Rocketry Planet

RIO GRAND, Ohio USA — Much has changed in the world of rocketry since West Virginia native Homer Hickam and his friends were inspired by the 1957 Russian launch of Sputnik to create their own rockets, an adventure chronicled in Hickam's 1998 book, "Rocket Boys."

Just ask Jerry "Cosmo" Myers, president of the West Virginia Society of Amateur Rocketry - a sort of 2009 version of Hickam's rocket boys.

Jerry 'Cosmo' Myers, president of the West Virginia Society of Amateur Rocketry unloads his rockets from a car top carrier at Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, Ohio. He says he was stopped only once by a State Trooper and asked about the rockets but admits he gets a lot of strange looks from other motorists. Photo: Craig Cunningham.

Jerry 'Cosmo' Myers, president of the West Virginia Society of Amateur Rocketry unloads his rockets from a car top carrier at Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, Ohio. He says he was stopped only once by a State Trooper and asked about the rockets but admits he gets a lot of strange looks from other motorists. Photo: Craig Cunningham.

"The average rocketry hobbyist knows more than the real rocket scientists of Hickam's era," Myers said. Inexpensive computer software helps enthusiasts modify commercially purchased rockets and even design their own.

"There is a real camaraderie among the amateur rocketeer community," he added. People are willing to share their knowledge to nurture new members and help the community grow. Young people, especially, can learn some math and some science, and develop some great social skills."

The local rocketry society was formed in 1997 and is a member of the National Association of Rocketry, whose mission is to promote the hobby with an emphasis on safety.

Safety credentials issued by the national association are required to purchase certain rocketry equipment. Myers has Level 1 credentials, but hopes to move up to Level 2, where he can buy the materials to make bigger rockets.

"Level 3 takes too big a wallet for me," he said. "The bigger the rockets, the bigger the cost."

The society has monthly launches, usually March through November, at the Bob Evans Farm fields in Rio Grand, Ohio. Launches - to which spectators are welcome - start at 10 a.m. and sometimes last as late as 7 p.m. Rocketeers from other chapters may participate, though there is a fee.

The society has a designated range safety officer on duty all day to inspect credentials and equipment before launches are permitted. Personnel at Huntington's Tri-State Airport are notified of the launch - the society has to get a waiver from the airport well in advance of the events to prevent planes from flying over the area during launch hours.

Rockets of diverse size and complexity are sent skyward during the day.  A typical rocket has a motor that contains the chemicals that react to create the thrust that propels it.

Today's rocket boys use computer software to match components for safe and maximum performance.

Rockets are mounted on launch equipment a safe distance away from spectators. They're ignited by the push of a button from a control box and if all goes well, they're launched in a vertical path.

When the fuel has completely burned, an altitude sensor in the rocket body ignites a small black powder charge that causes the nose of the rocket to separate from the body. Then a parachute emerges, gently returning the rocket, body, nose and all, back to the ground, where it can be refueled and used again.

Winds present one of the biggest problems. They can sweep the returning rockets away to groves of trees on nearby hills, or even beyond the trees themselves. 

The rockets are usually found, but occasionally some are lost.

The challenge of synchronizing burn time, separation of components, and parachute deployment is the heart of this hobby.

More advanced rocketeers experiment with things like fire and smoke color and multi-stage flights.  Some attach cameras, both photo and video, as well as GPS transmitters in case the rockets are swept out of sight.

After the initial investment for the basic equipment, the rocket body and motor, a hobbyist can launch a Level 1 rocket for as little as $15 to $20.  Level 2 launches cost about $50 to $100, and Level 3 launches costs $200 to $400 a pop.

Of course, the higher the level, the higher the altitude.  Meyers calls anything above a Level 3 launch "grounds for divorce."

Members' aptitude for technology usually extends beyond rockets.

They conduct their meetings in cyberspace, on the Internet, where members connect vialtheir computers in a chat room to "discuss" club business.

There are about 40,000 enthusiasts worldwide.

They come from all walks of life - Myers is an automotive technician. Right now, the society's lone female member and club secretary is Debbie Cook and she'd like to see more women take up the hobby. She and her husband, David, have been avid members for five years.

For more information about the group and rocketry, visit its Web site at www.wvsoar.org.

Copyright © 2009, Charleston Daily Mail.