For 2009 the UMERG team has two Balls projects.  One is ‘Locomotive Breath’, as in Jethro Tull’s song of the same name.  The other is ‘Cross-eyed Mary’ also going on the theme of Jethro Tull.  You know the tunes will be cranked at launch time.

Locomotive Breath, will be a 6″ minimum diameter ‘P’ project with about 14,000 lbs. of  thrust, flying on a blue propellant.  This will be our “Big” project, going for an altitude of about 70,000 ft, as well as down-link telemetry.

Cross-eyed Mary, will be our entry into the ‘Keg Lofting’ contest.  Three teams will be launching ‘Cornelius’ kegs of ‘Home Brew’ beer.  The final rules are still being hammered out, but it will all be in fun anyway.

Another favorite that may also take to the sky, is the return of ‘The Flying Red Bull Table of Death’.

There is rumor that Rob Grygar’s rocket ‘Spike’ may make a comeback in time for the Balls trip.  Stay tuned.

Stay tuned for more on these projects, as this post will probably be updated as time goes on.  Below are some photos of Locomotive Breath’s nozzle carrier/rear retainer and it’s graphite insert.

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Today, August 23, 2009, the UMERG team tested an ‘L’ motor with the propellant that will be used in Locomotive Breath.  The motor tested is a scaled down version of the larger motor.  Locomotive Breath’s motor will not be run at as high of pressures as the test motor was.  The test was successful.  Below is a link to the video of the test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBVLkmTyXmY

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