Hi everyone,
Tripoli has given a provisional approval for steel nozzles on 'sugar'
propellant only for this year at research launches and with the ok of the
launch prefect. It is to determine if steel nozzle use will be allowed in the
future. They want data for tests and launches...especially, what happens to the
nozzle in the event of a CATO. How far does it travel from the launch pad, does
it fragment, what impulse motor. Nozzle is to be pointed down, not looking for
nozzle up or horizontal tests.
The price of ammonium perchlorate is now tripling (RCS price has just gone from
~$6 a pound to $19.99 a pound in bulk, $25 a pound in 20 pound lots) so many
people might be moving to sugar in the future or giving up rocketry. Let's not
let this opportunity for steel nozzle use vanish.
https://www.rocketmotorparts.com/Bulk_200_Micron_Ammonium_Perchlorate_Oxidizer/p1577809_10906409.aspx
So far this year all of my flights and tests have been nominal except for a
static test with a titanium nozzle so if anyone has CATO data with steel
nozzles on sugar rockets PLEASE submit before the end of the year
Rick
