Robert Truax
Encyclopedia
Captain Robert C. Truax (USN
) (September 3, 1917 – September 17, 2010) was a rocket engineer
in the United States Navy
, and companies such as Aerojet
and Truax Engineering, which he founded. Truax was a proponent of low-cost rocket engine and vehicle designs.
magazine to build his own rockets while residing in Alameda, California
. From 1936-1939, midshipman
Truax tested liquid-fuel rocket motors and published a February 1939 report in Astronautics
. In 1938, he showed a thrust chamber that he had constructed to the British Interplanetary Society
and wrote technical reports published by the American Rocket Society
.
Following two years' sea duty, first on the USS Enterprise (CV-6)
and then a destroyer, then-Lieutenant Commander Truax worked at the Engineering Experiment Station at Annapolis in the Bureau of Aeronautics
Ship Installations Division under Commander C.A. Bolster. Truax headed the Navy Development Project (ensigns R.C. Stiff, J.F. Patton, & W. Schubert and MIT civilian Robertson Youngquist) which discovered that some fuels burst into flame spontaneously when brought into contact with nitric acid, which led to the use of aniline
+ 20% Furfuryl alcohol
for the 1945 Wac Corporal
(the first free-flight rocket to use the fuel). By the spring of 1943, the Truax group had developed a 1500 lbf (6.7 kN) thrust JATO
using hypergolic fuel before the introduction of solid fuel JATO units.
From 1955-1958, Truax was assigned to the USAF under General Bernard A. Schriever, where Truax and Dr. Adolph Thiel headed the initial design studies and IRBM specifications for the PGM-17 Thor
missile. Truax subsequently worked on the Navy's Viking rocket
and UGM-27 Polaris
missile. Truax studied the sea launching of rockets such as the Sea Bee and Sea Horse projects
. After serving as 1957 American Rocket Society
president, Truax retired from the USN in 1959 and headed the Aerojet-General
Advanced Development Division and Aerojet's Sea Dragon
project.
: the Excalibur, the SEALAR, and the Excalibur S.
Truax also designed the Skycycle X-2
, (WWW.x-2skycycle.com) which he unsuccessfully tested on April 15, 1972 and June 24, 1973, and which Evel Knievel unsuccessfully used at the Snake River Canyon in 1974.
rocket planned by Robert Truax after Evel Knievel
provided a $1,000 research grant for a pilot study. Truax was looking for volunteers with enough money to help fund the effort and who were crazy enough to want to fly aboard his rocket. He got thousands of volunteers, many of which were crazy enough but few of which had the financial resources. Among those who offered some financing and who assisted Truax and went through some of his training, were astronauts: Ronald Beller pilot from Kentucky, Martin Yahn, Ray Upton, Peruvian-born Daniel J. Correa and Fell Peters, all of southern California.
The rocket used surplus components and was tested through 1991.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
) (September 3, 1917 – September 17, 2010) was a rocket engineer
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, and companies such as Aerojet
Aerojet
Aerojet is an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, Gainesville and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet is owned by GenCorp. They are the only US propulsion company that provides both solid rocket...
and Truax Engineering, which he founded. Truax was a proponent of low-cost rocket engine and vehicle designs.
Life
As a teenager, Truax was inspired by Robert Goddard articles in Popular MechanicsPopular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
magazine to build his own rockets while residing in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
. From 1936-1939, midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
Truax tested liquid-fuel rocket motors and published a February 1939 report in Astronautics
Astronautics
Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
. In 1938, he showed a thrust chamber that he had constructed to the British Interplanetary Society
British Interplanetary Society
The British Interplanetary Society founded in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest space advocacy organisation in the world whose aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration.-Structure:...
and wrote technical reports published by the American Rocket Society
American Rocket Society
The American Rocket Society began its existence on April 4, 1930, under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning and others. The members originally conducted their own rocket experiments in New York...
.
Following two years' sea duty, first on the USS Enterprise (CV-6)
USS Enterprise (CV-6)
USS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E," was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
and then a destroyer, then-Lieutenant Commander Truax worked at the Engineering Experiment Station at Annapolis in the Bureau of Aeronautics
Bureau of Aeronautics
The Bureau of Aeronautics was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for Naval Aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" for the design, procurement, and support of Naval aircraft and related systems...
Ship Installations Division under Commander C.A. Bolster. Truax headed the Navy Development Project (ensigns R.C. Stiff, J.F. Patton, & W. Schubert and MIT civilian Robertson Youngquist) which discovered that some fuels burst into flame spontaneously when brought into contact with nitric acid, which led to the use of aniline
Aniline
Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Being a precursor to many industrial chemicals, its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane...
+ 20% Furfuryl alcohol
Furfuryl alcohol
Furfuryl alcohol, also called 2-furylmethanol or 2-furancarbinol, is an organic compound containing a furan substituted with a hydroxymethyl group. It is a clear colorless liquid when pure, but becomes amber colored upon prolonged standing. It possesses a faint burning odor and a bitter taste. ...
for the 1945 Wac Corporal
Wac Corporal
The WAC or WAC Corporal was the first sounding rocket developed in the United States. Begun as a spinoff of the Corporal program, the WAC was a "little sister" to the larger Corporal. It was designed and built jointly by the Douglas Aircraft Company and the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory.The...
(the first free-flight rocket to use the fuel). By the spring of 1943, the Truax group had developed a 1500 lbf (6.7 kN) thrust JATO
JATO
JATO is an acronym for jet-fuel assisted take off. It is a system for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets....
using hypergolic fuel before the introduction of solid fuel JATO units.
PGM-17 Thor
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the U.S. Air Force . Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate range ballistic missile with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was in height and in diameter. It was...
missile. Truax subsequently worked on the Navy's Viking rocket
Viking rocket
The Viking rocket series of sounding rockets were designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company under the direction of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory . Twelve Viking rockets flew from 1949 to 1955.- Origins :...
and UGM-27 Polaris
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
missile. Truax studied the sea launching of rockets such as the Sea Bee and Sea Horse projects
Sea Dragon (Rocket)
The Sea Dragon was a 1962 design study for a fully reusable two-stage sea-launched rocket. The project was led by Robert Truax while working at Aerojet, one of a number of designs he created that were to be launched by floating the rocket in the ocean...
. After serving as 1957 American Rocket Society
American Rocket Society
The American Rocket Society began its existence on April 4, 1930, under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning and others. The members originally conducted their own rocket experiments in New York...
president, Truax retired from the USN in 1959 and headed the Aerojet-General
Aerojet
Aerojet is an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, Gainesville and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet is owned by GenCorp. They are the only US propulsion company that provides both solid rocket...
Advanced Development Division and Aerojet's Sea Dragon
Sea Dragon (Rocket)
The Sea Dragon was a 1962 design study for a fully reusable two-stage sea-launched rocket. The project was led by Robert Truax while working at Aerojet, one of a number of designs he created that were to be launched by floating the rocket in the ocean...
project.
Truax Engineering
In 1966 Robert Truax founded Truax Engineering, which studied sea launch concepts similar to the earlier Sea DragonSea Dragon (Rocket)
The Sea Dragon was a 1962 design study for a fully reusable two-stage sea-launched rocket. The project was led by Robert Truax while working at Aerojet, one of a number of designs he created that were to be launched by floating the rocket in the ocean...
: the Excalibur, the SEALAR, and the Excalibur S.
Truax also designed the Skycycle X-2
Skycycle X-2
Skycycle X-2 was a steam-powered rocket. An earlier prototype, the Skycycle X-1 designed by Doug Malewicki, and former USN engineer Robert Truax superficially resembled a motorcycle. The Skycycle X-2 was designed by Bob Truax, and ridden by Evel Knievel in his attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon...
, (WWW.x-2skycycle.com) which he unsuccessfully tested on April 15, 1972 and June 24, 1973, and which Evel Knievel unsuccessfully used at the Snake River Canyon in 1974.
Volksrocket
The X-3 Volksrocket (other names: Arriba One, Skycycle X-3) was a reusable space tourismSpace tourism
Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...
rocket planned by Robert Truax after Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel , born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket...
provided a $1,000 research grant for a pilot study. Truax was looking for volunteers with enough money to help fund the effort and who were crazy enough to want to fly aboard his rocket. He got thousands of volunteers, many of which were crazy enough but few of which had the financial resources. Among those who offered some financing and who assisted Truax and went through some of his training, were astronauts: Ronald Beller pilot from Kentucky, Martin Yahn, Ray Upton, Peruvian-born Daniel J. Correa and Fell Peters, all of southern California.
The rocket used surplus components and was tested through 1991.