I had interview, Interviewer asked me a question in interview. What do you think, Can you build a rocket after proper Google search? I answered yes I could make rocket after proper Google search. I did not understand what his motive was behind this question. I did not know what he wanted to know.

What would you answer this question? Can you guess what he wanted to know?

 

I built a rocket when I was 14. The words internet and google were not invented yet.

 

I had interview, Interviewer asked me a question in interview. What do you think, Can you build a rocket after proper Google search? I answered yes I could make rocket after proper Google search. I did not understand what his motive was behind this question. I did not know what he wanted to know.

What would you answer this question? Can you guess what he wanted to know?

Of course you can. The real question is whether the thing will actually fly correctly.

 

I suspect that a yes/no reply is the worst possible reply.

I know nothing about rockets beyond what I see on TV, but let me have a go at a reply:

If you mean a bottle rocket, with coke bottle, bicycle pump and water, then I reckon I could get hold of all of the parts and make a good attempt at a simple rocket.

If you mean amateur liquid fuel rocket, then there may be (legal) problems getting hold of suitable rocket fuel, and a lot of experimentation and trials with different materials and shapes beyond what Google guidance might provide. I reckon I could succeed given sufficient resources and time.

If you mean a rocket that can reach space, then I think that would take a lot of money, equipment, tools and expertise, perhaps well beyond what is available on Google. I would be far less confident about building a space rocket with my own resources and Google.

There is no right or wrong answer, but I would guess that the interviewer wants you to show initiative, justification and reasoning.

 

I built a rocket when I was 14.

That's about the time when I was playing with simple chemistry and small, solid fuel rockets. We used the cardboard tubes from a certain kind of coat hanger which I haven't seen in decades. That kind of self education today would get a SWAT team response and a felony record as a terrorist, so the answer is, "no". You can't even buy the chemicals here in the 21st century, and I wouldn't try!

 

I had interview, Interviewer asked me a question in interview. What do you think, Can you build a rocket after proper Google search? I answered yes I could make rocket after proper Google search.

Highly dependent on what "build a rocket" means. If it means getting an Estes kit and building a model rocket, then no search needed. If it means designing a similar rocket from scratch with the emphasis on the basic concepts such as center of lift and center of gravity and sizing the parachute (or other recovery system) and choosing a commercially-made rocket motor, then that is a very doable goal. If it means mixing your own propellants and designing the rocket motor nozzle, that is a lot more challenging and likely beyond most people's ability to do successfully based only on what they find online. If it means designing a guided rocket capable carrying out some kind of mission (hitting a ground target or deploying a payload) and you have to machine the parts, design the electronics, grind the optics, mix the propellant, etc., etc., then the answer is almost certainly, "Not in this lifetime."

I did not understand what his motive was behind this question. I did not know what he wanted to know.

What would you answer this question? Can you guess what he wanted to know?

I'm certainly not a mind reader, but it could be he was looking to see how you approached the question. Did you just give a yes/no answer without giving the question much thought at all, or did you consider the question and realize that to give a meaningful answer you needed a much more meaningful question and did you then try to explore the parameters of the question to get at that meaning.

 

That's about the time when I was playing with simple chemistry and small, solid fuel rockets. We used the cardboard tubes from a certain kind of coat hanger which I haven't seen in decades. That kind of self education today would get a SWAT team response and a felony record as a terrorist, so the answer is, "no". You can't even buy the chemicals here in the 21st century, and I wouldn't try!

All you need is sugar and kitty litter.

 

All you need is sugar and kitty litter.

Are you talking about explosive diarrhea or how to get on a no-fly list?

 

Are you talking about explosive diarrhea or how to get on a no-fly list?

I don't normally eat Bentonite so it must be the other thing.

 

. Did you just give a yes/no answer without giving the question much thought at all, or did you consider the question and realize that to give a meaningful answer you needed a much more meaningful question and did you then try to explore the parameters of the question to get at that meaning.

I said yes. I can make rocket after proper Google search But I can take a more time to complete it.

 

Highly dependent one what "build a rocket" means.

There was a time that you _could_ do a lot of this. Homer Hickam, jr. is an example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Sky_(novel)

 

There was a time that you _could_ do a lot of this. Homer Hickam, jr. is an example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Sky_(novel)

Yep. Though look at what Homer and the Rocket Boys went through before they started building rockets as opposed to just dangerous firecrackers.

Also consider that Homer and friends were NOT run-of-the-mill "Google it and go" folks. There's a reason they won the National Science Fair in 1960. So the question of whether a modern-day-Homer could build a rocket along those lines based solely on a "proper" Google search and whether a typical interviewee can believably claim to be able to do so is a very open question.

ASIDE: One thing I wasn't aware of until recently is that "October Sky" isn't just a simple rename of "Rocket Boys" to refer to the October 1957 Sputnik flight that was so motivational for Homer. The two titles are anagrams of each other.

 

Not second guessing the interviewer but I would take that question as an opportunity to clarify the request and eventually get a spec. It's definitely an attempt to get a reading on the candidates reasoning process. When I was doing a lot of interviewing, I'd ask deliberately ambiguous questions that required the candidate to figure out what they were being asked. Those that just dove in got points for fearlessness but typically didn't get an offer. Those that asked intelligent questions to narrow down what I was getting at often did.

 

I suspect that a yes/no reply is the worst possible reply.

I like Ken the one-word answer - it lends a certain amount of Area 51-like response to the answer.

 

October Sky is a pretty good movie based on the book. I believe with or without Google anyone of average intelligence can build a rocket. Not to say it will fly straight and true. Strange interview question to ask.

Ron

 

October Sky is a pretty good movie based on the book. I believe with or without Google anyone of average intelligence can build a rocket. Not to say it will fly straight and true. Strange interview question to ask.

Ron

Ok, from a hobby rocket, I think anyone could launch something and hit close to 1km. How about a rocket that can reach " outer space". 100 km (60 miles).

Could you do it (unmanned) with just internet searches.

 

Ok, from a hobby rocket, I think none could launch something and hit close to 1km. How about a rocket that can reach " outer space". 100 km (60 miles).

These LDRS guys do it every year -- over 1 km, that is, not 100 km.
http://www.uroc.org/index.php/component/k2/item/6272-ldrs-17-launch-review

At least one launch mentioned in the link above was over 12,000 feet above ground level.

In the late 80's I went to an LDRS meet where a group was prepping a rocket with an "R" size engine. They were not able to launch, unfortunately. (I don't remember why.)

One rocket was launched with a 8mm film camera in it. Quite an impressive payload for a hobby rocket.

 

Ok, from a hobby rocket, I think none could launch something and hit close to 1km. How about a rocket that can reach " outer space". 100 km (60 miles).

Could you do it (unmanned) with just internet searches.

That comes with a classic answer of definitely maybe, without a doubt. During a tavern night after work we were some slightly wasted engineering types. We were discussing the then new MK50 Torpedo propulsion system and how it was throttled. Earlier systems like the MK46, MK48 and MK48 ADCAP (Advanced Capabilities) ran on a liquid fuel called OTTO Fuel which was a sort of diesel fuel with an added oxidant. The MK50 which could run silent and deeper ran on a steam turbine. The system used an on board steam boiler fueled with Lithium and mixed with sulpherhexafloride. The sulpherhexafloride used a controlled flow. Violent reaction. Totally closed loop boiler system.

So our pipe dream was to meter LOX (Liquid Oxygen) (not the salmon on a bagel) with Kerosene in a combustion chamber. It was like those profound revelation things brought on by alcohol or illegal drugs. We never pursued it beyond the bar but it sounded good after drinking enough.

Ron

 

These LDRS guys do it every year -- over 1 km, that is, not 100 km.
http://www.uroc.org/index.php/component/k2/item/6272-ldrs-17-launch-review

At least one launch mentioned in the link above was over 12,000 feet above ground level.

In the late 80's I went to an LDRS meet where a group was prepping a rocket with an "R" size engine. They were not able to launch, unfortunately. (I don't remember why.)

One rocket was launched with a 8mm film camera in it. Quite an impressive payload for a hobby rocket.

I had a typo in my post. I think anyone could do 3000 feet without too much Google work. The effort goes up a lot each time that height doubles.

 

Ok, from a hobby rocket, I think anyone could launch something and hit close to 1km. How about a rocket that can reach " outer space". 100 km (60 miles).

Could you do it (unmanned) with just internet searches.

I had a co-worker from a previous job that claimed he could figure out how to build and launch a spacecraft that could orbit the moon and return to earth. This was pre-internet or at least as we know it today.. I was skeptical.