Postal Service new Eclipse Stamp

Now here is a novel idea for a commemorative stamp.  The Postal Service will soon release a first-of-its-kind stamp that changes when you touch it. The Total Solar Eclipse Forever stamp, which commemorates the August 21 eclipse, transforms into an image of the Moon from the heat of a finger.  The public is asked to share the news on social media using the hashtag #EclipseStamps.

Complete story at:  USPS News

Negative Mass - the world of Quantum Physics gets stranger!

Artist's abstraction (stock image) - Credit: © ktsdesign / Fotolia

Washington State University physicists have created a fluid with negative mass, which is exactly what it sounds like. Push it, and unlike every physical object in the world we know, it doesn't accelerate in the direction it was pushed. It accelerates backwards.

See story at ScienceDaily

LDRS 36 at Higgs Farm

When I heard that LDRS was coming to MDRA this year I had to come out of my 3 and a half year hiatus in rocketry (having two expensive hobbies can take a toll on your finances).  Although I had planned to attend on Thursday and Friday the weather was terrible and so I modified my plans and took the trip to Price, MD on Friday and Saturday.

Friday wasn't all that much better than Thursday as it turned out.  The winds were up to 20-30MPH and it was cold. I stayed most of the day, but didn't launch anything. I did, however, help a friend get his Level 1 certification, so the day wasn't a total wash.

Saturday was much better. Winds were still a bit on the breezy side but manageable. And the temperature was warmer.

I decided not to prep and fly the largest rocket in my fleet, the Talon-2, as planned, since I didn't like the winds and I was still feeling the effects of my cold that I was trying to shake for the last two weeks. But both the Emerald Fire and Mustang-XL were ready to go.

The Emerald Fire was first up. Loaded with a K805G motor (propellant is a green formulation appropriate for a rocket named Emerald Fire) and a Ozark GPS telemetry head in the nosecone, she raced off the pad for a really nice flight to 3,700 feet. She reached a maximum velocity of 322 ft/sec.

Plan was to capture some GPS telemetry data for plotting on Google Earth, but since I forgot to set the data recorder I got nothing. I guess when you're away from rocketry for over 3 1/2 years you tend to forget a few things - now where was that checkist :)

The Mustang-XL was a pure sport flight and it performed very well. Loaded with a J450 DM motor, the takeoff was loud, sparky and cool to watch. She quickly climbed to 4,700 feet with a maximum velocity of 670 ft/sec before landing off to the right about 2000 feet across Ell Downes road. The rocket was carrying a Trackimo device which sends GPS signals via the cellular network.

Video my two flights is up on YouTube:  Video

LDRS was a huge success, and I enjoyed my time back on the rocket field. According to MDRA there were a total of 713 rocket launches during the 4-day event.