Dustin Brown - Has recently updated his website, which describes several innovative rocket-motor projects, including
a two-stage model rocket design using KN/sorbitol, and instructions for building
"D" motors using this propellant.
Ayson Baxter - maintains a blog on his sugar-propelled rocketry activities in Jamaica.
Scott Jolley - Fellow NEFARian
who experiments with novel sugars and has developed the use of
surfactants in sugar propellants. The surfactants reduce
viscosity in the melted propellant mix, making for easier casting.
They also tend to reduce burn rate, perhaps extending
the range of feasible sugar motor designs. Scott's day job?
Chemist at NASA KSC. I love to hear him talk chemistry.
Makes my head swim.
Jacobs Rocketry-
by Gary Jacobs, author of a precious 1979 booklet on making black
powder rockets. Mr. Jacobs has been using sugar propellant
lately, and has developed a very nice website demonstrating it's
production and use, as well as lots on rocketry in general.
Furthermore, he has generously placed that black powder motor
book on the website - I learned several of my favorite techniques from
that little book. Highly recommended!
Richard Nakka's Experimental Rocketry The premiere amateur rocketry
site. And his primary propellants are sugars! I have learned
more from Richard than from all others combined. Excellent and authoritative
technical details on sugar propellants and many other aspects of rocketry.
Sugar Shot to Space - Led by Richard Nakka, assisted by many other sugar propellant proponents are developing a sugar rocket to reach space!
SugPro Discussion list
Most, if not all, of the folks you see here are members of this
list. If you have a deep interest in such things, are willing to
be pleasant, polite, and do things legally and safely, then you might
consider joining. This is one of the bests lists I have
encountered.
Inverse Engineering:
Dan Pollino produces an outstanding website illustrating his
processes
and procedures for making large sugar motors. Dan is a clever and
dilligent
experimenter who just doesn't know how to quit. Thank goodness.
Currently
working with a "flexible propellant" that is easy and safe to make, and
not
at all brittle like most sugar propellants are. Dan now has three
books out providing how-to details on his rocketry projects. They
are excellent, and highly recommended.
Scott's Experimental Rocketry
Scott Fintel has pioneered the use of KN/ER, a non-hygroscopic propellant
made with the sugar-alcohol erythritol. In late 2006 Scott launched
an O-motor rocket with this propellant to over 29000 feet. Scott also hosts pages from Jonathan
Carter, who is working to develop colored flame sugar propellant.
Randy's Rocketry
- Randy Dormans recently tested an awsome 4-inch 6-grain
"N" motor burning KN/SO. Specs, photos and video is on his
blog, which also includes photos of and videos from his on-board
camera, getting nice footage of the dry lake beds of Southern CA.
Serge Pipko - Russian chemist doing serious science with sugar propellants. Link is to Babelfish translation into English.
Stuart Leslie: Primary author for the Sugar Propellant Proposal to
Tripoli Rocketry Association, for which I was grateful to tag along as junior
author. Stuart does beautiful work with modest equipment.
Trailer Trash Aerospace - The Trailer boys make some sizeable motors, and
rockets to fly them in. They use sugar propellants quite a lot, and
have a clear, simple instruction page for making KNO3/sorbitol propellant. An excellent page on casting tools too.
Flint Hapirat - working with sugar propellants, and developing some original and interesting ideas.
Aerocon Systems - a righteous seller of rocketry stuff. Run by Bob
Fortune, Aerocon's offerings include a "sugar propellant experimenter's kit"
along with lots of electronic goodies for testing, recovery.
Amateur Icelandic Rocketry
(AIR) Three rocket aficianodos recently used recrystallized KN/Sucrose
to launch what may be the first amateur rocket in Iceland. AIR
hosts a forum on amateur rocketry. More exciting developments are
in the works.
NERO
Dutch Federation for Rocket Research. Began in 1959, it
is one of the longest running rocketry organizations. Uses sugar propellant,
among others
VRO Flemish Rocketry
Organization - Pioneers of KNO3/Sorbitol propellant. Producers
of essential works on sugar propellants, currently working to develop accurate
simulations of KNO3/sucrose propellant burns.
