October 29, 2012

Length: 108.50 inches Diameter: 6 inches Mass: 277.42 oz. / 17.34lbs. Span: 18 inches Center of Gravity: 80.52 inches Center of Pressure: 69.28 Safety Margin: 1.87

Airframe – carbon fiber◦ superior strength to weight ratio◦ Ease of workability

Fins – birch plywood in carbon fiber◦ Combines the strength of both materials for a

more rigid, strong, and lightweight fin

Bulk-Head/Centering ring – 0.5 inch birch plywood ◦ Cabinet quality grain, few knots, and locally

available

Nosecone ◦ Will be purchased to insure proper functionality

West Systems Epoxy◦ Used to bind the above materials together as well

as some hardware (bolts, nuts, threaded rods)

Fins – symmetric shape and quantity allows for ease of construction, trapezoidal shape limits potential damage to fins upon landing

Diameter – 6” diameter allows for ease of assembly and plenty of work space. ◦ Also allows for better utilization of scrap

components, and expansion of internal components if necessary

*The center of gravity is forward of the center of pressure (closer to the nosecone)

CritiqueCritique Score Score 1/51/51 = Bad1 = Bad

5 = Good5 = Good

CommentsComments

Is this design safe?Is this design safe? 44 This design will allow for ease of construction and This design will allow for ease of construction and eliminate safety concerns associated with more eliminate safety concerns associated with more complex construction methodscomplex construction methods

Is this design limiting?Is this design limiting? 44 Altitude is expected to be reached and the design will Altitude is expected to be reached and the design will accommodate larger motors and payload componentsaccommodate larger motors and payload components

Does this design meet Does this design meet the requirements of the the requirements of the payload/rocket?payload/rocket?

33 This current rocket design satisfies the requirements for This current rocket design satisfies the requirements for the projected payload. However, the camera the projected payload. However, the camera component of the VALOR payload has not been component of the VALOR payload has not been decided upon, integration ability is still in question.decided upon, integration ability is still in question.

Will this design land Will this design land safely? Parachute sizes, safely? Parachute sizes, impact absorbing design?impact absorbing design?

44 The current size rocket and parachutes have the rocket The current size rocket and parachutes have the rocket descending rapidly under drogue, but slowing to under descending rapidly under drogue, but slowing to under 25 ft/s under main. 25 ft/s under main.

Does this design Does this design maximize performance?maximize performance?

33 The rocket has been designed to accommodate the The rocket has been designed to accommodate the payload as well as larger motors as the design is payload as well as larger motors as the design is refined.refined.

Are the materials Are the materials selected the best for this selected the best for this scenario? scenario?

44 Carbon fiber is a strong yet lightweight material that we Carbon fiber is a strong yet lightweight material that we have had success with in years prior. Past experience have had success with in years prior. Past experience with phenolic tubing has yielded structural failure.with phenolic tubing has yielded structural failure.

Any additional Any additional comments?comments?

-------------- Conduct additional tests and review plan to ensure Conduct additional tests and review plan to ensure continued safety continued safety

Minimum velocity for stable flight: 43.9 ft/s

Exit rail velocity: 52.29 ft/s

A series of 3 rail beads will be used to ensure the rocket reaches adequate speed off of the rail while maintaining proper orientation

A series of sub-scale launches are planned and will be conducted to verify design

Construction and test of the sub-scale will take place from 11/23-12/14

Planning for construction of full-scale starting 12/14

At least one test flight with the final rocket will take place

AeroTech K828F-J 54.0 mm diameter 22.8 in. length 1373.0 g propellant

weight 2223.0 g total weight 862.88 N average

thrust 1303.79 N peak thrust 2157.2 N-s total

impulse 2.5 s thrust duration Black Max Propellant

Justifications 54.0 mm diameter

allows for easy down-scaling

Black Max Propellant provides the high visibility tracking of dense black exhaust

S1: 340N/11.22lbs(

S2: 307/132.62oz

The handling of the motors, including purchasing and assembly, will be under the supervision of our NDRA members.

North Dakota Rocketry Association (NDRA) Section #628

Certified NDRA team mentor:◦ Dr. Tim Y. #76791 Level 2

We are planning to test fire the K828 motor in our static ground test. We are not planning a test of the sub-scale motor.

Sub-scale launch – November 23rd to December 14th

Full-scale test flight #1 – February 22nd to March 8th

Full-scale test flight #2 – March 18th to April 11th

Final launch – April 21

Dual Deployment◦ Drogue chute and

main chute Black powder

charges will be calculated using vernk.com and verified with ground testing

Duel deployment system Two MAWD altimeters

used for redundancy◦ Measures barometric

pressure◦ “Mach” delay for safety◦ Deploys drogue parachute

at apogee◦ Deploys main parachute at

700 ft AGL

Will be programmed and Pre-tested for scale launch

NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Sensory Array/Horizon Camera. ◦ The payload is designed around the Arduino Mega

2560 prototyping platform and four different sensors with a data logger

Visual Aerial Locator Rocket (VALOR) Payload◦ Integration of an inertial measurement unit

(IMU) and a high resolution camera in order to determine the precise location of predetermined objects within the increased visual field of the rocket as it approaches apogee.

SMD◦ Arduino Mega2560 + Mircocontroller◦ BMP085 Pressure Sensor◦ TSL235R Light to Frequency Converter◦ UV Photodiodes JEC 0.3 A◦ GPS unit + Xbee pro 900 Wireless Transceiver

VALOR◦ IMU◦ GoPro Hero3 camera◦ Ground based targets

Fluorescent flags of 1sq. Meter

Payload Component Requirement Performance Evaluation

Cameras Capture photos needed for SMD criteria

Capture video of maximum area until pixel size is greater than 1 meter

Inspect the data received wirelessly during flight and qualitatively analyze

Wiring Transfer and integrate all necessary data

Successful if all connections and the wiring system remains in operating condition post-flight

Storage Device Store video data that will transferred to computer through use of USB drive

Successfully view video on laptop via transfer with USB

Camera Mounts Provide a stable, rigid surface for the camera to be mounted to during flight

Post-flight inspection

Video camera is as of yet undecided◦ Video quality due to vibration◦ Integration with IMU data

Exposing sensors to the environment◦ Affect on data obstructed by the airframe

Data storage – there will be a lot of HD high-res, high-speed data to handle

Mounting a rotating structure– difficult to adjust/control

Rocket launch◦ Reaching an altitude at apogee within ± 3.00%

of 5280 feet Rocket recovery

◦ The recovery system deploying properly at the appropriate altitude and recovering the rocket on the ground such that it is deemed reusable for future launches

Payload◦ The collection of usable data to complete the

SMD and VALOR payload objectives.

Physics Day at UND - November 12, 2012 This is a program for local middle school to

high school students to learn about the many different facets of physics.◦ We will give a presentation about rocketry◦ Introduce them to the USLI program and share our

past history with the competition◦ Display rockets from the previous years◦ Split the students into groups and have them build

simple rockets to see which group will fly the highest

◦ Have a Q & A session◦ Expect to reach about 50-100 students.

Outreach at Grand Forks Area middle school Our team is in the process of scheduling a

date to visit the local middle schools.◦ For an entire day, we will teach a science class. ◦ Give a brief lecture about rocketry◦ Prior to us visiting, we will have the students

design rockets out of 2 liter pop bottles.◦ We will supervise and moderate the launch water

rockets◦ Have a Q & A session on why some rockets did

work and other did not. ◦ Expect to reach about 30-80 students.