With Rocket Lab’s Daring Midair Catch, Reusable Rockets Go Mainstream

May 12, 2022 by Tom Nardi 34 Comments

We’ve all marveled at the videos of SpaceX rockets returning to their point of origin and landing on their spindly deployable legs, looking for all the world like something pulled from a 1950s science fiction film. On countless occasions founder Elon Musk and president Gwynne Shotwell have extolled the virtues of reusable rockets, such as lower operating cost and the higher reliability that comes with each booster having a flight heritage. At this point, even NASA feels confident enough to fly their missions and astronauts on reused SpaceX hardware.

Even so, SpaceX’s reusability program has remained an outlier, as all other launch providers have stayed the course and continue to offer only expendable booster rockets. Competitors such as United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin have teased varying degrees of reusability for their future vehicles, but to date have nothing to show for it beyond some flashy computer-generated imagery. All the while SpaceX continues to streamline their process, reducing turnaround time and refurbishment costs with each successful reuse of a Falcon 9 booster.

But that changed earlier this month, when a helicopter successfully caught one of Rocket Lab’s Electron boosters in midair as it fell back down to Earth under a parachute. While calling the two companies outright competitors might be a stretch given the relative sizes and capabilities of their boosters, SpaceX finally has a sparing partner when it comes to the science of reusability. The Falcon 9 has already smashed the Space Shuttle’s record turnaround time, but perhaps Rocket Lab will be the first to achieve Elon Musk’s stated goal of re-flying a rocket within 24 hours of its recovery.

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Section from the ESP8266 datasheet, showing maximum input voltage as 3.6V, but not mentioning ESD diodes to VCC and only talking about a snap-back circuit set to 6V.

Is ESP8266 5 V Tolerant? This Curve Tracer Says Yes!

May 12, 2022 by Arya Voronova 44 Comments

Some people state that ESP8266 is tolerant of 5 V logic levels on its GPIOs, while others vehemently disagree, pointing at the datasheet-stated 3.6 V maximum. Datasheets aren’t source code for compiling the chip, however, and aren’t universally correct and complete either. [Avian] decided to dig deeper into the claims, conduct an experiment with an actual ESP8266 chip, then share the results for all of us.

For the experiment, he used a curve tracer – a device capable of producing a wide range of voltages and measuring the current being consumed, then plotting the voltage-to-current relationship. This helps characterize all sorts of variables, from diode breakdown voltages to transistor characteristics. The curve tracer he uses is a capable and professional-looking DIY build of his, and arguably, deserves a separate write-up!

The reasoning behind [Avian]’s experiment is simple – if the pin, set to an input, starts consuming a higher amount of current at a certain voltage threshold, then there’s gotta be some chip-internal structure, intended or unintended, that would be damaged at this voltage. Curve tracer in hand, he set up an ESP-01 module to set a GPIO to input, and started increasing the voltage.

The tests have shown that, while there’s a reverse biased ESD diode from GPIO pins to ground, there don’t seem to be diodes from the GPIO pin to the VCC rail – and those are the primary concern for 5 V tolerance. There does seem to be something functionally akin to a 6 V Zener diode internally, which should clamp the voltage before it gets too way high for the chip to handle. None of that should be a problem for 5 V compatibility, and it seems fair to interpret this as a confirmation of 5 V tolerance until someone shows otherwise.

[Avian] didn’t want to destroy an ESP8266, so the experiment was conducted with a 1 K series resistor between the curve tracer and the input – which might have biased the results a bit. On the other hand, adding series resistors in front of your inputs is an overall underappreciated practice, 5 V or otherwise. He also points out that, while the pins don’t seem to be adversely impacted by the higher input voltage, the bootloader might set some of them to 3.3 V outputs on boot-up, shorting your 5 V source to your 3.3 V rail — worth keeping in mind!

[Avian]’s research journeys are fun to follow, and we recommend you check his blog out; last time, we covered his research of an innocent-looking 3.5 mm jack hiding a devious audio compensation circuit. Since we first covered the ESP8266 in 2014, we’ve been researching all the things it’s really capable of, and we brought up the topic of GPIO 5 V compatibility way back in 2016 – it’s reassuring to finally put this question to rest!

We thank [Adrian] for sharing this with us!

Making A Concrete Pinhole Camera

May 12, 2022 by Lewin Day 9 Comments

A pinhole camera is a simple device that can be built out of virtually any simple closed chamber, and is a great way to learn about the basic principles of photography. [amuu] has created a version that can be readily made out of concrete, of all materials!

The photos captured by the camera featured some artifacts from light leaks and grit, but the results are enjoyable for their lo-fi, homebrew aesthetic!

The build starts with the creation of a mold for the concrete, using laminated sheets of foam. The foam is assembled with cut-up pieces of a ballpoint pen serving as cores in the mold. This provides a space for the film winders in the final product. The concrete is then mixed and poured into the mold, and allowed to set. Tapping or vibrating the mold is key to getting all the air bubbles out of the mixture.

Once set, the foam is mechanically removed from the concrete and the camera can be finished off. The internals are given a lick of black paint to improve the camera’s light-tightness. The shutter, pinhole, and film winder are then also fitted to allow the camera to function.

[amuu]’s first attempt to take photos with the camera lead to some results that were pleasingly lo-fi. There are overscan issues on the film and some other artifacts, but overall, the results are esoteric and fun. If you’re not a fan of the concrete camera, though, you can always consider making a 3D-printed pinhole camera instead!