LarryBAR99

OpenRocket simulation of my boosted Space Shuttle in flight Back when I was a BAR99 (born-again rocketeer in 1999) I built and launched an Estes #1284 Space Shuttle  in October 1999.  It was a complicated kit, with 54 steps.  The final rocket flew on a C6-3 to about 200 feet then the shuttle separated and sort of glided back to the ground, with the main rocket recovered with its own 18" parachute.  I flew it successfully a couple times and is still on my shelf.  Estes sold this kit from 1976 to 1998, and it's occasionally available now for exorbitant fees on eBay and elsewhere. I've been intrigued by something Apogee Components released a couple of years back that allows us to attach booster rockets to a main rocket that will fall away after from the main rocket after their booster engines are exhausted.  The original Estes Space Shuttle used the "boosters", which were glued on, to hold stabilizing fins that could be removed for display but provided nothing to