Just put the finishing touches on the Giant Leap Firestorm54, which should be my fastest rocket….

If I get my L2 Certification at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/sets/1031736">XPRS</a> in the Black Rock Desert, I will then try to take this rocket through a Mach1 sonic boom. It is incredibly strong, made of fiberglass, kevlar and metal, to survive the stresses of that. I’ve seen a number of fins ripped off in a supersonic shred.

It is also built for speed. Since the body tube is also the motor tube, it is the thinnest rocket possible. The 54mm wide motor fills the entire volume of the bottom third of the rocket.

The RockSim computer simulation predicts that on a K700 motor, this bird will pull 30g’s reaching 1,125 mph and an altitude of 2.6 miles.

There is an avionics bay in the clear section that will contain the GPS, digital altimeter, and motor controller computer. The computer will log the speed and altitude for the flight. It will also sense apogee from the altitude data stream, and pop the small drogue chute. This will allow the rocket to descend at a fast rate (a big chute would be blown across the desert by the wind). At about 800 ft., the computer will pop the big main chute, to slow the rocket down for a soft landing the playa.

If the computer fails to operate properly, the rocket becomes a very nasty <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/47786914">lawn dart</a>.

The avionics bay is clear to allow for internal lights for night launches. At night, I plan to test some experimental motors that are being poured with brake rotor filings. The iron particles create a shower of golden sparks, like a sparkler on steroids. They call them “sparky motors” but I think “Midas Gold” is apropos.