a tab. Tape around your tube and cut along t' black line. Blimey!

http://www.apogeerockets.com/education/downloads/Newsletter121.pdf

Sustainer Construction

T' sustainer is BT80 transitionin' t' BT60. Centerin' rings are standard Estes paper and t' transition is made from two layers o' card stock and a small section o' BT80 tube coupler stock. T' paper transitions were printed from VCP. Ahoy! Once securely fastened, ya bilge rat, t' transition was filled with Elmer’s Fill N Finish, arrr, me bucko, sanded, shiver me timbers, filled, sanded, arrr, matey, etc, ya bilge rat, until I had smooth seams.

Sustainer fins are made from 3/32 inch balsa and are surface mounted.

Capsule Construction

T' “capsule” is made from a BT60-20 balsa transition section. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! On top o' this is an escape tower made from a length o' Apogee 10.5mm motor mount tube and balsa nosecone. Avast! Blimey! I drilled holes in the base o' t' small nose cone and top o' t' capsule and used 1/8^th inch dowel runnin' through t' escape tower t' attach it firmly t' t' capsule. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' “nozzles” are made from 5/16^th inch hardwood dowel. Begad! For each, ya bilge rat, I sharpened t' end o' t' dowel in a pencil sharpener, me hearties, sanded, me bucko, and cut t' identical lengths. Arrr! Begad! I then used an Xacto miter box and razor saw t' cut them at angles and attached t' t' escape tower with CA. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty!

Recovery

T' recovery system if fairly straight forward except for t' booster. Ahoy! Avast! T' parallel stages use zero delay motors and pop off at motor burn out. Avast! T' sustainer recovers conventionally. Begad! For the booster I use t' time delay o' t' motor t' deploy t' two parachutes after the sustainer has ignited.

T' two parallel boosters recover on 12 inch mylar parachutes, me bucko, t' booster recovers on two 12 inch mylar parachutes, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and the sustainer recovers on one 18 inch mylar parachute.

Finishing

I wanted this rocket t' have t' look o' a 1960s sci fi rocket on t' bottom and a NASA Gemini-Titan on top. Aye aye! T' booster is primer gray with flourescent orange trim. T' flourescent orange is Pactra Racin' Paint which is actually designed for RC car bodies. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! It goes on fairly thick and is very soft initially as it cures, but it results in a smooth and very bright finish.

T' "Gemini-Titan" section is white and aluminum silver. T' roll pattern is made with a US Insignia Blue solid color decal sheet. Avast, me proud beauty! T' insignia blue color looks really nice and has a bit more depth than straight black.

T' capsule is painted with Testor's Metallizer Cannon Metal. These are good paints but make sure you have a well built up primer coat if applyin' t' paper tubes or t' paint tends t' have a flat finish.

Decals were scavenged from various other kits and old plastic models.

Final Simulation

Once I completed finishing, arrr, me hearties, it was time t' get t' real weights and CGs t' input into Rocksim. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Rather than use the mass and CG override function, I prefer t' add mass offsets t' me designs in Rocksim so that t' CG and weight are right. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This lets me go in and add noseweight in t' simulation if I need to.

I also used a set o' small fins above t' capsule t' try to simulate t' effects o' t' nozzles.

Final weight o' t' complete model is only 10 ounces. Avast, me proud beauty! Loaded weight for t' first flight was just about 16 ounces. Blimey!

Flight Report

First flight was on 14 Aug 04 at a Buffalo Rocket Society launch in Geneseo, NY. Engine selection was critical for safe deployment o' t' recovery systems. Ya scallywag! Avast! I chose B6-0s for t' parallel stages since these would burn about half as long as t' engines in t' booster and would allow t' parallel stages t' deploy and fall away first. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I chose a D12-0 in t' booster for t' long burn time and because I'd heard somewhere (TRF?) that C11-0s had caused stagin' problems because o' t' relatively small amount o' powder in them. Begad! Finally, me hearties, me hearties, I chose C6-3s t' round out t' booster cluster. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! These would have about t' same burn time as t' D12 and t' three second delay would be adequate t' allow recovery system deployment. Avast! This model screams for an E9-0, though!

For t' sustainer I chose a C11-5, shiver me timbers, mainly t' keep me recovery walk t' a minimum and t' help insure findin' all t' pieces.

Flight prep seemed t' take forever. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' 12 inch mylar chutes were a tight fit in t' BT20 tubes and require careful packin' t' ensure a good chute deployment. Blimey!

After a thorough check and recheck o' everything, I was ready. I attached me clip whip t' t' igniters and returned t' t' ready line. 3-2-1-nothing. Ahoy! Begad! I'd forgotten t' connect t' battery end o' t' clip whip! If that be all I'd forgotten, me bucko, I would be in good shape. Ya scallywag!

Another countdown and whoosh--Project OMEGA screamed off the pad with all engines lit. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' boosters popped at less than 100 feet and I had two good chutes. T' sustainer lit nicely and took off at around 20 degrees from vertical. I'd say an apogee o' ~900 feet. T' booster deployed both chutes but only one opened (stiff mylar). This be enough though as it recovered safely in t' tall grass. Ya scallywag! T' shiny mylar chutes were a good choice and I managed t' find all four components. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' rocket was undamaged. Begad! A successful flight and quite a crowd pleaser!

Conclusion

As satisfyin' as buildin' and flyin' this rocket has been, one o' t' best elements o' t' project was learnin' more Gus Grissom. Well, blow me down! As I tried t' interweave Japanese monster movies with actual NASA programs o' t' 60s, I learned just what a hero Grissom really was. Begad! He was a mechanical engineer, a combat pilot, test pilot, astronaut, ya bilge rat, and an American patriot. What a huge loss for t' space program and t' nation. Avast! Begad! You can bet that if we'd needed him t' help save the planet--he'd have been there!

Detailed Gus Grissom Biography from NASA

"If we die, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, do nay mourn for us. This is a risky business we're in, and we accept those risks. Ya scallywag! T' space program is too valuable to this country t' be halted for too long if a disaster should ever happen."

Lt Col "Gus" Grissom