sub orbital rocket

SORAC : Sub Orbital Rocket, Amateur Class

Hollister and the Central Valley’s Amateur Rocket Society

The SORAC Project was initiated in 1995 as a Civil Experimental Aerospace endeavor. The first goal is to place a totally non-government funded vehicle into internationally recognized space, 62 statute miles straight up. The group numbers about 30 persons across the USA, with a local contingent of about 10 persons performing the actual mechanical work on the vehicles.
All vehicles use the safe and inert-till-fueled Hybrid Propulsion System. The fuel grain itself is essentially rubber as found in your automotive tires. The oxidizer is Racing Nitrous you find at Race Tracks around the country. The Nitrous is added at the launch site when the vehicle is mated to its 58 foot launch tower. So the vehicle is totally inert up until moments before launch.

From its inception, the Project has added additional tasks including the design of a Appolo Moon Flight Computer that is outstanding in its design and utility. It will soon be offered to outside users with the need for data logging, GPS downlinking, Manchester Encoded Telemetry, and the control of up to 8 onboard functions.

The SORAC Vehicles also feature flight termination so an errant unit will have the motor shut down and reverse thrust applied as well as removing the nose cone for increased drag and recovery of the Flight Computer.

The project is always open to new volunteers and financial assistance.

To volunteer or offer assistance in any way, please contact Bill Colburn at:

space1space@sbcglobal.net
or
1-831 637-2442
or
P.O. Box 204,
Hollister, CA 95024

Sorac Team

Our Core Team

Crew Member
Hanger Tasks
General Launch Tasks


Bill Colburn
Project Leader
All Launch
Operations Oversight


Suzanne Kellogg
Administration Assistant, Photography
Administration Assistant, Photography, Crew Support


Steve Zwaska
Design and Documentation
Flight Computer
Flight Computer


Kim Cook
Machinist, Assembler, Alchemist
Vehicle Assembly
Tower Integration

Dave Pond
Assembly, Programming
Vehicle Integration


George Deli-Santi
Recovery and Ground Support
Launch Director and RSO
Fuel and Fire
Recovery


Bob Fortune
Recovery, Composites,
Facilities Design and Support
Vehicle Integration
Fuel and Fire
Recovery


Jeff Jakobs
Test Stand, Scale Tests
Ground Support

Mike Yamamoto
Composite Structures
Nose cone and fin assemblies
Optical Tracking

Tim McCormick
Telemetry, and things that go beep…
Downlink

Larry Roberts
Machinist Assistant, Assembly, Jr. Alchemist
Assembly and Preperation

Chip Dryden
Assembly and Logistics
Assembly and Preperation

Mark Holthaus
Launch Control Officer
California Licensed Pyrotechnician
Rockets, 1st Class


Kevin Baxter
Launch Tower
Vehicle/Tower Integration

Our Many Volunteers and Supporters

Contributors: (made substantial material or service donations)

Larry Pezzolo - - Machining
John Louis - - Machining
All Rite Aluminum - - Materials and trailering
Wright Brothers - - Welding and parts
Don Zimmerman - - High pressure spun tanks
Chuck Piper - - Rocket Ranch Test facilities
Pacific Rocket Society - - Test facilities
Hollister Internet - - Internet services and web

Financial Support: (principal funding)

Jonathan Dunbar
Mark Geislinger
John Carmack - - ID Productions

Supporting Volunteers: (have contributed materials as well as time)

Bob Fortune
Steve Zwaska
Mike Akers
Mike Yamamoto
George Deli-Santi
Dave Pond
Kim Cook
Tim McCormick
Jeff Jakobs

Hangar Volunteers: (hands-on vehicle work at the hangar)

Steve Zwaska
Kim Cook
Mike Akers
Dave Pond
Larry
Chip
Suzanne Kellogg
Mike Yamamoto
Bob Fortune
Bill Colburn
Jeff Jakobs

Test Site Construction: (fabricating test stand and blockhouse)

Chuck Piper
Bill Colburn
Kim Cook
Steve Zwaska
George Deli Santi
Mike Yamamoto
Scott Johnson
Suzanne Kellogg
Jeff Jakobs

Instrumentation: (test site data acquisition)

Russ Bruner
Steve Zwaska
Tim McCormick

Tracking: (determine vehicle’s altitude and impact site)

Terry McElheran
Mike Yamamoto
Dave Oback

Flight Computer/Electronic Payload: (design and fabricate and test)

Steve Zwaska
Tim McCormick

Mechanical Assembly: (responsible for the final assembly of the vehicle)

Kim Cook

Vehicle Design and Simulation: (originate the concepts for the vehicle)

Bill Colburn
Jeff Jakobs Second stage system design and testing

Mechanical Design: (add many new concepts, redesign for assemby)

Steve Zwaska
Kim Cook
Bill Colburn

Recovery Systems: (get the vehicle back intact)

Bob Fortune
George Deli-Santi

Composite Structures: (fabricate nose cones, interstage couplers, and fins)

Mike Yamamoto
George Deli-Santi
Bob Fortune

Documentation: (tracks all designs and design changes on fotos and drawings)

Steve Zwaska

How to volunteer for the SORAC project

Please contact us at:

space1space@sbcglobal.net
1-831 637-2442

P.O. Box 204,
Hollister, CA 95024

Hybrid Design Manual

– ATTENTION –

NEW! The Hybrid Manual has been revised, corrections from errata incorporated, new sections added. Currently 137 pages of inspiring Hybrid Design Concepts, theory, sources, and test data.

The CD-ROM has been further edited, newer versions of some spreadsheets added and some more utilities to make design work easier.

Still the same price for 30% more text and much more on the CD.

Also, see bottom of page for NEW Educational Pricing!!

– === *** === –

The Hybrid Propulsion Manual - covering principles of operation, specific details on construction and testing and with information on propulsion systems from the GIRD vehicle in the 1930’s to the SpaceShip One Propulsion System which sent a civilian astronaut into space for the first time.

Over 100 information-packed pages - 14 chapters and 7 appendices - includes a CD with over 450 megs of video, fotos, drawings and reports - spreadsheets and design aids for creating hybrid propulsion systems.

–Now Shipping–
Please see the Table of contents for the written portion of the manual. The CD ROM is extensive and has a great collection of fotos, video, data files, drawings, and spreadsheets for hybrid propulsion system design.

Table Of Contents for Revised Edition

Errata for Original Hybrid Manual

The introduction to Hybrid Technology is written by Bill Colburn, the Co-Inventor of the Urbanski-Colburn Valve for simplified hybrid motor construction. Bill also designed, constructed and tested the first Hypergolic Hybrid Motor in June of 1951.

Bill also built the first N2O Hybrid motor using 2 inch tanks (laboratory demonstration tanks), the fore-runner of the consumer High Power Rocket Motors now supplied by both Aerotech and Hypertech.

Bill wrote the first Hybrid Propulsion Manual aimed at the field of Experimental Rocketry. This re-written manual is included as part of the SORAC Hybrid Manual.

The Hybrid Manual is offered for $75 which includes the Introduction to Hybrid Technology, the Hybrid Manual, Hybrid Designs, Hybrid Theory, the SORAC Drawings, the Narrative History of the SORAC Project, photographs and video clips.

The above prices include shipping at book rate, for priority mail add $5.00 to the manual.

Because of the nature of the material, we can only ship to USA addresses.

Send check or money order made out to William Colburn in US Dollars to:

William Colburn
P.O. Box 204
Hollister, CA 95024-0204

NOTE: Payment can be made through PayPal by contacting Bill Colburn at: space1space@sbcglobal.net

Educational Discount Pricing

The Hybrid Manual is offered to educational institutions at the following discount rates:

1-10 -10%
11-25 -20%
over 25 -25%

White Papers

Notice!
Please be aware that all of the information contained in the papers listed below are original works by the authors and are covered by Copyright, and all rights are reserved. If any work is placed in the public domain, then the paper will have a bold notice at the top and bottom of all pages. Personal, non-profit and not for profit use is allowed. Any other use, please contact us for more information.

By reading and using any information in these papers, or this site, you will, by default, and with no exceptions, whether allowed by the country or state in which you live or not, hold the authors, the SORAC group members, the SORAC volunteers, the SORAC contributors, or any other private or corporate entity associated, however tenuously, from harm.

File Name Author Description
ElectricMatch.pdf William Colburn On Making a High-Current Electric Match for Meeting No-Fire Requirements at Government Ranges
NoseConeFabricationProcess.pdf Michael Yamamoto Details for creating fiberglass nosecones.
HybridMicro.pdf William Colburn Report on the Oback-Colburn Micro-Hybrid motor.
Launch_Controller_Schematic.pdf David Pond Schematic diagram of SORAC launch controller overlaid on top of actual device.
Analysis_of_Riveted.pdf William Colburn Analysis of Riveted and Bolted Joints
Analysis_of_the_thrust.pdf William Colburn Analysis of the thrust level
ASP_6SW.pdf William Colburn ASP 6SW report
H5-Fin.pdf Steve Zwaska Dimensioned drawing of the H5 Series Fin
SORAC_003tasks.pdf William Colburn Preflight, Launch, post flight procedures.
SW6-HR_Telemetry_Stack.pdf Steve Zwaska 6SW Flight computer setup procedures.
Statistics_of_the_V2.pdf William Colburn V2 statistics.
Mandrel_Design_for_Rocket_Motors.pdf William Colburn Mandrel design for solid propellant and hybrid rocket motors.
Liquid_Propulsion_System.pdf William Colburn Tasks to be performed on a pressurized propellant system.

Scrap Book

Photos at the Hollister Hanger, Rocket Ranch, MTA in Mojave, and Black Rock Nevada Desert


Hanger Photos from Inception through 2001

Hanger Photos from 2001 through 2003

Rocket Ranch Photos

MTA Launch Photos

Project Drawings and Designs

Black Rock Launch Photos

Current 2006 Projects at the SORAC Hangar

Current Projects for Space