Today I rode with the Hill Riders Association out to Golden Spike State Park (where the east and west-built transcontinental railroad lines were finally joined) and then on to Thiokol Rocket Park, a few miles away. I have little interest in Golden Spike (been there, done that, not a choo-choo guy) but it was really cool to visit Thiokol again (now ATK, and as of 4 days ago now ATK-Orbital). I worked there from '97 to '99 as a Reliability/Safety engineer (yes, I really was a rocket scientist! 
) on the RSRM (Reusable Solid Rocket Motor, the white boosters on the Space Shuttle) and for a bit on the Minuteman III (when they realized I could do Fault Tree Analyses correctly). I hadn't been back to the site since I left, 75 minutes away but fifteen years ago!!
The largest, horizontal motor is the RSRM, while the tallest upright rocket is the Minuteman III (EDIT, whups, no, that's either the Minuteman I or II).
This is an example of how the propellant looks at the end of a typical rocket (its fake propellant, thankfully since there were a few cigarette butts in there :shock: ). The diameter of the central "burn hole" and the size, shape, and depth of the "burn fins" is very precisely calculated, as the surface area determines how much thrust is being generated. As the propellant burns, the fins gradually disappear and the burn hole becomes more round, reducing the thrust (as you'd normally want during a missile trajectory, high thrust at the beginning and lower towards the end).
Pig has never been here before, She enjoyed it. The building behind Her was where I worked, the manufacturing areas were higher up on the hill behind.
Kinda reminiscing tonight, but I sure don't miss that 75-minute commute, each way!
) on the RSRM (Reusable Solid Rocket Motor, the white boosters on the Space Shuttle) and for a bit on the Minuteman III (when they realized I could do Fault Tree Analyses correctly). I hadn't been back to the site since I left, 75 minutes away but fifteen years ago!!
The largest, horizontal motor is the RSRM, while the tallest upright rocket is the Minuteman III (EDIT, whups, no, that's either the Minuteman I or II).
This is an example of how the propellant looks at the end of a typical rocket (its fake propellant, thankfully since there were a few cigarette butts in there :shock: ). The diameter of the central "burn hole" and the size, shape, and depth of the "burn fins" is very precisely calculated, as the surface area determines how much thrust is being generated. As the propellant burns, the fins gradually disappear and the burn hole becomes more round, reducing the thrust (as you'd normally want during a missile trajectory, high thrust at the beginning and lower towards the end).
Pig has never been here before, She enjoyed it. The building behind Her was where I worked, the manufacturing areas were higher up on the hill behind.
Kinda reminiscing tonight, but I sure don't miss that 75-minute commute, each way!
