# What is this “rocket” thingie **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 25, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612 "2021-12-25T00:04:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/41 "2021-12-29T23:01:21Z")
Great video. Just needs the appropriate music: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-mlzUHxNMV8/maxresdefault.jpg "The Band, "This Wheel's on Fire"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mlzUHxNMV8) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/42 "2022-01-02T23:25:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The interesting thing about it is the fact that it’s inherently so stable. Unless they just got lucky, it seemed to go pretty much straight up until it ran out of fuel. As others said, it spins for stability. But what I find interesting is that it spends a fair amount of time on the ground just spinning up–it looks to be sequenced in a way such that it gets going to a good clip before it rises at all (around 20 s). Small rockets will frequently angle their fins so that they spin, but this doesn’t help immediately after launch, because the fins only work at speed. So they use a wire or rail for stability then, or just accept some degree of instability. This one ends up being very stable because it’s already spinning when it launches (and has a huge moment of angular inertia as well). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/43 "2022-01-03T09:31:16Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > And yes, the poster speaks Hindi, so I assume he’s from India. The person who recorded the footage speaks Hindi. The channel it’s uploaded on (i.e. the person who chose the video title)… not so sure. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/44 "2022-01-03T09:32:48Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The problem is with the implication that people in the “third world” are so ignorant that they think this is a space program; or so technologically incompetent that they’d start a space program in this fashion. Exactly this ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/45 "2022-01-03T09:36:11Z")
If you look at his yt page, he appears to speak Hindi. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/46 "2022-01-03T10:09:09Z")
Are we talking about the same thing? A YouTube account named rbmk1986 ? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/47 "2022-01-03T11:02:36Z")
Yes. All his videos are Hindi. And he even tells his viewers: Don’t forget to “subscroob”. He’s Hindi. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/48 "2022-01-03T11:21:22Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > How confident are we that this video is real and not faked? Its one of the issues with living in the times that we do, that I have to ask this question of something that doesn’t quite look right or make sense. Pretty sure it’s real. [https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=thai+rocket+wheel](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thai+rocket+wheel) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/49 "2022-01-03T11:44:13Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Yes. All his videos are Hindi. And he even tells his viewers: Don’t forget to “subscroob”. > > He’s Hindi. The most recent videos on the channel sound like Chinese to me (in fact, I think the channel might have changed hands, either legitimately or otherwise) The videos immediately prior to these recent uploads have British English voices (not sure if any of those are original) Prior to those videos, lots of stuff about Jewish music and culture I can’t actually find anything that resembles what you’re describing. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/50 "2022-01-03T11:54:47Z")
I don’t what to tell you. I’m on my phone. Here’s a link. > **[rbmk1986](https://www.youtube.com/user/rbmk1986)** > > Share your videos with friends, family, and the world ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/51 "2022-01-03T14:27:05Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > As others said, it spins for stability. But what I find interesting is that it spends a fair amount of time on the ground just spinning up–it looks to be sequenced in a way such that it gets going to a good clip before it rises at all (around 20 s). Can’t really tell through all the smoke, but I was wondering if there was some means of keeping the wheel on the launch pad (for lack of a better term) until all the rockets were running. Spinning for stability is great and all, but I could imagine this going badly wrong if one of the rockets didn’t light and the wheel had asymmetric thrust. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/52 "2022-01-03T14:33:59Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Can’t really tell through all the smoke, but I was wondering if there was some means of keeping the wheel on the launch pad (for lack of a better term) until all the rockets were running. Spinning for stability is great and all, but I could imagine this going badly wrong if one of the rockets didn’t light and the wheel had asymmetric thrust. Staged ignition is probably the easiest way. There were several rocket motors on that thing; if you light the outboard-most motors first, they have enough thrust to get the spinning motion going without providing enough thrust for liftoff. After several seconds delay (probably by a long, slow-burning fuse), the more inboard motors ignite, adding to the total thrust so there’s enough for liftoff. Spinning helps assure that it’ll mostly maintain orientation even if the thrust is somewhat asymmetric. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/53 "2022-01-03T14:43:37Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Staged ignition is probably the easiest way. There were several rocket motors on that thing; if you light the outboard-most motors first, they have enough thrust to get the spinning motion going without providing enough thrust for liftoff. After several seconds delay (probably by a long, slow-burning fuse), the more inboard motors ignite, adding to the total thrust so there’s enough for liftoff. That’s a good thought, but what if one of the outboard rockets fails to fire at all? The spinning can overcome a slight asymmetry, but could it overcome an entire missing engine? Or are these types of motors so reliable that that isn’t a concern? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/54 "2022-01-03T15:23:13Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > That’s a good thought, but what if one of the outboard rockets fails to fire at all? The spinning can overcome a slight asymmetry, but could it overcome an entire missing engine? > > Or are these types of motors so reliable that that isn’t a concern? The greater the thrust asymmetry and the slower the rotation, the more the thing will wobble on its way up. Really bad wobbling might mean you don’t have enough thrust directed downward to maintain/gain altitude. At some point it will be wobbling so badly that it won’t even clear the launch pad without smacking something and going all kitty-wampus. As for reliability…it’s probably adequate for an entertaining summer festival, but you wouldn’t want to launch the JW telescope on one of these. As long as the spectators are far enough away, a failure just means you don’t achieve your target altitude, so a motor failure isn’t front-page news. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/55 "2022-01-03T23:43:09Z")
Which of those their videos are hindi? What has ‘subscroob’ got to do with hindi? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/56 "2022-01-03T23:53:05Z")
Now that I’m on my desktop, I’ll withdraw my statement. My research went as follows: I wanted to find out which nationality would use subscroob. The first thing that popped up was “Hindi” when I Googled it. The script by the videos also looked like Hindi on my phone (+ poor eyesite). Re-examining it on my desktop, I see now that it is not Hindi but rather box characters. So my argument fails. Sorry for the confusion on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/57 "2022-01-04T00:18:47Z")
Thanks. Thought I was going mad there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/58 "2022-01-04T03:13:00Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > but you wouldn’t want to launch the JW telescope on one of these The JWST launched on an Ariane 5, which uses two solid rocket boosters. They’re a _little_ more advanced, but still share a common ancestor with black powder rockets like the one here. In particular, if one booster doesn’t light, you’re screwed. That’s a completely unrecoverable situation. It won’t just destroy the rocket and its payload, but probably the launch pad as well. Fortunately, failures like this are essentially unheard of. Maybe it happened in the very early days of rocket flight, but it just doesn’t happen today (solid boosters do fail in many other ways, of course). This is basically just a big firework and obviously isn’t going to have the same level of redundancy and care as an orbital rocket, but I’d still expect it to be pretty damn reliable. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/59 "2022-01-04T05:58:23Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > All his videos are Hindi. And he even tells his viewers: Don’t forget to “subscroob”. > > He’s Hindi. This post reeks of bias. First of all : > [@Grrr](#): > > All his videos are Hindi. Thats like saying “All his videos are English”. The proper grammatical usage is “All his videos are _in_ Hindi” (They are not in Hindi - so your conclusion and your grammar are both incorrect). > [@Grrr](#): > > And he even tells his viewers: Don’t forget to “subscroob”. Purely your Bias - you seem to suggest that native Hindi speakers cannot spell or speak English correctly. As Gandhi would have said : “Wish you well and Wish that you are cured of your Bias. Wishing you a speedy recovery” > [@Grrr](#): > > He’s Hindi. Again : thats as absurd as saying : Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, is Esperanto. Esperanto is a language; speakers of Esperanto may be Americans or Christians or other nationalities/religions. Similarly, Hindi is a language. Speakers of Hindi maybe American or Indian or Hindu or Christians or other nationalities/religions. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612/60 "2022-01-04T06:32:17Z")
After all the wildfires lately, the first thing I thought watching the second video was “You shouldn’t be launching those things in knee high dry grass!” The huge ones were amazing. I also gave a little chuckle when the parachute popped. Was not expecting that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-rocket-thingie/956612.md?page=4)