Picture showing the self-made rocket flight to the sky above 36.8 km above the ground and shooting the stratospheric appearance

September 30, the state of Nevada in the United StatesBlack Rock DesertA launch of his own rocket 'Qu8k' by amateur rocket engineer Derek Deville was launched. Qu8k reached the stratosphere of 36.8 kilometers above the sky, recorded the situation with a camera and returned to the ground.

The movie below is a movie recorded Qu 8k firing and the state of flight.

Qu8k - BALLS 20 - Carmack Prize Attempt - High Altitude Rocket On-board Video - YouTube


Qu8k is made by your own parts. The cylinder part which becomes the torso of the rocket.


Nose cone is the tip of the rocket. It reduces air resistance during propulsion and separates and fires parachute when falling.


The vertical stabilizer at the bottom of the rocket was made by welding aluminum.


Equipment stored inside the cylinder. This launch,"Carmack Prize"It is said that it was done aiming at the prize that it is. The condition of winning the Carmack Prize was to wear a GPS on the launched rocket to record more than 100,000 feet and recover the rocket to nearly intact condition within 24 hours.



Multiple HD cameras are installed in the hatch part.


Of course I also make my own launcher.


With time in the movie2: 05It's finally firing.


Raising the smoke along with the roar, the rocket will fly off.


A camera rolling while striking a pebble blowing off a pebble.


In the movie2:50From the image of the camera installed in the rocket, the whole story until reaching the stratosphere is securely recorded.


Milky way above the ground away from home.


3: 09, I came above the clouds.


3:35, The reason that the sky seems blue is that sunlight collides with molecules in the atmosphereLight scatteringHowever, Qu 8k will reach the position where black sky can be seen, where there is no collision between sunlight and the atmosphere.


4: 19Qu 8k in the sun shining down.Clear boundary between the atmosphere and the universeAlthough there is no such thing, for convenience the altitude ranges from 80 km to 120 km, the position reached by Qu 8 k is still inside the atmosphere.


4:32, The nose cone is injected and preparation for falling begins.


5:17From another camera attached to the viewpoint overlooking the ground.


I will leave the ground rapidly.


5:31, Around the clouds, the protective plastic melts and blocks visibility.


5: 55, The rocket keeps rising while rotating.


You can see the curvature of the horizontal line clearly. It is a picture that makes you feel once again that the earth is round.


Qu8k landing.


A state of the hatch where the protective plastic melted. This time Qu 8k failed to receive the aim of Carmack Prize which was the initial goal because the GPS failed, but it reached the stratosphere of about 120 thousand feet (about 36.8 km) in about 92 seconds and a wonderful image Succeeded to leave.


In addition, on Derek Deville's site, you can see technical commentary on Qu8k in more detail.

Qu 8k