The SF Bay Area's Non-profit Liquid-Fuel Rocket Engine Team
Recent Developments
| 19 April— | A new IMU is in our hands. The newly acquired Falcon IMU is being integrated with Gizmocopter's other (more...) |
| 22 March— | Gizmo's got a brand new brain. The Flight Controls team recently acquired a PC-104 development kit. This will expedite proofing of the flight software for Gizmocopter (more...) |
ABOUT E.R.P.S.
Where We're Coming From
The E.R.P.S. exists to foster and disseminate knowledge of rocket science, and thereby speed the day when access to space is truly routine. It was founded in February of 1993 to gather interested amateurs in a group that would learn about, design, build, and test liquid fuel rocket engines.
Over the next eleven years, the group acquired access to rocket-engine assembly and test facilities and, more important, active members with the skills to make good use of those facilities. We've achieved a number of successes — notably, the first repeated amateur launch of the same vehicle within one 24-hour period.
Where we're headed
One original goal of the group was to develop vehicles capable of reaching Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a single stage. That goal has not changed, even though it's taking longer to get there than we expected. The keys to this achievement are lots of building and testing — and advancing by increments, rather than giant leaps.
To sum up, we are designing and building a series of increasingly capable vehicles, the last of which will reach low Earth orbit. We face many challenges. We think that's one of the things that makes what we're doing worthwhile and fun. If you're interested in helping out (or just interested), read through the Web site to find out what we've doing in more detail. Then show up at a general meeting and volunteer for a job where you think you can make a contribution.
Contact Information
Because of the voluntary nature of the group, there is no ERPS office, no full-time (or even part-time) staff to answer questions in real time. (We do maintain a post office box: PO Box 61642, Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1642.)
The Internet lets us maintain contact among members, keep track of progress, notify people in the local area of meetings, and receive valuable help from more distant contributors. The main avenue for this communication is the ERPS e-mail list. Instructions for subscribing to the list and archives of past posts are available on the list info page.
Regular meetings are held the first and third Thursdays of the month in Santa Clara, California. If you're local (or visiting) and would like to attend a meeting, watch for the "Next Meeting ..." notices in the e-mail list or on the Web site.
Copyright © 2004 E.R.P.S.
Last Updated: 21:04:34 on 01 Apr 04
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