Hobby building rockets

[CUDA]

https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesm...gineer-retires

While working at TRW Mueller began to build his own engines as a hobby in his garage. In late 2001, Mueller started to develop a new kind of liquid-fueled rocket engine in a warehouse. His impressive work caught the attention of Elon Musk, who was PayPal co-founder and CEO of Tesla Inc. at that time. In 2002 Mueller joined Musk to build rockets at SpaceX – and the rest is history.

[XstreamVking]

I built rockets when I was a kid. Estes kits with two engines and an explosive tip.

[CUDA]

He worked as a logger almost never happen, crazy...

[Tin Man 2]

The advances is space craft goes to show how private enterprise beats plodding Government projects. Was never a fan of Musc, but can’t deny what he has built.

[CUDA]

The problem is Boeing, my teenage next door neighbor has worked for Boeing for 20 some years now, electrical engineer, he said to get new ides implemented is vey difficult, whereas Musk and Space x is all over new tech and new ways of doing things, Musk is always looking for the next breakthrough.

[fichrman2]

I built rockets when I was a kid. Estes kits with two engines and an explosive tip.

Still playing with em at 54 / little larger scale- but yeah.

[Forkin' Crazy]

Here is my rocket.

[tnelsmn]

I built rockets when I was a kid. Estes kits with two engines and an explosive tip.

I did a lot of that as a kid. Then started strapping the rocket engines to model cars, stuff we built from erector sets, etc. Eventually we would just tape wings onto the engines themselves and dodge them once they lit cause there was no telling where it would go. Not sure what the neighbors thought about 6-8 kids dodging rocket engines on a baseball field hahaha. Had to be a sight.

[keefallan]

I loved rockets as a kid. ANyone remember the rocket catalog they had? Rockets with skill levels 1 thru 5. I wanted to build the Commanche....cause it was 3 stages, but I never did it. I got my boys into it when they were younger......good times!! I'd still build one......

[XstreamVking]

That was when you could send cash money thru the mail. A few of us would chip in for the 5 bucks for the rocket kit and engines and just send cash. We used leftover firecracker fuses to light them off. Lit those with a kitchen match taped to a long stick. People were so honest, if we sent too much, they sent change back to us with the kit.
60's were a great time to be a kid.

[Dave S]

FC....308.......?......I like longer.....

[Dave S]

I would like to see Cuda in some boots w/ out straps.......The rockets aimed to his upper body mass.....so as not to burn his feet......so he could see the earth IS flat.......HeeHee.........Just Kiddin......ya Want to co,mm....to my place an Play?????......HeeHee.....Dying Drunk Ya say ?......it's not personable.........

[keefallan]

That was when you could send cash money thru the mail. A few of us would chip in for the 5 bucks for the rocket kit and engines and just send cash. We used leftover firecracker fuses to light them off. Lit those with a kitchen match taped to a long stick. People were so honest, if we sent too much, they sent change back to us with the kit.
60's were a great time to be a kid.

the eras of innocence..........

[Forkin' Crazy]

FC....308.......?......I like longer.....

50 BMG. Just a picture I snagged. Just bought a 700 Sendero in .270 Win. Planning on doing load development when I get a chance.

[CUDA]

While most parents want their children to go to college his dad wanted him to be a logger like himself, as a kid he built the types of rockets y'all had but he quickly moved on to his own Ideas, F'en COOL

Thomas Mueller is an American rocket engineer and rocket engine designer. He was a founding employee of SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California.^[3]
He is best known for his engineering work on the TR-106 and SpaceX rocket engines. He is considered one of the world's leading spacecraft propulsion experts and holds several United States patents for propulsion technology.^[4][5]

Contents

• 1Early life and education
• 2Career
• 3See also
• 4References

Early life and education[edit]

Mueller was born in St. Maries, Idaho.^[6] His father was a logger and wanted Mueller to be one as well.^[7] Mueller compares his story to that of Homer Hickam, growing up in a hard-working family and going off to be an engineer instead of following in his father's footsteps.^[6] As a kid, he would build and fly Estes model rockets. He continued to experiment with rockets, even building one out of his father's oxy-acetylene welder and discovering adding water would produce more thrust.^[6]
Mueller eventually became a logger, working four summers to pay his way through school. He attended the University of Idaho where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.^[7] He moved to California upon graduating, turning down job offers in Idaho and Oregon.^[6] He attended a job fair upon his arrival in California and began working in satellite design and moved on to developing liquid rocket engines.^[7] Mueller went on to attend Loyola Marymount University where he obtained his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1992 from the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering.^[8]
Career[edit]

The Dragon spacecraft being launched on a Falcon 9 v1.0 rocket powered by Merlin engines engineered by Tom Mueller.

For 15 years, Mueller worked for TRW Inc., a conglomerate corporation involved in aerospace, automotive, credit reporting, and electronics. He managed the propulsion and combustion products department where he was responsible for liquid rocket engine development.^[3] He worked as a lead engineer during the development of the TR-106, a 650,000 lbf (2,900 kN) thrust hydrogen engine designed in 2000,that was one of the most powerful engines ever at the time it was constructed, it had 42% of the thrust of the mighty F1 engine which was designed in the 1950s, and had 1.5 million pounds of thrust.^[9]
During his time at TRW, Mueller felt that his ideas were being lost in a diverse corporation and as a hobby he began to build his own engines. He would attach them to airframes and launch them in the Mojave Desert along with other members of the Reaction Research Society.
In late 2001, Mueller began developing a liquid-fueled rocket engine in his garage and later moved his project to a friend's warehouse in 2002.^[3] His design was the largest amateur liquid-fuel rocket engine, weighing 80 lb (36 kg) and producing 13,000 lbf (58 kN) of thrust.^[3] His work caught the attention of Elon Musk, PayPal co-founder and CEO of Tesla Inc., and in 2002 Mueller joined Musk as a founding employee of SpaceX.^[4]
As Vice President of Propulsion Engineering and subsequently CTO of Propulsion at SpaceX, Mueller led the team that developed the Merlin 1A and Kestrel engines for the Falcon 1, the first liquid fueled orbital rocket launched by a private company; the Merlin 1C, Merlin 1D and MVac engines for the early iterations of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle; as well as the Draco thrusters that provide the attitude control thrusters for the Dragon spacecraft, as well as the SuperDraco storable-propellant engines used to power the capsule launch escape system.^[10] Dragon was the first spacecraft launched by a private company to dock at the International Space Station. In 2014, Mueller transitioned engine development to the SpaceX Propulsion Engineering team and in 2016 he moved into the Propulsion CTO (Part-Time) role. In January 2019 he became Senior Advisor (Part-Time).^[11]
Outside his work at SpaceX, he was a commencement speaker for Loyola Marymount University graduate students in 2013, the year after SpaceX became the first private company to send a cargo payload to the International Space Station.^[8] He was also the feature of an article called "Rocket Man," published by LMU Magazine in 2011.^[12] In 2014, Mueller was nominated for the Wyld Award, presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems.^[13]
Tom Mueller announced his retirement from SpaceX in a Tweet on November 30, 2020.^[2]
See also[edit]