john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) (02/13/86)
In article <504@eneevax.UUCP> hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) writes: >In article <518@anasazi.UUCP> john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) writes: >> How about space junk? A friend took me to several surplus stores >>in southern California, and we found a number of goodies including: >>console lights from an Apollo capsule, an actuator from a space shuttle, >> He has collected, over the years from these sources, a Viking >>all of the avionics, and a number of miscellaneous rocket engines, >>>for neat (and cheap) esoteric aviation hardware? >>John Moore (NJ7E/XE1HDO) > >I realize we may be off the beaten path here, but whatever happened to that >guy who was constructing the VolksRocket X-1? He picked up almost all of his >toys from space junkyards... > >-dave >-- >David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department >hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET > -Ernest P. Worrell The fellow I was referring to is the guidance system designer for Volksrocket. On one of the trips we were accompanied by Capt. Robert Truax, who is the man behind the Volksrocket. Truax has an interesting history - he is not a crank or a mad inventor. He headed the Polaris missile program for the Navy, and later was president of Rocketdyne. He is a recognized aeronautical engineer. He is now retired and lives in Palo Alto (or Menlo Park, or somewhere around there). His Volksrocket project derives from his early opposition to the space shuttle program. He felt that a pressurized liquid fuel rocket (as opposed to the turbine driven liquid rockets normally used) would be a cheaper manned launch vehicle than the Shuttle, even though the pressurized rocket would not be re-used. He lost the argument in NASA, so is carrying it on by demonstration. He also understands the value of publicity - he designed Evil Kneevil's rocket bike, and now the Volksrocket is a carnival show also, but with an ultimate purpose of furthering private enterprise in space. -- John Moore (NJ7E/XE1HDO) {decvax|ihnp4|hao}!noao!terak!anasazi!john {hao!noao|decvax|ihnp4|seismo}!terak!anasazi!john terak!anasazi!john@SEISMO.CSS.GOV (602) 951-9326 (day or evening) 7525 Clearwater Pkwy, Paradise Valley, AZ, 85253 (Home Address) The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be someone else's.