Improvation blog: Das Rocket

“If you want to take a trip, hop on to my rocket ship,

Zoom zoom zoom, we’re going to the moon,

Zoom zoom zoom, we’re leaving very soon”.

Ever since man first walked the earth, he has looked up to the sky and marvelled at the cosmic wonders above, and dreamt of rockets to explore this vast and fascinating unknown. SInce childhood, story books of rockets lined our bookshelves, and along with other favourites, like “Sam sheep can’t sleep” were always within reach for our cherished story time rituals. “Rocket fever” gripped us time and again, as we humans endeavoured through the ages to further the boundaries of rocketry and take us where only our imagination had gone before.

And so it was with Von Braun, the father of modern rocketry (and a bit of a checkered past). At the tender age of 12, he pursued his backyard rocket experiments with the zeal of one day using them for space exploration and interplanetary travel. A string of failures and explosions ensued as he launched the first purpose built industrial complex for rocketry, and perfected the design for the v2. With only crude tools on hand - no advanced cameras, no space based systems, no closed loop guidance, he managed to build systems that to this day - 70 years later - form the under pinning of the current generation of rockets. The V2 design was the basis for the Saturn v that put the first man on the moon.

Today, the field of advanced rocketry is exploding again, and a string of advances – in technology, artistry, and philosophy (it's not all "rocket science" you know) have rekindled possibilities that were only a distant dream just a year or two ago.

Yet, It is not the prizes and competitions announced by NASA and others - resulting in remarkable breakthroughs and initiatives such as spaceX (from none other than the electric car pioneer Elon Musk) that excite our passion. No sir, these pale in comparison to what the Italians have achieved with the R58 rocket (the WHO have achieved? Surely Mr. Improvator, you Jest. The land of olive oil and Pizza has leap frogged all advances in rocketry put together, and taken the lead from other more scientifically inclined and resourceful nations?… But read on gentle reader, and you will find this to be a remarkable story… the triumph of love and a shared innate human quest for artistry, passion, knowledge, discovery, and fulfilment of life’s eternal longing).

Nestled in Milan, a humble factory producing the R58 rockets has put in place something completely antithetical to the hierarchical industrial complex of Von Braun’s beginnings, and all the institutions and organizations controlling rocketry today. Its co- founder, Andrew Meo - a new Zealander (from the land of Sam Sheep) and an ethnic Italian, is driven with love, and a single minded determination to democratize rocketry, and equip every household with an R58 rocket - to empower the masses to explore the full splendor of cosmic nectar, and fulfil their innate inner longing. (From the land of Sam Sheep! For goodness sakes maan, is there no scientist heading this sheep and pizza outfit).

This is the Rocket Espresso company (that’s right, espresso – what were you thinkin?), blending science, art, dreams, with full PID control, dual boilers, thermosyphoning, and a commercial grade rotary pump to achieve exceptional thrust control and go from 0 to bliss in precisely 28 seconds. A sip of this wonderful espresso, blended with frothy steamed milk, and your taste buds are bound for a geosynchronous launch into the outer realms of cosmic delight - a bubbly zero gravity encounter with no G- suit required. Ahhh... finally, a close encounter of the mmmmm… kind.

The R58s are arriving in droves, and one landed at my doorstep recently. The espresso launch experience has been nothing short of heavenly. Fresh beans – roasted in an artisan roastery in upstate NY (www.heavenlycup.com), coupled with a new precision burr grinder, and the wizadry of the R58…. You have to try it to believe it. So, if you are still nurturing your childhood wonder of rockets, the lingering question of why Sam Sheep couldn’t sleep (hint : a double shot in the evening is strong for a sheep), and the experience of 0 to bliss in 28 seconds, then drop on by sometime for a fresh cup of R58 espresso. And best of all…. there’s no permission required. Nope, this is democratized rocketry at its avant-garde best, and the only thing that can deny you this blissful experience is YOU.