Armadillo Aerospace Stiga rocket launch and onboard video

The launch of Armadillo Aerospace's reusable suborbital sounding rocket Stiga. Fueled by liquid oxygen and denatured ethanol, the rocket reached close to 140,000 feet above sea level.

The rocket was launched from Spaceport America on December 4 2011 at around 11:30AM. There were some dents on landing, but the rocket can be refurbished for a second flight.

"Stiga" is Swedish for ascend or soar.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• rocket
• launch
• armadillo
• aerospace
• armadillo aerospace
• space
• black sky
• curvature
• earth

[lsbussell]

Is that the actual curve of the Earth?

Or is it just the camera?

[armadilloaerospace]

@lsbussell There is some earth curvature visible, but it is difficult to pick it out with the distortion from the camera. I'm going to have to fly a rectilinear camera on the next flight. -ben

[thaddeusbeier]

Beautiful flight, and really nice camera work too! I love the Joshua tree on the right in the first cut :) Very nice having the 1/20th speed playback at the end, too -- you can see the engine gimbal slightly to keep it going straight. It's great to see everything work so well -- great work!

[armadilloaerospace]

@thaddeusbeier Thanks! I have another half dozen angles I didn't use, I'll have to put up a B-roll as well. -ben

[profchaos9001]

what's the big deal? it's not like it's rocket science... oh wait...

[armadilloaerospace]

@gtklockerHD 1. The gravity is about the same as at the surface, it's like throwing a ball in the air. As the ball goes over the top, there is a time when it is traveling slowly, and seems to be hanging in mid air. Same efect here, but without air and with a much higher 'throw' it makes that time longer. 2. The rocket is guided on ascent by moving the engine around, at 20000 feet up it was only a couple dozen feet horizontally from the launch pad.

[VanKlaunch]

I've got it all figured out. John Carmack is going to be the first to set up a base on Mars, where his hired scientists will "accidentally" open a portal to Hell. Carmack will then grow a 12-pack and will then don the green space-marine armor and helmet, thus fulfilling his long-term dream of becoming the Doom Guy.

[bajr0]

nice 

[Pete292323]

Well... if it was a standard go pro... or any other commercial camera you could fix the distortion of the lens in post processing... probably only for still images... but it would give you a taste of how much curvature is visible at that altitude.

[interlinkknight]

very cool

[wlmason73]

@BuddhaMaster84 Ummm, the video of the launch itself appears to be at normal speed.

[Barbaroossa]

@Panwaffles AHAHaH, nice going, mate.

[Panwaffles]

@Barbaroossa The lamb they sacrificed.

[ilgainis]

nice..

[Barbaroossa]

What was that red liquid oozing down the camera's lens?

[liciying]

Must be an easter egg from J. Carmack :)