socialmedian: Testing a rocket for a supersonic car

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Source: observer.guardian.co.uk

Nov 04, 2009

Summary

A team of British engineers have fired up the rocket that they hope will propel their car to speeds in excess of 1,000mph, smashing the land speed record. Rocket scientist Daniel Jubb sets the scene

It's 5am in the Mojave Desert and all is eerily quiet and still. The team has been up for hours to beat the sun before stifling heat makes working outside unbearable.

Our new 18-inch-diameter hybrid rocket is sitting on a test stand, looking alien in the clear dawn light. We've been building and testing 6-inchers for the past 12 months, progressing from monopropellant (a rocket using a single liquid propellant) to hybrids (a rocket using a liquid oxidiser and a solid fuel) as we learn how to control the power output. Now everyone is curious to see how a bigger version will perform.

The small rockets were comparatively easy to handle, but we still had a few blow up. Scaling up to 18 inches is a challenge because the design does not scale directly. If my calculations are correct, five minutes from now we'll be witnessing a spectacular jet of flame shooting 50 feet ou

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