iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 3h

I just got my GoPro footage from the launch event last Saturday. Here's a screenshot. This is hands-down the best imagery I've ever gotten of my Zephyr rocket launching! 🚀

A white and blue rocket blasts off into a blue sky, trailing a red flame.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Introducing ION, my next supersonic rocket. Ion is a scratch-built design, centered around a 29mm motor mount and built to carry an altimeter in the nosecone. I'm super excited for how this one will look when it's complete. Its first (subsonic) test flight is planned for within the next few weeks. 🚀

A rendering of a white rocket zipping through a cloudy sky, created using the OpenRocket software.

A model rocket under construction, with a hefty 3D-printed fin jig holding the fins in place. It sits on a table.

Aft view of the same model rocket under construction.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This is one of my favorite photos from this last weekend's launch activities. I have no idea whose rocket this was, but it looked pretty cool zipping by the Moon! 🚀🌗

A high-power rocket roars into the sky, trailing a smoky plume behind it. The half-lit Moon is visible in the upper right of the photo. The sky is clear and blue.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I went for a little roadtrip down the coast today, the first time in about four years. It was really nice to see these views again. 😊

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Tonight was my first Kerbal landing on Laythe! This is the furthest I have ever sent Kerbals from Kerbin. Laythe is a gorgeous place. 🚀

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The Moon looked beautiful tonight! 🌓

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This one that I took in 2023 is one of my favorites.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Onboard video footage from Orbitron Flight 14, rotated to keep the ground level. It's kind of a neat way to show the rocket's in-flight roll. 🚀

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Here's a short video of Orbitron - Flight 13, which took place earlier today. This was another test flight with its IMU payload. The simulation in the lower left corner of the video was constructed from the flight data. It seems to lag a little, but it's fairly accurate. The motor was a D12-3. 🚀

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I finally launched my Estes 1/100th scale Falcon 9 model, and honestly it was frightening. There was only mild wind, well within the limits for most of my other models. And yet this thing arced 45 degrees and nearly face-planted on the edge of the field. Parachute worked, but still a close call.

A model rocket lifts off, pitching sharply as it does so.

Still arcing, the model rocket climbs in the blue sky.

Motor still firing, the model rocket is now horizontal in the sky.

The model rocket deploys its parachute barely 100 feet above the turf of the baseball field. A close call.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The icing problem struck once again on the previous flight, it seems. 🤪

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Orbitron Flight 12 ended with the booster standing upright, much to my surprise!

A model rocket, right after parachuting down into a field. The rocket's booster is standing upright on its four fins.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Today was only the 2nd time I've ever tried to film one of my rockets using my drone. Sadly, I forgot to hit the record button, so there is no footage from the drone. 😑 At any rate, here's a neat view from the ground showing both the drone and the Orbitron rocket, just prior to its 12th launch.

A model rocket and a drone stand out dark against a cloudy sky.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My Estes "Orbitron" rocket is now gearing up for its 12th flight. This will be its second time flying with an IMU as the payload, but the first time with a magnetometer added to the mix. I expect the resulting orientation data to be much more accurate than last time, but we'll see. 🚀

A white and black model rocket sits on a table.

A close up of the model rocket's clear payload section. An Arduino Nano R4 microcontroller can be seen inside, along with a magnetometer, a gyro/accelerometer module, an SD card reader, and lots of wires.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This is an additional clip I made around the same time. Here the Enterprise-F approaches the badly-damaged USS Finback.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Happy 60th Anniversary, Star Trek! I made this little video some time between 2012 and 2014. This was my concept for the Enterprise-F at the time. The ship was a physical model. All the effects were made using Microsoft Paint Program, one frame at a time, on my family's trusty Windows XP.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This is the full launch-to-landing animation created from the flight data. It seems like the data is at least partly accurate for the ascent, but after chute ejection it quickly goes crazy. The counter-clockwise spin is clearly in error, because the rocket really spun clockwise on the way down.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

And here is my first attempt at a Blender 3D animation made from the same flight data. I think the rocket's onboard IMU might be exaggerating somewhat, because the vehicle doesn't appear to wobble that much in the video footage. I probably just need to tune the sensitivity of the sensors a bit.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I made this quick edit of the first 5 seconds of my Orbitron rocket's 11th launch. Today was the first time I've flown a model rocket with sensors that can measure its orientation. The animations for each axis are derived from the flight data. It's a bit rough, but I think it's cool. 🚀

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Orbitron Flight 11 is now in the books! 🚀 It looks like it collected some good gyro/acceleration data on this flight. I'm looking forward to analyzing the results. I love this model rocket!

My Estes "Orbitron" model rocket lifts off against a backdrop of clouds and blue sky.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Pretty wild seeing these three hurricanes in the eastern Pacific right now.

A NOAA satellite image of earth showing three hurricanes in the eastern Pacific ocean.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

This is my oldest Estes rocket, the first one I built 6 years ago. Today I finally gave it some much-needed repairs, transforming it from a shelf-dweller back into a flying machine. Its return-to-flight could come as soon as next month. If that goes well, it’s going to ~1500 ft in October! 🚀

A red model rocket with a black nosecone stands against a bright blue sky.

A red model rocket with a black nosecone stands on a deck in the sunshine.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The skies cleared enough for me to see the lunar eclipse this evening!

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Venus looked beautiful through my telescope tonight! The photos came out a bit blurry, but it was still cool to see. 🌙

A crescent, earth-size planet shines brightly in this view through a telescope’s eyepiece. It’s Venus, of course!

A closer, slightly blurry view of the same earth-size planet. No life forms could be detected.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I was mainly referring to nonsensical stuff like Alabama being labelled “Mississippi”, Mississippi being labeled “Louisiana”, and the even stranger “Brownsville LA."

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It doesn’t look like much, but this is the first metal part I’ve ever machined using my lathe! It is a custom adaptor piece for my water rocket launcher; it replaces a 3D-printed piece that broke earlier. It was pretty exciting to finally get to use my lathe today! 😃

A cylindrical piece of aluminum sits on a table. It has been machined using a lathe.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

These are, without a doubt, the coolest shots I’ve ever gotten of one of my water rockets launching! These frames were taken by my RunCam 6, which was recording at 60fps. It’s pretty cool seeing how the plume changes as the last bit of water is ejected from the rocket’s nozzle!

A water rocket ascends into a clear blue sky. A thin column of water shoots out its nozzle.

The water rocket climbs higher and faster, its plume expanding and becoming more cloud-like as its water supply is exhausted.

The water rocket at maximum speed as its water supply has been completely expelled.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I came up with a better idea when I was 11, as evidenced by this drawing I found recently. It even has the numbers 6 and 7 on it. 😂

A drawing I made when I was about 11 years old. It depicts a warship labeled “U.S. Biden class battleship.” The numbers 1067 appear on the bow of the vessel.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

There was a brilliant flash of lightning in the distance right after the Falcon 9 booster landed on the droneship tonight!

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Here’s the original un-cropped view, for context. (credit: SpaceX) Now I’m beginning to wonder if the cropped version has been upscaled? The amount of detail in the clouds vs the smoothness of the heat shield just looks a bit peculiar.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Here’s another still image from the original video. It was taken by a camera mounted on the side of the booster. And yes, it is real.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Not a bad view of Starship when it was about 55 km up. 😎 (image credit: SpaceX)

A view of Starship 40 right after stage separation, as seen by Booster 20 during its flip. The limb of the earth can be seen behind the rocket.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The Baby Bertha rocket is complete! First flight should be next month.

A stubby orange model rocket sits on a table by a window. White text on the rocket reads, “Baby Bertha."

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

We’re having quite the thunderstorm today. Also, this is the first time I’ve ever gotten a photo of lightning! ⚡

A bolt of lightning zigzags across a gray cloudy sky. A tree and the roofs of houses can be seen.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I finally completed the Estes “Leo Space Train.” This thing should look super cool when it launches for the first time! 🚀

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Starlink is spelled very similarly to Starling. SpaceX knew what they were doing right from the start. 😡 (image from Wikipedia)

A massive flock of starlings flies across a sunset.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Today I finally finished all the modifications to my Zephyr rocket, including integration of its AlectroSat 3 electronics payload! The rocket is now ready for its fourth flight, launching this September. 🚀

A blue and white rocket with the sun glinting off of it.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I managed to catch a little bit of the aurora last night! I couldn’t see it with my own eyes, but the camera picked up a bit of the green toward the horizon.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I caught a glimpse of it last night too.

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Alec Griffiths @alectrospace1.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

My oldest Mün rover in Kerbal Space Program has finally completed a mission it started back in 2019. Since then it has explored quite a lot of ground, even visiting a small lander. Today, after having driven halfway around the Mün, the rover has finally arrived at my Münbase. Jeb would be proud.

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