ARA Press is the spaceship enthusiast's one stop data shop publishing original works as well as retailing the difficult-to-find works of others.
Our founder, Jack Hagerty, is featured in Apogee's Peak of Flight Newsletter! You can get the free newsletter here:
https://www.apogeerockets.com/education/downloads/Newsletter620.pdf
We also have the article on our webstore (free of course!): https://www.arapress.com/rod-whip-paper/
We have a new freebie available! This is a short educational paper about something that most rocketeers have seen, but not understood what they were looking at. Feel free to use this paper for educational purposes (with attribution, of course).Enjoy!
Launch Rod Whip (and what to do about it)by Jack Hagerty
"Why did my rocket suddenly turn sideways after leaving the launch rod? There's no wind or anything to push it!"
The answer may be launch rod whip, a little understood phenomenon that affects every model rocket to some extent. This paper explores the dynamics behind rod whip and gives several methods of minimizing and even completely eliminating it. And it's free!
Engineering paper discussing the phenomenon of launch rod whip in model rockets
We have an announcement today from our founder, Jack Hagerty:
"Hello all –
Not to make too light of a sad situation, but it looks like Snoopy has won. The Red Max has been shot down.
As you may know, the book has been an eternity in production for multiple reasons, not the least of which was my starting work at a medical device company just as the pandemic hit. The scheduled 2020 release got pushed back one, then two, and finally three years before I finished that job last September. I jumped right back on the Red Max layout and soon had the next chapter ready for author Jim’s review. While he said it was good, his next communication surprised me.
Jim thought that the time for the book had passed. Many of the techniques, he said, were now outdated since there are now commercial products available that do the same things (the manuscript was written 10 years ago, after all). He thought it was best if we just cancelled the project. I told him that I basically agreed but wanted to leave things open to possibly doing eBooks, or other electronic media forms of some of the still relevant parts of the book. While he didn’t say no, we have no firm plans to do so at the moment.
I’ve refunded the money to the nice, eternally patient folks who put down pre-orders a year or two ago. There are also some sidebars I wrote as stand-alone expansions of different things that I’ll be posting in the “Freebies” section of the store.
Thanks, and merry Christmas, everyone!"
We wish all of our customers a Happy Thanksgiving! We will be closed today, but open regular hours tomorrow!
Company Update: Our founder, Jack Hagerty, has found himself with some more free time and has resumed more projects with ARA Press. While we have nothing specific to announce at this time, we look forward to bringing you new products in the near-future!
Fun post for the day! Halloween is coming up, do you have any rocketry or sci-fi themed decorations? Show off in the comments if so, we'd love to see them!
Fun post for the day: As private space companies emerge and start offering services, what are you particularly looking forward to? Let us know in the comments!
Fun post for the day! Have you modeled any of SpaceX's rockets? If so feel free to show us in the comments!
*Not sponsored by SpaceX.
Fun post for the day! Which of the Apollo Missions is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments!
Continuing on our theme of historical rockets, here's an assortment from the 20th century!
https://www.arapress.com/rockets-of-the-spaceflight-dreamers/
Modelers' Guide to early rockets of the 20th Century
Looking to model a V-2? We've got just the guide!
https://www.arapress.com/the-v-2-modelers-painting-guide/
Don't let the title fool you. This is not just paint scheme diagrams. It is the full RotW treatment of the V-2, its two development prototypes (the A3 and A5) and experimental offshoots (e.g. the A4b) with dimensioned data drawings and historical monographs. But since all V-2’s are, well, V-...
Looking for a combination history and model rocketry book on an influential military project? Try Dyna-Soar, available on our store!
https://www.arapress.com/dyna-soar-book/
Based on Eügen Sanger's German WWII research for an "antipodal bomber," the Dyna-Soar (“Dynamic Soaring”) glider would be launched on a large booster, be over the "area of interest" at any spot in the world in less than an hour, collect its intel and land on a conventional runway anywhere in th...
Want to learn more about Robert Goddard and his rockets? We've got a book on that!
https://www.arapress.com/twenty-rockets-of-robert-h-goddard/
Rockets Robert Goddard
Want a combination history and hobby break-in book? Try the Red Max book, available for pre-order on our store!
https://www.arapress.com/red-max/
People have been conditioned for decades that “Rocket Science” means an undertaking of utmost difficulty and sophistication. This has caused potential rocket hobbiests to turn away, thinking they weren’t “smart enough” to know how to get started. Well, National Association of Rocketry ...
Rockets had their place in WW2 also. You can read all about them with this book on our store!
https://www.arapress.com/eighteen-rockets-and-missiles-of-world-war-ii/
Rockets World War II
The US Airforce had quite a few Rockets during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. You can read about (and model) them with this book on our store!
https://www.arapress.com/selected-usaf-missiles-of-the-cold-war/
Modelers' Guide to Air Force Missiles
Interested in the history of rocketry? We've got a book full of info on the topic!
https://www.arapress.com/the-first-seven-centuries-of-rocketry/
First Seven Centuries of Rocketry
Ever wonder how large (non-model) rockets work? While the format is a little dated, this CD Book can fill you in!
https://www.arapress.com/rocket-science/
Lots of books claim to be "rocket science" but this is the real deal. This massive work is the outgrowth of two of David Ketchledge's earlier works, an article on "Vertical Trajectory Systems" in the Tripoli journal, High Power Rocketry, and David's earlier book, The Next Shuttle.
Looking for our books with model specs? We have them all in one convenient place!
https://www.arapress.com/spaceship-books/
Looking for a book from Saturn Press? We've got quite a few!
https://www.arapress.com/saturn-press/
Looking for something to put on your walls? We've got a colorful poster that might look nice!
https://www.arapress.com/autographed-spaceship-handbook-cover-artwork-limited-edition/
The cover artwork for Spaceship Handbook is an original oil painting called Perigee by noted artist Kristen Harber. Since the subject is classic Spaceships, Kristen used many classic structural elements to create a "Cathedral of Rockets." Each order includes a legend sheet to identify all of the s...
In addition to books and ebooks we also sell magazine back-issues from the Alfa Romeo Association. You can order them from our shop!
https://www.arapress.com/alfa-romeo/
The Overheard Cams (and, please note, that is not a typo, it really is the "Overheard Cams") is the official journal of the Alfa Romeo Association of California. It is one of the oldest continuously published club magazines in the country, which is all the more amazing when you consider it is produc...
Need to download an errata to one of our products? They're all available at the link below!
https://www.arapress.com/freebies/
If physical deliveries are delayed in your area due to flooding and such, consider an e-book instead! We've got some in our store!
https://www.arapress.com/e-books/
Looking to introduce someone to the model rocketry hobby? This book on our store is a great place to start them off!
https://www.arapress.com/level-one-certification-print-version/
The Extreme Rocketry booklet on Level One Certification is a step-by-step introduction to the certification process necessary to advance into High Power Rocketry. It covers not only the mechanics of building and flying an L1 rocket and the legal process required, but also the importance of joining a...
Got a recent High School grad heading to college, or a current student in Engineering? They might like our multi-tool pens! Give'em a look on our store and see if they're a good fit!
https://www.arapress.com/rocketeer-pen/
THIS IS A WONDERFUL PEN WITH SEVERAL USEFUL TOOLS AS WELL AS AN ATTRACTIVE DESIGN. IT FEELS GOOD IN THE HAND ALTHOUGH IT FEELS SOMEWHAT LIGHTER THAN I EXPECTED -- BUT IN ROCKETRY WEIGHT IS AT A PREMIUM! I HAVE ORDERED ONE OF EACH OF THE OTHER COLORS AS GIFTS (AND A BACKUP THAT MAY END UP BEING A GIF...
Stuck inside from wildfire smoke, rain, or hot weather? We've got a few books to tide you over! Have a look at our Featured Titles on our home page!
https://arapress.com/
We received requests from a number of folks to put up our original Kickstarter Video for Dyna-Soar. It's now available free of charge on our store here: https://www.arapress.com/dyna-soar-video/
Update today that Peter Alway's "Rockets of the World Supplements" are back in stock. We're looking into possible bundle pricing for them and will let you know what we decide on the subject. In the meantime, they're available here: https://www.arapress.com/saturn-press/
Happy New Year to all of our loyal followers who have stuck around during our hibernation! The end of 2022 was a bit rough on us and things kind of "froze" as we took care of outside responsibilities that couldn't be avoided. For that we apologize for the lack of news and updates.
But 2022 is behind us now, and we're looking to get back to work! The immediate project will be the resuming of finishing up Red Maxx so we can get it out to print! After that, the project pipeline is a little less defined, but many folks have been asking for a reprinting of the original Spaceship Handbook. While we are NOT considering a reprint at this time, we are looking into making smaller spin-off books of similar topics with much more up-to-date information! We'll be sure to let you know as that topic develops more clearly!
In the meantime, have you made a New Year's Resolution? If so, hopefully you've kept it! Let us know in the comments!
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