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Hop Rocket Record

Bringing the amateur rocket altitude record back to the UK - with the help of craft beer

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Hop Rocket Record

Hop Rocket Record

Hop Rocket Record

Hop Rocket Record

Hop Rocket Record

Bringing the amateur rocket altitude record back to the UK - with the help of craft beer

Bringing the amateur rocket altitude record back to the UK - with the help of craft beer

Bringing the amateur rocket altitude record back to the UK - with the help of craft beer

Bringing the amateur rocket altitude record back to the UK - with the help of craft beer

Ben Jarvis
Ben Jarvis
Ben Jarvis
Ben Jarvis
3 Campaigns |
Norwich, United Kingdom
$355 USD $355 USD 10 backers
2% of $17,033 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 3 Projects Mountain Filled 3 Projects

Beer + Rocket = AWESOME.

I am Ben Jarvis, a dad, a husband, a regular guy from the east of England... with a somewhat extreme passion....

Since I was about 15 years old I have been obsessed with rockets. I have built over 300 of the things and made over 2000 launches in the last 25 years including being asked to launch rocket-powered toilets for TV shows and 40ft tall replica missiles for live PR events.

In the year 2000 my friends and I set a new European amateur rocket altitude record of over 34,000ft with a rocket we designed and built ourselves. Last year, that record was broken by a team from the Netherlands who sent a rocket to 70,000ft, over 21km in altitude.

I want to undertake a new record-breaking rocket project and get as many new people interested and involved in rocketry and space science as possible in the process.

I want our record back for the UK... my local brewery are going to help, and YOU can too.


Here's our current funding progress (updated daily) showing the key goals along the way!:


The Plan.

All of the greatest British inventions and schemes throughout history have been hatched in a pub or at least over a good beer. Rockets are no exception...

Ever since I was about 18 I had this idea of combining beer and rockets and making an attempt to launch a can of beer into space...or at least pretty close to it. You may ask why, I would reply... "Why not?", as the great land speed record hero Richard Noble once said... "For Britain and the hell of it". As I am older, wiser and fatter than I was in 2000 and about to hit the big 'four-o' this summer I figured it was now time to make it actually happen.

In all seriousness, it's about the ultimate democratisation of space flight... what brings people together like an idea shared over a few cold beers? The superficially silly idea of using something as esoteric as a space rocket to fly some beer out of the atmosphere is actually the best way to show that space is for all of us, if we can plan and execute a near-space rocket launch from our local pub, anyone can be part of the private space-race.

Our plan is to raise enough funding to build and then launch a new record-breaking rocket later this year, one capable of flying over 30km high, leaving almost all of the Earth's atmosphere behind and doing so with a small payload of beer on board.

This crowd-funding campaign is being run simultaneously with the brewing of a limited edition beer called 'Hop Rocket IPA' by the awesome team at Redwell Brewery in Norwich... the first beer brewed using hops which have been launched on a rocket!


You will be able to follow our progress on the rocket and during the launch itself on our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/hoprocketrecord/

Or on our website/blog here: http://www.hoprocketrecord.com


The Perks.

Whether you're a space-geek or a beer-geek, backing this project gets you some cool things... Just by donating a few pounds to the project you get your name immortalised on the project website as a supporter, for a little more you can get your name on the rocket itself, attend a rocket launch and build your own rocket with your family, get tickets to exclusive events... and access to the limited edition 'Hop Rocket IPA' beer being brewed especially for this project. Most of all... you get the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped achieve something pretty awesome and brought a record back to the UK.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We cannot offer alcohol as a perk for the project, as such what you will get instead is a ticket to attend an exclusive event for the project at which the Hop Rocket IPA beer will be available OR redeemable against an online purchase from Eebria.

It should also be noted that perks such as items flown on board the altitude record etc are dependent on A: the rocket being launched and B: the rocket being safely recovered. That is NOT guaranteed though of course we will do our VERY best to give everyone who backs the project something awesome to show our gratitude for their assistance whether the project is 100% successful or not.


The Rocket.

In September of 2000 myself and a small group of friends had a crazy adventure. We designed and built a rocket in just 10 weeks to try and set a new altitude record at over 50,000ft (the highest we had flown before this was just 15,000ft). We flew the rocket out in a wooden crate to San Francisco and then drove in a rented RV across the western US to the desolate Black Rock desert. We camped in that RV for four days and, with the help of some awesome characters and a few late nights powered by energy drinks shared from urine-sample bottles (rocket scientists use whatever is to hand to solve a problem) we launched our rocket and achieved a new record.

We set the altitude record at over 34,000ft (10km) with a rocket that defies the normal rules and takes a more 'extreme' approach to going high. The rocket, called 'Phobos EAV' was a boosted dart design. Conceived by NASA as a way to launch very small payloads cheaply to the very edge of the atmosphere a 'boosted dart' does exactly what it's name suggests...

It's all about drag and momentum. By using a very high-thrust rocket engine a boosted dart accelerates rapidly to an extreme velocity and then releases a thin, heavy 'dart' that sits atop the rocket motor, imparting most of it's kinetic energy into something with VERY low drag. This tiny dart then 'coasts' up through the atmosphere as it gently decelerates, eventually turning around and falling back to Earth (hopefully intact).

This design has the advantage of being able to send the dart section to a much higher altitude than a conventional rocket with the same amount of power could reach, but with the dissadvantage of A: being very small so not being able to carry much on it's journey, and B: everything on board the rocket needing to withstand massive acceleration at launch,

The Phobos EAV rocket was an imperfect design. The 'dart' stayed stuck on top of the rocket for several seconds after it should have broken free due to an error in the design of the attachment joint. We have learnt what we did wrong and are ready to try again... only this time, we are going for broke.

The new rocket has 35% more fuel than Phobos EAV and delivers over 3 times as much thrust. This new rocket will accelerate the dart to over 2000mph (nearly 3 times the speed of sound) in just over 1 second before releasing it. 

The smaller, more streamlined dart should then 'coast' for around a minute, reaching a peak altitude of over 100,000ft (30km) before beginning it's descent back to Earth, hopefully slowed down by a Kevlar 'para-streamer' which will be ejected from the dart using a small explosive charge.

We hope to carry not only electronic altimeters and GPS systems on the dart to record how high it has gone but also at least one miniature camera, built to withstand this extreme flight and hopefully bring us back video from the edge of space.


The Beer.

This whole project is being conducted with the help of Redwell Brewery who's rocket-themed branding on their craft beers caught my eye in a local shop and who offered to help promote the campaign. To kick off the project and provide a tangible reward to be enjoyed by those who help with the project, Redwell asked me to help them create a unique one-off beer. 

On Saturday 30th April this year a big red rocket lifted off from the East Anglian countryside carrying 5kg of hops in it's payload bay. This rocket wasn't ever intended to set any altitude records but was just designed to carry it's precious organic cargo to around half a mile in altitude on a fiery joy-ride.

The hops were recovered safely after the rocket parachuted back to the ground and were taken back to the brewery to begin the brewing process. As you read this, the awesome new 'Hop Rocket IPA' beer is being brewed and it should, we hope, be ready to try at the end of this campaign!

We hope to be able to give some of this small batch of unique beer to the backers of this campaign (at exclusive supporter events) and to toast the successful record attempt with it later this year. We will also be carrying a small sample of the beer with us on board the altitude record rocket... fulfilling that life-long 'beer-in-space' dream.


Why Help?

Launching rockets isn't cheap. It's cheaper than you might think, but it still costs money. We have turned to crowd-funding to raise the money for this project because we believe this is a genuinely cool project that not only brings a high-tech community science project to Norfolk and the glory of a record back to the UK but also inspires people to get involved in space science in a way that perhaps they never realised they could. Did you know, wherever you are in the UK there is probably an amateur rocketry club within a couple of hours of you that could help you build and launch your own rocket? Probably not, but it's true!

The funding we are asking for in this campaign will be spent on building the rocket itself (a task of small-scale but precision engineering), the electronic systems to go on board the dart (which will all need to be custom made and/or modified to withstand the flight), the fuel to power the rocket and, critically, the costs of getting the rocket and the small crew needed to launch it out to the only place remote enough to be able to safely launch something this extreme... the Black Rock desert in Nevada, site of Britain's past world land speed record glory and proven experimental rocket launching location.


Other ways to help

In addition to just donating to this campaign, it would be GREAT if you can share this campaign far and wide, encourage your friends and family to support us too. 
If you run (or know someone who runs) a relevant business in Norfolk or Suffolk and think you can help by donating goods or services to the project then that would be great as it allows us to allocate more of the funds raised to the other aspects of the project. Specific things we need help with include:

  • Miniature digital cameras/action cameras
  • Precision metalworking - Turning of steel parts
  • Precision metalworking - Fabrication/welding of sheet steel parts
  • Precision metalworking -  Turning of aluminium parts
  • Electronics engineering, specifically GPS and radio tracking systems
  • Electronics engineering - hardening/encapsulation of electronics for high-stress environments.
  • Logistics/travel for valuable/delicate goods and people to/from the western USA.

Risks and Challenges.

The first hurdle to overcome will be raising the funds needed to make the launch this year. With your help we can do that and make this happen. If we aren't able to raise the full funding during this campaign we hope to at least cover the construction costs of the rocket from this campaign, hopefully test-launch it and will look for other ways to raise additional funds to achieve the altitude record attempt. Every pound we raise will get us one small step closer to achieving the record-breaking goal.

Should we manage to achieve MORE funding than originally planned we aim to plough that money straight into improving the rocket. There are lots of things, given the extra budget, we can do to give the rocket a better chance of success and/or make it capable of going even higher.

Rocketry is, by it's very nature, a risky business. This rocket will be at the bleeding edge of what any amateurs have ever tried to achieve before and will involve some pretty extreme engineering and a good dose of good luck to get it to stay together, achieve it's goal, and return safely. There are always things that can go wrong with an experimental rocket but we are confident we have the best shot at achieving this.

If for any reason the record attempt is unsuccessful we would be aiming to learn from it and make another attempt as soon as possible.




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Choose your Perk

featured

Rocket family day out

Currency Conversion $126 USD
£100 GBP
Your name on the website PLUS bring the whole family to a rocket launching event. Get your own family rocket to build in our rocket workshop and then get to launch it and take it home! Watch other rockets launch and have food and drink provided on site. (Subject to weather, multiple dates and locations will be offered).
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Digital Ground Control

Currency Conversion $3 USD
£2 GBP
You will get your name listed as a supporter on our project web page!
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 claimed

Spaceman/woman

Currency Conversion $13 USD
£10 GBP
Your name on our website PLUS you get your name applied to the record breaking rocket itself and a digital photo to prove it!
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
2 out of 300 of claimed

Hop-Rocket T-shirt

Currency Conversion $24 USD
£19 GBP
Your name on the website PLUS receive a Hop-Rocket branded exclusive t-shirt!
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
3 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Sending you to OUTER SPACE!

Currency Conversion $32 USD
£25 GBP
Your name on the website PLUS a coupon for Eebria, the online craft beer supplier redeemable (subject to normal age/legal checks) redeemable against a 6-pack of the exclusive Hop Rocket IPA! (NOTE: Additional postage costs may apply for supporters outside the UK).
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Rocket-Geek Supporter

Currency Conversion $48 USD
£38 GBP
Thank you! You will get: Your name on the Supporter Website. Posted signed certificate of thanks. Posted photograph of the rocket. + Invite to exclusive supporters event in London or Norwich where Hop Rocket IPA will be served. + A numbered sticker that flew on the record rocket. + You name on the side of the record rocket & a photo to prove it
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
3 out of 200 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Tickets to our SPACE Party!

Currency Conversion $50 USD
£40 GBP
Your name on the website PLUS 2 tickets to attend our exclusive Hop Rocket IPA launch party (choose venue from London or Norwich) includes a Hop Rocket IPA and a burger for every guest. Space-themed fancy dress a MUST!
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
1 claimed

Rocket Making Workshop

Currency Conversion $631 USD
£500 GBP
Your name on the website PLUS spend a full day in his workshop with Rocketeer Ben Jarvis as he uses his 26 years of rocketry experience to teach you how to design and build your own record-setting rockets. Build a fully working 5ft tall rocket kit during your day that you can take home with you! (Up to a maximum of 5 people per day so you'll get all the help you need!)
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 20 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Private super-rocket launch

Currency Conversion $1,262 USD
£1,000 GBP
Bring your friends and family and get your own private 'day at the range'. Ben will custom build a 6ft tall rocket for you (which you can keep), put your name (or company name) down the side and arrange a private launch day at a suitable UK rocket launching range where you can be part of the preparation and launch of your rocket. Your rocket can carry a payload of your choice (an engagement ring? a cuddly toy? a product sample?) thousands of feet into the sky.
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 10 of claimed

Rocket-Team

Currency Conversion $1,514 USD
£1,200 GBP
Have your name on the record-rocket, receiving positive PR from a British record attempt. Get a customised team-building or corporate day for up to 10 people. Ben Jarvis will visit your company and give a talk about record breaking and rocket design. Afterwards get to build a rocket. Cans of Redwell's craft beers will be supplied for all participants. After the building day, Ben will brand your company rocket then your team can attend a launch day and see it fly!
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 10 of claimed

Record Breaker - for 1

Currency Conversion $6,939 USD
£5,500 GBP
Visit Ben's rocket workshop for a private day watching and learning as the record-breaking rocket is built. Join us in Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA for the ultimate VIP rocket experience. Be part of the record breaking team, witness the record launch live and make a memory that you will never, ever forget. Flights, accommodation and all travel included.
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 2 of claimed

Record Breaker for 2

Currency Conversion $9,463 USD
£7,500 GBP
You plus 1 other can visit Ben's rocket workshop for a private day watching and learning as the record-breaking rocket is built. Join us in Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA for the ultimate VIP rocket experience. Be part of the record breaking team, witness the record launch live and make a memory that you will never, ever forget. Flights, accommodation and all travel included.
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 1 of claimed

Record Breaker for 4

Currency Conversion $15,140 USD
£12,000 GBP
You plus 3 friends or family can visit Ben's rocket workshop for a private day watching and learning as the record-breaking rocket is built. Join us in Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA for the ultimate VIP rocket experience. Be part of the record breaking team, witness the record launch live and make a memory that you will never, ever forget. Flights, accommodation and all travel included.
Estimated Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 1 of claimed

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