Even gyroscopes could be viewed as a guidance component and also wieght is a big issue. We are avoiding guidance components, to fit regs. Mike makes a good point too that 'unstable swinging' is possible - we have yet to analyze our instabilities (center of gravity moves forward substantially)...
Background;
Of the Sugar Shot to Space project (see sugarshot.org) which is an amateur project expected to fly to 67 miles altitude, we (the Payload Team and our outside analysts) are attempting to apply some analysis for the sake of predicting the flight path 'on the fly', and analytically...
The main body tube is on the order of 22 feet long. We are thinking of seperating the cone at apogee and returning in two pieces.
Presently, we're thinking of free fall until the two sections slow to about 600 mph, then deploy a drogue at that time (sub-sonic deployment).
What comes to...
To be clear EMT was only to make the first two 1/4 scale test motors. The point of the tests was to check heating effects and that the propellant and motor perform as expected.
"Epoxy and Fiberglass" is what we will possibly fly. It sounds sketchy to me, but it's not really epoxy, but a...
I'd imagine there will be small scale launches, though were still in motor development.
I'm a little unclear to me what tendency a rocket would have to favor the up direction, and I doubt genuinely that any off-angle attitude more than "several degrees" would allow us to reach altitude...
We've taken it to be the way to get to altitude, and the way to keep the rocket's parts to land within reasonable driving distance.
The first burn event involves lumbering skyward to a mere 1000 feet. Wouldn't taking on angles that early invite further problems? After the first burn is...
The burn times are fairly short, so the flight termination modes which may involve splitting the casing are few, but we will include (automated) this as it extends range-safety (manual).
With how I picture it, 'blowing out' the '2nd stage' (midjoint) nozzle would mean letting the lower...
I'm not an ME, but you draw attention to something that is worrisome, gust loads and misalignment. I might be able to get an answer on the single-stage choice to bring back here, which might be as you put it; "If I were a regulatory person..."
There will be a destruct system (no work done...
I proposed that we drop not the tube, but the 'lower' nozzle letting a re-designed mid-joint 'nozzle' do the job. A release mechanism with a 50,000 pound load seemed tricky, so we put that aside.
My understanding is regulatory limitations somewhat prohibit two-stage designs for amateur...
Yes, I said it was 'standard electrical'. I assume it was a galvanized steel, seam welded.
That was the first two tests. The next test will use
4130 steel.
We test using a 1/4 scale version.
The point of the tests initially were take temperature and pressure readings and see if it...
The nozzle heating (the casing at the nozzle) seems to be quite limited. I will try to resist bringing the lighter issues here though, as clutter. This one seemed technical enough.
You're cooling airflow insight sounds like something we could have overlooked, and I'll pass it on to someone...
Thanks, I'll follow your morning star project with interest. Yes, Sugar Shot to Space.
I'm not a motor development person for ssts, but participate in some of the issues.
When I describe the lower chamber problem, it's quite like that. I'd tell you the whole picture off-list. Even though...
Some folks I'm working with on a hobby project could use some insights into addressing an experimental motor casing overheating problem.
It's a low energy solid fuel core-burning motor;
Say you have a long-ish motor casing with the usual bulkhead and nozzle. This casing has a midjoint, which...
