It is great that people are going out doing stuff, having fun and learning. But this project seems like a disaster in the making.
-Making your own fuel.
-Using inappropriate materials (e.g. PVC)
-Poor storage of motors.
-People are standing quite close to the rocket when it launches.
-There seem to be buildings quite close to the launch in one of the videos.
-Night launches. How are you going to get out of the way, if you can't see the rocket?
2 stage rockets are particularly dangerous, because as the second stage can launch horizontally or downward if the first stage tilts (as shown in one of the videos).
I think they are being irresponsible with the safety of themselves and anyone nearby. I would strongly recommend they learn a bit of safe practices and make a single stage rocket that works reliably, before even attempting 2 stage.
I get the sense that the team represented here are going it alone e.g. there aren't amateur rocketry organizations around that they can work with and gain knowledge and working practices from.
Maybe someone on here who is in amateur rocketry can reach out and forge some connections between their group and more established ones? That's the true beauty of the Internet, right?
Yes, for context: this appears to be a group at Vishwakarma Government Engineering College in Ahmedabad, India. A quick search suggest that there might not really be any regulation or much of a community for model rocketry in India in general.
This looks like a bunch of college kids building small little rockets. I'm probably taking a much bigger risk walking on the street, where I live in India.
It's a little risky. But do the stuff far enough away from people and they'll be fine.
Everything in life involves risks. And there are cultural differences in attitude to risk. But some of these risks are quite unnecessary.
Also, I would consider making your own fuel (without sufficient expertise), as more than 'a little risky'. Especially if they move on to bigger rockets.
Twice now Starship has exploded over the Gulf of Mexico and caused massive and dangerous disruptions to commercial passenger air travel. Flights were delayed and some diverted because of fuel limitations.
I get the impression that SpaceX's attitude is that it is cheaper to learn by blowing stuff up, than it is to meticulously plan everything (as NASA is famous for). However, SpaceX don't have to pay for the externalities (such as disrupted air travel). I don't see SpaceX attitude changing now that Musk seems to be running[1] a sizeable chunk of the US government.
> Starship has exploded over the Gulf of Mexico and caused massive and dangerous disruptions to commercial passenger air travel
Disruptive, yes. Dangerous, no. (They’re disruptive because the planes avoid the debris field. Launches are also scheduled such that no plane should be pinned down by debris.)
I’d also note that, apart from two deaths in 2014, SpaceX’s track record with human lives is pristine.
-Making your own fuel.
-Using inappropriate materials (e.g. PVC)
-Poor storage of motors.
-People are standing quite close to the rocket when it launches.
-There seem to be buildings quite close to the launch in one of the videos.
-Night launches. How are you going to get out of the way, if you can't see the rocket?
2 stage rockets are particularly dangerous, because as the second stage can launch horizontally or downward if the first stage tilts (as shown in one of the videos).
I think they are being irresponsible with the safety of themselves and anyone nearby. I would strongly recommend they learn a bit of safe practices and make a single stage rocket that works reliably, before even attempting 2 stage.