Watch the Successful Launch of World’s Largest Amateur Rocket

Fun & Games Rockets
Watch the Successful Launch of World’s Largest Amateur Rocket
YouTube player

A few weeks ago, we ran a piece here announcing the pending launch of this 46′ tall 1:1-scale V2 amateur rocket, to be launched at the Thunda Down Under rocket meetup in Australia. The Rocketry Victoria team was going for the world record of the largest amateur rocket ever successfully flown. They did it! As you can see from the launch footage, it wasn’t a very high-altitude launch (flight data has not been released yet), but that wasn’t the point. The team was looking to test the bird out on a single, standard O-motor, and to successfully recover the three parachute-equipped sections. Everything worked like a charm. As Rocketry Victoria’s Nat Callea told Make: via email:

I know a lot of people were expecting more altitude, but as a team, we are more than happy with the result. So many new techniques for rocket construction, deployment, and recovery were successfully tested. I really feel that we have found ways of making larger rockets easier, cheaper, and lighter to build in the future. Not to mention not knowing the effects of the kick-ass motor we used also provided an unknown that tested our nerves.

Now the team can look forward to future launches on bigger motors and more experimentation with this lightweight carved foam and steel frame construction technique.

rocketRecordFlight_4

rocketRecordFlight_6

Screen Shot 2015-03-30 at 10.35.50 AM

[Credit: Launch photo by Leigh Metzroth]

 

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 16th iteration!

Prices Increase in....

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
FEEDBACK