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BPS.space is attempting it. Test Launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQt-9SSJ51c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQt-9SSJ51c Test Landing: https://www.you

BPS.space is attempting it. Test Launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQt-9SSJ51c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQt-9SSJ51c Test Landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXy-x6lkQvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXy-x6lkQvQ

stickfigure 8y ago
Wow, close! This appears to be working with solid rocket motors, thrust vectoring, and a carefully timed ignition. How do they get accurate distance to ground? Is altitude just a constant for these tests?
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  He's got a 9V battery-sized altimeter of his own design: https://bps.space/arc/ https://bps.space/arc/
mentos 8y ago
Ah wow I watched a bunch of his videos last summer but forgot to check up on his progress. Incredible! I wonder what scale you would need to get the rocket into space/orbit? SpaceX should fund this guy to find out, could prove to be a valuable bootcamp for real SpaceX employees in the future?
- pjc50 8y ago
  So far only one amateur team has done this: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10803/is-it-possible-to-reach-space-using-home-made-rocket https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10803/is-it-possib...
- gibybo 8y ago
  >I wonder what scale you would need to get the rocket into space/orbit? There's a great "what if" xkcd about using solid fuel model rocket engines (the same type used in BPS.space's rockets) to get to space and orbit. https://what-if.xkcd.com/24/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/24/ The summary is that you may be able to use a stupendously large number of them to get to space, but orbit is physically impossible. You'll need a different propulsion method. The smallest rocket that has ever carried a payload to orbit is the SS-520. It's ~30 feet tall, ~2 feet in diameter and weighs ~5,700 pounds. It set the record in February 2018, so it's a pretty recent record.
  - mentos 8y ago
    That SS-520 looks like they just took a model rocket and scaled it up 30x, very cool.
thinkloop 8y ago
This is incredible, looks like an exact smaller clone of the real thing. More generally, it has to be possible since we went to the moon with much less.
mandeepj 8y ago
Million thanks for sharing this. And, that guy in the video is incredibly talented. Not sure if he is doing it alone. But, irrespective of that, this video should be an extreme motivation for some of us who are just building a website and think - this is too much, I can't do it.
Sendotsh 8y ago
Joe Barnard is an incredibly smart guy, and his videos always leave me inspired to get off my arse and do something. He has no background in this stuff, and just decided it would be fun to learn and figure it all out, and has come this far in only a few years of tinkering.

stickfigure 8y ago

Wow, close! This appears to be working with solid rocket motors, thrust vectoring, and a carefully timed ignition. How do they get accurate distance to ground? Is altitude just a constant for these tests?

ceejayoz 8y ago
He's got a 9V battery-sized altimeter of his own design: https://bps.space/arc/ https://bps.space/arc/

mentos 8y ago

Ah wow I watched a bunch of his videos last summer but forgot to check up on his progress. Incredible! I wonder what scale you would need to get the rocket into space/orbit? SpaceX should fund this guy to find out, could prove to be a valuable bootcamp for real SpaceX employees in the future?

pjc50 8y ago
So far only one amateur team has done this: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10803/is-it-possible-to-reach-space-using-home-made-rocket https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10803/is-it-possib...
gibybo 8y ago
>I wonder what scale you would need to get the rocket into space/orbit? There's a great "what if" xkcd about using solid fuel model rocket engines (the same type used in BPS.space's rockets) to get to space and orbit. https://what-if.xkcd.com/24/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/24/ The summary is that you may be able to use a stupendously large number of them to get to space, but orbit is physically impossible. You'll need a different propulsion method. The smallest rocket that has ever carried a payload to orbit is the SS-520. It's ~30 feet tall, ~2 feet in diameter and weighs ~5,700 pounds. It set the record in February 2018, so it's a pretty recent record.
- mentos 8y ago
  That SS-520 looks like they just took a model rocket and scaled it up 30x, very cool.

thinkloop 8y ago

This is incredible, looks like an exact smaller clone of the real thing. More generally, it has to be possible since we went to the moon with much less.

mandeepj 8y ago

Million thanks for sharing this. And, that guy in the video is incredibly talented. Not sure if he is doing it alone. But, irrespective of that, this video should be an extreme motivation for some of us who are just building a website and think - this is too much, I can't do it.

Sendotsh 8y ago

Joe Barnard is an incredibly smart guy, and his videos always leave me inspired to get off my arse and do something. He has no background in this stuff, and just decided it would be fun to learn and figure it all out, and has come this far in only a few years of tinkering.