Rocketry Online

Cancer Causing Carbon Fiber�Your Health is at Risk!

The following article is going to press this week to be published in Extreme Rocketry Magazine (Aug 2008 Issue 74). Because of the potential health risks to hobby rocketeers, this article is being released to the Board of Directors of NAR, TRA and to all media services in hopes of making the public more aware of potential health risks involving certain carbon fiber products.

Cancer Causing Carbon Fiber—Your Health is at Risk!

By BE McNeely

Most of us are aware of the health risks of being exposed to asbestos, but not many are aware of the similar dangers of working with long strand carbon fibers. Like asbestos, long strand carbon fibers have almost the same health risks when breathed into the lungs of the human body—causing cancer. It should be mentioned that not all carbon fiber products use “long strand” fibers, some use short strand or curly strand fibers. The bad news is that almost all carbon products we use in high power rocketry have long strand fibers—the cancer causing variety.

Carbon Nano Tubes

Carbon fiber materials, like those used in rocketry and other industries, are extremely popular for their properties of light weight and extreme strength. Carbon fiber materials gain their strength and low weight by using a type of technology known as carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are created at a microscopic level by rolling sheets of carbon into small tubes. These tubes appear like long fibers and have incredible strength at a very low weight, making them ideal for aerospace applications as well as other technologies requiring low weight with high strength.

Carbon Rocketry Products

I made a few queries from carbon companies manufacturing and selling to the high power rocketry industry. Specifically, I wanted to know if they were aware of which types of fibers were used in their products and advice they were currently giving customers for cutting and sanding these products. What I was told was pretty much what I expected to hear. I'd prefer not to give out names or companies here, but I was told that all body tubes and airframe components are made from long strand carbon fibers (the health risk variety). Both the woven and unidirectional products use long strand fibers. I also asked if any products were made with short strand fibers. I'm told that short strand carbon fibers are only used for thermo plastic products like those created with a mold. This means almost all our carbon fiber rocketry products fall into the category of health risk products. When asked about special care for cutting and sanding carbon fiber products, the gentleman on the phone said, "I just tell them to wear a dust mask and use a Dremel or similar product and cut it." I should note I didn't bring up the health risk aspect with the person I spoke to on the phone.

Cancer Health Risks

In May of 2008, the first study on this subject was released by Nature Nanotechnology. The article titled, "Carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity of mice show asbestos-like pathogenicity in a pilot study," was written by a team of researchers: Craig A. Poland, Rodger Duffin, Ian Kinloch, Andrew Maynard, William A. H. Wallace, Anthony Seaton, Vicki Stone, Simon Brown, William MacNee & Ken Donaldson. The conclusion of their study was "Carbon nanotubes have distinctive characteristics, but their needle-like fibre shape has been compared to asbestos, raising concerns that widespread use of carbon nanotubes may lead to mesothelioma, cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos." The same study showed this seems limited only to long strand fibers and does not include short or curly strand carbon fibers. Shortly after the study was released, an article appeared in the New York Times bringing the subject to the attention of the non-scientific public. Since that time, a number of articles have appeared in various publications, news services, and websites. The most recent was National Public Radio's Science Friday, which dedicated an entire episode to the subject.

Conclusion

I firmly believe extreme caution should be used around long strand carbon fiber products. I believe rocketeers should treat this stuff exactly like asbestos until further studies are done, which might tell us otherwise. I suspect that it won't be too terribly long until the government regulates long strand carbon fiber in exactly the same way it does asbestos. If you are around long strand carbon fiber, my recommendation would be to avoid cutting or sanding the stuff—leave that to the manufacturer or someone equipped with protective equipment to work with it.

References

The first released study of effects of carbon nanotubes on lab animals was published in May 2008.

http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nnano.2008.111.html

This study was brought to the attention on a national scale for the first time by the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/science/21nano.html?_r=2&ref=science&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

It was also discussed in length on the popular podcast and show called Science Friday on National Public Radio (NPR)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90769120

There are dozens of other studies on the internet, television and in print, but these sources above seem to be the primary ones others are citing.

Extreme Rocketry July Issue #73 Available

The latest issue of Extreme Rocketry magazine has been shipped to retail locations and subscribers. The July issue features an interview with Mike Stoop, founder of Mad Cow Rocketry as well as the Mile High Mayhem launch report. This issue also contains the last installment of a three part series of articles on Aerospace Software Development. Regular column articles include Altimeter Ground Testing, Increasing Propellant ISP in experimental motors, launch calendar, two page centerfold calendar and an opinion article. Issue #73 is available now in retail location and from the web store at www.extremerocketry.com.

ROCKETS Magazine Now Mailing In Envelopes

Rockets Magazine has taken another step to assure our subscribers receive the best quality product delivered to their door. The June issue is being shipped in Poly Bags. Subscribers will find a 2”x 4” spot for the address on the cover. The integrity of the front cover is important to presentation of the magazine and we found another way to deliver the magazines intact to all of subscribers. Starting with the August issue, we will be mailing all magazines in envelopes, as a free charge to our customers.

For each subscriber who previously ordered and paid for a paper envelope, Rockets magazine will be providing one or more added issues to your subscription. Each subscription order with a paper envelope that has three outstanding issues will receive one extra issue; each subscription order with a paper envelope that has nine outstanding issues will receive two extra issues; and each subscription order with a paper envelope that has fifteen outstanding issues will receive three extra issues.

If there are any questions concerning your order, please feel free to contact us at editor@libertylaunchsystems.com. Thank you for your continued support of rocketry and of Rockets Magazine.

Pyramid Rocketry Clearance Sale

Pyramid Rocketry is closing down after 5 years of operation. Owner, Alex Bruccoleri, is now a busy graduate student at MIT and unfortunately does not have the time for the business anymore. The company still has three different sized flying Pyramid kits for sale and will negotiate prices with individuals and distributors. Please contact Alex at alex@pyramidrocketry.com or review the website, www.pyramidrocketry.com

ROCKETS Magazine Has performance Rocketry IN STOCK

ROCKETS Magazine has heard you loud and clear. We have just received a large order of Performance Rocketry carbon fiber and fiberglass kits. These kits are in stock and ready for immediate shipment. In carbon fiber there is the Mongoose 38, Mongoose 54 and Mongoose 98. We have a full selection of the durable, easy to built G-10, fiberglass kits. Included in the 4” diameter range are the Arrow 4 and the Broken Arrow. In the Competitor Class there is the Competitor 3, Competitor 4, Competitor 5, and Competitor 6.

We have Gizmo’s and G-3’s. We also have one of the most popular and best looking of the Performance Rocketry line, the Intimidator Class. In stock and ready to ship are Intimidator3, 4 and 5’s. In the scale class there is the 1/4scale Nike Smoke, 3” IQSY Tomahawk and the ¼ scale Patriot. In the sport class there are the popular Little Dog and Mad Dog Kits.

These kits move fast and we all know how hard it is to get your hands on these rocket kits. Check out the inventory at www.rocketsmagazine.com for a full range of rocket kits, videos and tens of thousands of photographs form our travels form all over the country.

Rouse-Tech Precision Fin Can

Rouse-Tech is excited to announce the release of a new product to the high power rocketry community. It's a precision manufactured fin can assembly for installation on four inch airframe tubing. It comes in both a three and four fin configuration. Says Tom Rouse, "This was a fun project take from conception to finished product. I wanted the ability to build a minimum diameter rocket and use light weight material."

This is really an evolution of the ARLISS rocket that has worked so well over the last ten years with no problems. Removable, light weight, thin and strong aluminum fins was key. Its great to have the option of breaking down the rocket for transport and storage to protect it from damage. "Another nice feature, is when a hard landing takes place and damage results, its merely a matter of replacing a fin instead of trashing the entire airframe/fin assembly."

The fin cans can be purchased in a three or four fin configuration depending on the designers needs. Its the only fin can assembly that has that option.

The fins have a generous 16 inch root chord length and span of 4.75" which gives the rocket designer the ability to design longer rockets for dual deployment and rockets for higher speeds.

All parts are machined from high quality aluminum and are shipped finished in black anodized. Each order includes everything you need for installation including stainless steel button head screws for attachment. Epoxy is not included.

Information is now posted on the Rouse Tech website.

While you're there, don't forget to visit the "Motor Matrix" page which lists the Rouse-Tech motor hardware and shows a detailed list of each Aerotech re-load that is used in each size.

John Coker of Thrust Curve.org has graciously produced the software necessary for clicking on each re-load and having it take you directly to the ThrustCurve.org site for that particular motor! Try it. Thanks to John for that wonderful tool.

New Rocket Battle Competition

Culpeper, Va. - Students and individuals around the country are testing altimeters and hashing out designs in anticipation of competing in the first Rocket Battle Competition in November 2008.

Open to anyone at any age, and brought to you by The Federation of Galaxy Explorers, Tripoli Central Virginia #25, and Tripoli Rocketry Association, participants will design, hand-build and fly high performance mid-power and high-power rockets to meet specified flight criteria. The semi-annual contest, held in the spring and fall, is aimed at increasing interest in math and science and promoting aerospace careers among young people, and will involve teams of students from all over the country (and for the inaugural November 2008 contest, any individual who wishes to compete), and will be held in Culpeper, Virginia at the venerable Battlepark rocket range.
This fall's challenge is to build and fly a model rocket that reaches maximum altitude on "G" through "I" class Tripoli or NAR certified motors. Winners will earn bragging rights and cash prizes.

Teams and individuals can register for the contest through August 2008. For entry forms and more information, please visit the web site at www.rocketbattle.org.

Avionics Bay for Slim-Shot Available Separately

Giant Leap Rocketry, Inc. now offers the Avionics Bay for the Slim-shot separately, without the electronics. The Avionics bay mounts to the forward closure of a 54mm or 38mm Aerotech-style motor. It can also mount to centering rings, bulkheads or other surfaces. It can be easily moved from one location to another.

Now you can use electronics without a dedicated avionics compartment in the rocket.

All mounting hardware is included. The Avionics Bay is machined from 6061 T6 aircraft grade aluminum and is anodized in black. The unit is available for $43.95.

To learn more about the Slim-Shot Avionics Bay, log on to:

www.giantleaprocketry.com/products_whatsnew.asp

ROCKETS Magazine Offers Photo Public Option for Rocketeers

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4  /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Are you taking photographs at your local or regional launches? Would you like to help support the hobby that you spend hours on the range documenting? Would you like a place to display your photographic efforts?

ROCKETS Magazine has a deal for you. While we can’t be at every launch to document it as part of the thousands of photos on the ROCKETS Magazine website or the select few in the magazine, you can bring your launch to us in the form of your high quality, high resolution digital photographs. What ROCKETS Magazine will do in return is; 1) Give the photographer credit for his or her photographs and allow the world free access to your work. 2) Set the photos up so that your club members and other interested parties can purchase your photos. Purchase prices and sales conditions will be per the standard ROCKETS Magazine photo policy. Minus a small service fee per photo and Paypal cost, you will be paid for every photo that you sell. 3) You will be given the following choices for the payment. A) Have the payments sent to the rocketry club that you support. B) Have the payments sent to the rocketry organization that you support. C) Have the payments sent directly to you. D) Any combination of the above.

This is an opportunity for all of the budding and seasoned rocket photographers to have a central venue where their work can be viewed in central location. There will be no more searching through out dated and archaic websites. By having your photographs stored on the ROCKETS Magazine website you will assured of a standardized format and the confidence that your photos will be presented in the ROCKETS Magazine photo galley that is seeing thousands of hits per day and growing.

ROCKETS Magazine has only one request from you. The photos submitted should be of rockets and rocketry related activity. Keep it clean and rocket appropriate. ROCKETS Magazine will edit out any photos of questionable nature and not post them.

All submitted photos will be for sale as the digital image only, per the standard ROCKETS Magazine photo policy. All photos may be used in ROCKETS Magazine and other ROCKETS Magazine related media at the sole discretion of the editors of ROCKETS Magazine. ROCKETS Magazine can not control or limit the sale of or the subsequent use of your purchased photographs after they have been sold and down loaded.

Now is the time, contact us at editor@libertylaunchsystems.com for further details. Here is a golden chance to support your self, your club and or the national organizations that work so hard to hold us all together. You will also bring attention to the fliers and launches that keep us inspired and prepping that next project.

Public Enemy Rockets is going up for sale

Public Enemy Rockets is going up for sale. Owner has no time to spend with this biz and has decided to sell all. Complete business with 3" and 4" nose cone blow molds, 3 and 4" air frames and coupler tubing, 29, 38, and 54 motor tubes, 3 and 4" nose cones, 12" - 36" chutes, plans for over 25 kits, complete web site and much more. Call or email Roy Weid for details

Contact information is available on the Public Enemy Website at http://www.publicenemyrockets.com/