Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS
(This was previously submitted as https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2246856) The Ravenna Ultra-Low-Altitude Vehicle is a backyard rocketship treehouse nestled in the Seattle neighborhood of Ravenna. Click the link to see a demo video (http://rocket.jonh.net). The hexagonal treehouse is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) across at its widest point. The frame is welded mild steel with riveted aluminum siding. It contains nearly 800 LEDs forming dozens of numeric displays spread across 14 control panels, each with an acrylic face laser-cut and etched with labels such as…
Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS launched on April 24, 2023 with 410 votes, #38 of 4,853 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 3 years on.
In plain words
The Ravenna Ultra-Low-Altitude Vehicle is a hexagonal steel and aluminum treehouse in Seattle designed to simulate a functioning spacecraft. About 6.5 feet across, it features nearly 800 LEDs arranged across 14 control panels with laser-cut labels, working switches, knobs, and buttons. Pilots control the structure using a joystick to operate three water and compressed-air thrusters beneath the capsule, creating an interactive backyard rocketship experience for imaginative play and exploration.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
The RULAV is a hexagonal capsule, 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) high, atop a tripod 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) high, for an overall height of about 15 feet (4.6 meters). It is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) across at its widest point. The frame is welded mild steel with riveted aluminum skin. It contains nearly 800 LEDs forming dozens of numeric displays spread across 14 control panels, each with an acrylic face laser-cut and etched with labels such as "Lunar Distance" and "Hydraulic Pressure". The pilot controls the rocket using a joystick and panels full of working switches, knobs and buttons. Underneath the capsule are three "thrusters" that shoot plumes of water and compressed air under the control of…from rocket.jonh.net
In the maker’s words, at launch
(This was previously submitted as https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2246856) The Ravenna Ultra-Low-Altitude Vehicle is a backyard rocketship treehouse nestled in the Seattle neighborhood of Ravenna. Click the link to see a demo video (http://rocket.jonh.net). The hexagonal treehouse is…
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