3745 Drake          Houston, Texas 77005

Last Update: 09/24/00

      NOTICE:     There is a new NHRC homepage!  for the latest
                  updates, please bookmark    www.nhrc.homestead.com

     If you have any problems with the new site, please contact   Warren@prodigy.net
 
 

NOTICE   All NHRC launches at Johnson Space Center are temporarily canceled while NASA safety officials approve  new NHRC flying rules. With help from many experienced club members and NASA's help. we fully expect to have the launching moratorium lifted soon.
 

NEW:

Well, not so new, but here's Trip Barbour's March 2000 comments submitted to the FAA on the safety record of sport rocket flying in the US,   Important reading in these times.
 
 
 

Photos from the September launch in McGregor hosted by the Austin Area Rocketry group. Photos by Jon Ruehle

Notes from the September 2000 NHRC meeting

Bob Supak has donated the contest equipment he has manufactured over the past year or so to the club. Now known as the Bob Supak Dedicated Contest Equipment, this equipment  will be stored in the Clear Lake area by team effort. Bob wishes that it be known that this equipment be made available to any member that wishes to use it for educational launches or other demonstrations. See a complete report with photos on tha available equipment here.

    The 1999-2000 contest year is now history and the results are now in. Congratulations to these NHRC club members ranking in the top ten NATIONALLY! :   Jonathan Stenvall   8th place "A " division with    70976  points,
Scott   Johnsgard , 6th in "B" division with  76279   points, and  Jeff  Supak,   9th place in "B" division with  65524
Overall, the NHRC ranked  7th with  28853 points, while the Austin group (AARG) was just ahead in 6th with  36996 points.
Click here for the  THE TOP TEN LIST

Rocket Flying Rules for Johnson Space Center
NAR Safety code
High Power Safety Code
 

Directions to the NHRC  Johnson Space Center Rocket Launch site
 

Festival Wrap-Up and Photos
 
 
 
 

                               OTHER TOPICAL STUFF:
 

  Complete text and audio of President Kennedy's speech on the nations space effort at Rice University, September 12, 1962 - Must reading/listening for all Houstonians and Rocketry fans alike!
Which is more amazing, that we actually got to the moon, or that Rice actually did beat Texas?

     Downloaded wRASP, the Windows Rocket Altitude Simulation Program.

From Peter Alway, a complete rundown on how mission points should be Awarded for Scale competitions
For more  great tips and hints on competition rocketry and on the upcomming Texas State
        Championships, see AARG member Lee James' Rocketry Comtetition in Texas page.
 

     CLUB INFORMATION

     The NASA/Houston Rocket Club is composed of over 250 rocket enthusiasts living throughout the greater Houston area.  Our members range in age and in skill
level from the very young and the novice to the old and very experienced.  Our
club members come from all walks of life to share the same love and experience
for the hobby.

     We fly model and high power rockets at the Johnson Space Center, right in the
shadow of the mighty Saturn V; the rocket that took America and her astronauts
to the moon. We also fly at two other sites in far west Harris county where we
obtain FAA clearence to fly really big rockets, really high and really fast
(some faster than mach 1!)  We are sanctioned by and enjoy the benefits of the
National Association of Rocketry and the Tripoli Rocketry Association.
Sport flying, competitive events and high powered rocketry are all part of the NHRC
schedule for the coming year.
     We fly twice a month at the Johnson Space Center. It has an approximately 1.25
square mile wide open field with only a few trees. It's a great place to fly!
    We fly on the first and third Saturdays of the month beginning at 9 a.m. Access
is granted via presentation of a NHRC gatepass at the second Avenue guard
house. After entering the gate turn into the driveway on the lefthand side of
the road immediately after the first building (this is building 14 and is
approximately 1/4 mile from the guard house). Follow the driveway around to the
back of the building and continue onto the driveway as it continues out into
the field. Two groups fly in the field, R.C. airplanes and rockets. The R.C.ers
require us to stop at the stop sign and sound our horn and wait for them to signal
to drive out onto the wide part of the driveway. Stay to the far right since they use
the wide part of the driveway as their runway (don't want to run over any airplanes or have any trying to land on or into your car). Keep driving until you get to the end of the concrete portion. This is where we fly.
    To get a gate pass you must be a member of NHRC. Our yearly dues are $15 for individuals or $20 for Families (if only one person is flying all you need is an individual membership no matter how many family or friends come to watch).
    The dues cover postage and production of the monthly newsletter and site insurance for NASA.
    To learn more about our club, contact our club president, Tom Lanier at 713.666.5559 or e-mail him at tlanier@compuserve.com>
    To join the club, just print out this APPLICATION and mail with a check made out to:
           NASA/Houston Rocket Club,  PO Box 418  Dayton, TX 77535.
    Here is a MAP to the launch site at NASA. When R/C aircraft are flying, stop at the stop sign and sound our horn and wait for them to signal to drive out onto the wide part of the driveway. Stay to the far right since they use the wide part of the driveway as their runway

CLUB MEETINGS

Our meetings are held after the sport launch on the third saturday of the month. Meetings are held from about 1PM to 3PM at the community building located at Clear Lake Park. Going east on NASA 1, you turn right at the first light after crossing the lake (just past the Hilton and Johnson Space Center).  The meetings are in the small brown building with the Clear Lake Park sign on it.

 5 engines up and running on the Saturn 5

Archives:

January 2000 Meeting and Launch Notes

Andy Eng's Flight Card Report and John Perry's Photos from Bomber Field January 2000

Photos and Flight Card Analysis of the November 1999 Bomber Field Launch

 

The 1999 Ballunar Liftoff Festival at JSC was another big success for the NHRC. Click here for some Photos and  a report

APOLLO-NASA  LAUNCHES IN ASTRODOME .  The Apollo-NASA demonstration team was a precursor of the NHRC.  Over the years the NHRC has hosted many exciting events including several NARAM's. This article is the beginning of a web page dedicated to the history of the NHRC, submissions on this topic from other long time club members are encouraged.
Notes from the club meeting held on June 19, 1999
Photos from Bomber field,  May1, 1999
 Prelaunch information about the THE 1999 TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP REGIONAL MEET
1999  Hearts and Darts awards presented to NHRC members at Feburary meeting.
1999 Hearts and Darts Regional Contest    Preliminary reports from Bob Supak, Andy Eng, Art Collard,
       Alex Mericas, Lee James, and James Duffy in:
1999 Hearts and Darts Results, including reports from Contest Director Sam Saenz,
    DARS member Steve Murphy, and Photos from Bob Supak.
January 1999 Bomber field report
Bob Supak's report on the 1998 Christmas party
Pictures from Christmas party  and four rockets launched that day or at Bomber Field in January:
Ray Nash's videos from Bomber field on his video page.
December 1998 Bomber field report
1998 Gulf Coast Regional Contest Results
1998 Ballunar Festival report

Our Members: find out what some of our club members are up to in their    personal web sites!         Let us know about yours!!

Chris Harkey is one of  the club's younger members, but one of the most inventive. Check out his new web site for information on his current and past projects. Nice site, Chris!
 Don Ashworth is up to big things, see his level 3 project at his new web site.
 Michael Martin
 Ray Nash Including videos from several NHRC launches
 David Ghere has written a program called CP Calc to figure the CP of your rockets.
    Fom David: "Cp Calc is a small bare bones program that will calculate the center of pressure of a rocket with a single set of fins.  If I get any positive response from this, I will upgrade it adding multiple fins, auto nose cone Cp calculations, naming of rockets, prettier pictures, etc". Go to his site to download the program
Robert Fisher
Randy Ashley
Leslie Houk
 
 

More Rocket Pictures:

Saturn 5       This is a converted plastic kit featuring 5 C-5 engines
Estes Space Shuttle  on a C-6
Houston Rocket's Rocket  a scratch built replica of the Houston Rocket's logo.
Aerotech Arreaux  on an Aerotech f-50
 UFO's  If you can identify these, please leave a note in guest book or E-mail
 An old wooden Oil Rig - only in Texas
 

Links to  Great Rocketry Resources:

   an excellent Online Magazine, check it out!
 

Other NAR Sections from around the state:

Austin Area Rocketry Group
Dallas Area Rocketry Society
Rio Grande Valley Rocket Club

Links to Rocketry Suppliers:

Dr. Rocket  Really big rocket motors
Sky Hy Sports
Impulse Aerospace    Try out the Stability Calculator for Windows
Apogee Components has inexpensive competition rockets and online ordering.
Aerotech Consumer Aerospace  Large Motors and Rockets
 Timeless Hobbies online ordering: Estes, Aerotech, Quest
Zeppelin Hobbies   No ordering over the web
Rogue Aerospace     Ready to build rocket kits
Discount Rocketry a full line of Rocket stuff and online ordering.
Magnum Rockets, Hobbies, &More Inc.
Ellis Mountain Rocket Works
Atlantic Rockets
Commonwealth Displays Inc. Check out their publications section!
Hobbyline Inc.    Online ordering.

Rocketry Auction sites:
http://w3.nai.net/~stuckman/auction/index.html
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe
 

Questions, Suggestions. Comments are welcomed , click here to e-mail Warren Benson

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