Model
Rocket Manufacturers and Companies
The first model rocket company was Model
Missiles Incorporated (MMI), in Denver, Colorado, opened by Stine and others.
Stine had model rocket engines made by a local fireworks company recommended
by Carlisle, but reliability and delivery problems forced Stine to approach
others. Eventually Stine approached Vernon Estes, the son of a local fireworks
maker. Estes founded Estes Industries in 1958 in Denver, Colorado, and developed
a high speed automated machine for manufacturing solid model rocket motors
for MMI. The machine, nicknamed "Mabel", made low cost motors with
great reliability, and did so in quantities much greater than Stine needed.
Stine's business faltered and this enabled Estes to market the motors separately.
Subsequently, he began marketing model rocket kits, and eventually, Estes
dominated the market. Estes moved his company to Penrose, Colorado in 1960,
and it was soon acquired by Damon Industries. It continues to operate in Penrose
today.
Competitors like Centuri and Cox came and went during the 60's, 70's and 80's,
but Estes continued to control the market, offering discounts to schools and
clubs like Boy Scouts of America to help grow the hobby. In recent years,
companies like Sunward Aerospace have taken a small portion of the market,
but Estes continues to be the main source of rockets, motors, and launch equipment
for the low powered rocketry hobby today.
In the high powered arena, which began in the mid-80's
with the availability of G through J class motors, a number of companies have
shared the market. (Each time a motor's classification goes up by one letter,
the total energy in it doubles; thus a G motor is twice an F motor and so
on). By the early 1990s, Aerotech, LOC/Precision, and Public Missiles had
taken up leadership positions, while Aerotech and a host of engine manufacturers
provided ever larger engines, at much higher costs. Companies like Aerotech,
Vulcan, and Kosdon were widely popular at launches during this time as high
powered rockets routinely broke Mach 1 and reached heights over 10,000 ft.
In a span of about 5 years, the largest regularly made production motors available
reached N (where it still stands today), which had the equivalent power of
over 1,000 D engines combined, and could lift rockets weighing 200 pounds
with ease. Custom motor builders continue to operate on the periphery of the
market, often creating propellants which produce colored flame (red, blue,
and green being common), black smoke and sparking combinations, as well as
occasionally building enormous motors up to R class for special projects such
as extreme altitude attempts over 50,000 ft.
Engine reliability became a significant issue in the
80's and early 90's, with "CATO"s, or catastrophic failures, occurring
relatively frequently (est. 1 in 20) in motors of L class or higher. At costs
exceeding $300 per motor, the need to find an alternative was apparent. Reloadable
motor designs (metal sleeves with screwed on end caps and filled with cast
propellant slugs) were introduced by Aerotech and became a popular way to
reduce the price of launches, since the motor housing was cleaned and reused
each time. These engines dominate the market today. At this time (2008) single
use motors above G class are quite rare, and many are collectibles. Aerotech,
Dr. Rocket, Animal Motor Works, Rouse-Tech, Cessaroni, Ellis Mountain, and
Loki Motorworks provide the majority of reloadable systems today.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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