On-Board Flight Photo Chronology

December 14, 2002

This was the third flight of the digital video camera-equipped TEDMAPOD (the second flight was an experiment with a hybrid motor - the camera captured the tank pressurization process, but not the flight). This was a textbook-perfect flight. Documented proof that I can occasionally get it right!

The view from the top of the rocket looking down at the launch pad. The flame is from the burning pyrogen of the igniter.
A puff of smoke as the motor comes up to pressure
The first jet of flame from the motor hits the blast deflector.
TEDMAPOD pulls away from the pad.
The view from the flight line of TEDMAPOD lifting off. Notice the pads to the right -- there is a top view of them visible in the next frame.
The rocket does a little tail-waggle as it leaves the lauch rod. You can see evidence of it in this frame if you look at the smoke trail. The shadow to the left of the smoke pillar is north of the pad.
A good view of the launch area and flight line. East and west are reversed because the camera is capturing a mirror image. My son Stefan pushed the launch button so I could take video -- which I do badly.
The prep area comes into view. The white double canopies in the corner of the frame belong to Peter Riddel of Space Modeling Solutions. Our club is extremely fortunate to have a great vendor like Peter set up at every launch.
The rocket is rotating rapidly. This is a view of the recovery area north of the flight line. Not much detail here, so I won't include any more frames of it. If you look at the smoke trail, this view show that the rocket trajectory looped south of the launch area.
A great view of the entire prep area, parking, launch area, and flight line. It's a pretty light day at the launch site - I suppose a lot of folks were out Christmas shopping.
A view of the flight area from about 2800 feet. The area at the bottom (south of the launch area) is where people set up their tents during the three-day events. This is where TEDMAPOD eventually lands.
The this frame and the next seven frames are successive and all occur within about a second. The rocket reaches apogee and arcs over the top.
Next frame: Drogue chute ejection. To the right is the packed parachute. The bundle on the left is the Kevlar shock cord that tethers the parachute to the two halves of the rocket. It is bound with masking tape that tears loose as the tether deploys. The yellow bundle to the right is the packed parachute. The orange wire in the center leads from the altimeter to the first ejection charge.
Next frame: The tether leading from the parachute to the payload section is fully deployed. The black dot to the left is the top view of the booster section -- you can still see some smoke spilling out the tail. The tether from the chute to the booster is still bound with masking tape.
Next frame: The chute and booster still trail the payload section.
Next frame: The 36" drougue parachute begins to open.
Next frame: The parachute is fully deployed -- you can barely make out the shroud lines coming to a peak below the canopy. The sudden drag jerks the payload section at the end of its tether, sending it swinging sideways -- which is why we see the parachute in partial profile. Also notice the position of the booster -- it narrowly misses an impact with the parachute.
Next frame: The booster whips around as it abruptly hits the end of its leash.
Next frame: The booster jerks the opposite direction. Compare the orientation of the fins in the previous frame -- it must have been a pretty violent jolt.
There is a lot of footage of this view -- the camera looking upward at the drogue chute and booster section.
The main chute deploys at 500 feet and the altimeter starts beeping out the maximum altitude: (2-8-2-2). The yellow ball seen at the end of the tube is the packed 48" main parachute.
The main parachute deploys and the payload section is suspended between the two canopies. We get a brief glimpse of the irrigated fields to the west.
The drogue chute descends slightly faster than the main, so the camera angle moves toward the ground. In the center is the dirt road that leads from Chandler Heights Road to the flight area.
A picture of dirt and scrub, and the ground shadow of the booster in the upper left corner of the frame.
Coming in for a landing in a dirt roadway.
Touchdown. In the video, the main parachute drags the payload section across the ground briefly before the canopy collapses.

Go to the July 13 page for a freeze-frame chronology of another video TEDMAPOD flight that was not quite so smooth....

Go to the TEDMAPOD page for a description of the launch vehicle.

Click HERE to view the video of this flight.