Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Empress of Ireland (was: Forbes story)

["Steven Mills" <barycenter@earthlink.net>]

>From: Warren Greenway <opensourcesub@yahoo.com>

> Besides, model rockets have been illegal
> for a long time (that's what limits the size of those
> silly Estes boosters), it's just that most people
> don't  realize it..................snip
> Warren.



by Jim Banke
http://www.space.com/

HOUSTON, Feb. 25 -- A provision deep within the regulations of the new
Homeland Security Act is threatening to shut down the popular hobby of model
rocketry because the propellant used to make the rocket's solid-fueled
motors is now classified as explosive material.

THE CHANGE IN STATUS, approved in November 2002 as an update to the Safe
Explosives Act of 1970, imposes new restrictions on shipping and handling
the rocket motors, which have been safely flown by thousands of students for
many years. Under the new rules, which fully take effect May 24, shipping
companies are required to have every employee who might touch the rocket
motors be certified, pass background checks and get fingerprinted -- an
added expense the companies are unlikely to bear. United Parcel Service
already has stopped shipping the more powerful versions of model rocket
engines, according to Tim Van Milligan, president of Apogee Rockets in
Colorado Springs, Colo. There also are reports that some trucking and
railroad firms have stopped shipping the motors, and Fed Ex employees have
indicated to some model rocket flyers they likely will follow suit in the
coming weeks. "It is the heart of the problem we face. Because if
manufacturers like Estes can't get rocket motors delivered to stores, the
hobby is completely dead," Van Milligan said. U.S. Senator Michael Enzi,
R-Wyo., intends to introduce legislation as early as this week to make
what's being called a "technical correction" to the Safe Explosives Act so
that the material used inside the small motors is removed from the
"explosives list."

"Congress defined an explosive as any chemical mixture or device whose
primary or common purpose is to function by explosion," Enzi wrote to
Bradley Buckles, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
(ATF). "I am told that the ATF claims that the primary or common purpose of
a rocket propellant is to explode. A rocket propellant is not designed or
intended to explode," Enzi said. The model rocket
scientists-turned-lobbyists are quick to point out that if model rocket
engines are designed to explode under the definition used by the ATF, no
rocket would get off the ground. It would just blow up on the pad. SPACE.com
contacted the ATF and left messages but no one returned the calls. When
informing one unnamed assistant of the topic, she said "we've been getting a
lot of calls on the subject of model rockets."

SUPPORTERS CITE IMPACT ON SCIENCE Model rocket hobbyists of all ages are
preparing to fire off faxes, e-mails, letters and phone calls to Capitol
Hill to support Enzi's efforts. And they lined up quickly to tell SPACE.com
what they thought of the current law. 'It makes no more sense to restrict
aerospace modeling than it would have to ban rental trucks after they were
misused in Oklahoma and New York.' -- JAY APT astronaut Jay Apt saw his
first model rocket catalog at age 13 in 1962. If the name's familiar it's
because he went on to fly four shuttle missions that included two spacewalks
and a mission to the International Space Station. "If we are to keep
challenging our technology-inclined young people, we need to keep the
benefits of model rocketry in mind when we pursue a tendency, natural in
troubled times, to restrict anything which might be abused," Apt said. "It
makes no more sense to restrict aerospace modeling than it would have to ban
rental trucks after they were misused in Oklahoma and New York." There are
ways to continue flying model rockets under the current law, but they
involve applying for permits, paying a fee, undergoing a background check
and getting finger printed. "Model rocketeers are not criminals and this law
treats them like one. How would you like your kids to be finger printed just
to fly rockets?" said Van Milligan, who went through what he described as a
"difficult" process. For the space modeling enthusiasts, the actions of the
government make no sense, especially at a time when the nation is recovering
from the Feb. 1 shuttle Columbia tragedy and kids of all ages are asking
questions about the value of such programs. Advertisement

"Because of increasing legal restrictions, a lack of understanding about
model rocketry's excellent safety record, and a general bias against hobby
rocketry, it is becoming extremely difficult to get the permits and launch
sites needed to expose these young people to the educationally stimulating
and inspirational effects of rocketry," said Craig Cline, senior adviser of
the Alhambra Rocketry Club in Los Angeles. "Our country's leadership needs
to encourage and protect, not stifle, the ability of the public and our
youth to engage in the activities and pursuit of knowledge that have allowed
us to become the world leader in scientific advancement."

© 2003 Space.com. All rights reserved.


Congressional representatives and express their concern at the effect this
legislation will have on amateur science. To find the contact information
for your Congressional representatives, visit http://www.house.gov/ and
http://www.senate.gov/