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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

KBKS 4 - Space Suit Gasket Blues

As the sun rises
It marks four months into this project
I've worked at it every day
From dawn to dusk plus a few hours
Dog has been a stalwart friend
Putting up with my lousy musical taste
Stoically watching me with Dread Zeppelin swirling around him
Not even flattening his ears
I think he deserves a doggy medal
I'll have to think of someplace for him to go
I don't think it would be fair to take him with me
It's a one way trip and he is only a few years old
He's got years and years left in him

I'm cutting new gaskets for the suit today
On a whim I decided that it would be a good thing to check
And it's fortunate that I did
As I took apart the sections of suit
The gaskets crumbled away
Some to literally dust
Apparently Russian rubber isn't that robust
So I figured out some durable rubber to use
and ordered several large pieces
And here I sit with all manner of scissors and x-acto knives
Cutting fitting and testing
Pretty boring stuff
Even Dog has gone to take a nap in the sunny spot outside the tent

I think I need a vacation
Not a real one mind you
Just a few days to blow off some steam
I think I'm going a little crazy
Sure, crazy-'er' if you insist
This wouldn't be a bad time to do it
I've got several things in motion on the jet
None of which will be ready for about a week to install
My custom titanium stressed powerplant bulkhead is being machined
All the fasteners are here though and I've laid out the pattern on the structure
It's going to look sweet when I put it in
I'm taking lots of pictures so I can share what I've done
Not till I'm about to leave of course!
Too many busy bodies would want to stop me
Probably take me down by force
Assholes

I sourced a third rocket motor similar to the first two
A little smaller in output though
I'm installing it in the rear along the centerline
Might come in handy for a little extra boost
Extra fuel tanks are being fabbed in town
One for each chemical compound
I'm maxing out the takeoff weight
And I hope there's enough to go around

I'm leaving the tip tanks on and using them for extra propellant
I'll just use the wing tanks for Jet A
I won't need as much of that
Just enough to get me up to altitude and speed
Everything is going swimmingly with months to spare
The day looks to be beautiful
What more could a man need

Right
A vacation
I think I'll go to Vegas

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