Comments
The propellent didn't burn. Upon ignition the nozzle blew off with such force that the AeroPack engine retainer blew off and in the process sheared the aft portion of the motor tube off. The MadCow Torrent riding the engine ejected the upper bay, nose cone and ebay as the whole rocket climbed a few above the launch rail and then fell back to earth tail first. I have the CATO on film from the ground and from an onboard camera. The retainer can be heard ricocheting off of the blast plate and both propellent grains flying through the air aft of the slowly ascending rocket. The reload was tight in the casing despite a light film of grease. I was able to eventually hand tighten the nozzle to within the 1/16 inch gap that is acceptable between the casing and the nozzle outer ring. I purchased this reload from Apogee Components and picked it up personally at the store when in route to NARAM. An hour before the CATO I had successfully flown the same rocket on an I-195 reload housed within a 5 grain casing with two spacers. It had successfully flown successfully twice last month on H-125 reloads in the same 2 grain casing that the
