[W1SMH] Club Communication

[Jim Duarte]

Hi Folks,

Bill Whetstone - WA1RI has extended an invitation to our membership to
join several other Rhode Island clubs at a Blackstone Valley ARC Club
meeting on Sept. 30. Bill and some other RI Amateur's are trying to get
more inter-activity between affiliated clubs. He's asked if we would
like to join them and get other Eastern Mass clubs involved. The meeting
is at 7:30 PM and will be held at Fogarty Memorial Hospital on Route
146A at the North Smithfield/Woonsocket line. The featured speaker is
Eric Knight - KB1EHE, an Amateur Operator involved in putting a rocket
with an Amateur Radio payload in space. Details on the upcoming launch
can be found at http://www.civilianspace.com/. Anyone interested in
making the trip to the meeting, please email me at n1iv@arrl.net and
we'll try to set up some kind of car pool arrangements.

73,

Jim Duarte - N1IV
Public Relations Manager
Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC
--------------------------------------------------------
==>AMATEUR RADIO-CARRYING ROCKET FLIGHT RESCHEDULED

A group of Amateur Radio operators and amateur rocket enthusiasts hoping

to make aerospace history this month will try again to put the first
amateur rocket into space from the Nevada desert. The Civilian Space
Xploration Team (CSXT) suborbital vehicle will carry several Amateur
Radio
payloads to assist in documenting that the rocket reaches an altitude of

more than 60 nautical miles--which is considered to be "space."

Avionics Manager and CSXT Program Co-Leader Eric Knight, KB1EHE--one of
the hams involved--says a new launch window has been set. "We're very
excited about getting the rocket up in the air," he told ARRL. This
month's attempt will mark the third by the group. High winds scuttled a
launch planned for late June, turning it into what Knight characterized
as
"a very expensive dress rehearsal." An attempt in 2000 got off the
ground
but just missed its mark.

"The rocket will go up this time, Knight said, exuding confidence.
"Technologically it's all ready to go." Additionally, he pointed out,
the
weather this time of year is more favorable, and the team has a broader
launch window than it had during the June attempt. The group of space
enthusiasts last month got final clearance for the September launch from

the Federal Aviation Administration and the Bureau of Land Management.

"We have a happy rocket," Knight said, noting that the team plans no
major
changes to the rocket that was set to go in June. As for potential
problems, Knight says he can't foresee anything other than Mother
Nature's
failure to cooperate. One thing will be done a bit differently in that
regard. The team had been taking its 40,000-foot weather data from a
National Weather Service Web site. Now, it will use a radio-equipped
balloon to measure the data real-time.

A container in the rocket's nose will carry commemorative coins,
business
cards, US flags and mementos to commemorate the victims of September 11,

Knight said. "We're proud to be doing that," he added. In addition, the
rocket will carry some personal items plus a few photographs, including
one of Knight in his younger rocketeering days, "to bring things full
circle," he explained.

A live color TV transmitter will transmit throughout the flight. "The
images from space should be truly spectacular," Knight said. Much of the

avionics aboard the vehicle is Amateur Radio technology, and many on the

CSXT crew are avid hams.

According to a team news release, its Primera rocket "is the most
powerful
amateur rocket ever created." (Primera Technology is a primary sponsor
for
the project and is helping with support and materials, Knight says.) At
17
feet tall and weighing just over 500 pounds, the rocket will reach Mach
5
(five times the speed of sound) in just 15 seconds. Moving at more than
3200 MPH, it will reach space in just a minute and a half. The team will

recover the vehicle, which is designed to automatically break into two
pieces. CSXT's founder and Program Director Ky Michaelson is calling the

attempt "the culmination of years of work by a wonderful team."

Among those on hand for the momentous launch will be Worcester
Polytechnic
Institute student Julia Cohn, KB1IGU, who--while still in high
school--helped design and build some of the vehicle's avionics. She'll
be
taking a week away from classes to witness the launch. Her former high
school electronics instructor and mentor, Chet Bacon, KA1ILH, and other
students in Bacon's electronics classes also contributed to the project.

Other amateurs involved include Rod Lane, N1FNE--whose garage and
basement
workshop were largely given over to rocket construction and
integration--and Don Skinner, N1HWR.

"We've got the whole team coming out, which was a logistical challenge
in
itself," Knight said.

Funding has come largely from team members' pockets. Knight estimated
the
costs to date are approaching $100,000. Additional information,
including
a graphical overview of the rocket's planned flight into space, is
available on the CSXT Web site <http://www.civilianspace.com>.


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