Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Aim for the stars, because even if you miss, you might see an explosion

Figure its probably time to do an update. And the only thing I can think to update about right now is that I am going for my Level 2 certification for rocket launching this Saturday. It involves a written test on technical knowledge and safety which I have been studying for, and a flight test. I have a J270 motor that I am flying my rocket on for the certification, and the rocket should reach an altitude of around 4400 ft. The cool part is that I have made my first rocket a little longer by adding in a payload bay. I have collaborated with a guy doing a class project on rocket instruments and he has agreed to use my rocket to test his altimeter, so I should get some real altitude and velocity data for my launch on Saturday! I included a picture, so you can see the new addition to the rocket. The payload is the red section. On careful inspection, you can see some of the pressure relief holes drilled into the payload section to keep the payload bay at atmospheric pressure for accurate altitude measurements.

Also, with the experimenting that I am starting to do with this rocket and its design, I am thinking a starting a new blog. Since I struggle with the broad topic I initially gave myself for a blog, and the desire to brag less and simply disseminate gained knowledge, I  am entertaining the idea of beginning a rocketry specific blog. It will give me an excuse to explore my eccentric ideas and I think it will be fun to share the successes (and definitely the failures) of my rocket endeavors. Not sure if this is turning into a last post... maybe it is... maybe not... We'll see!