Picture Perfect liftoff!
Artemis / Pathfinder lifting off on the Aerotech F-35 motor. This is the first time any of my rockets have used this more powerful motor! -- Click on picture for a larger image
This picture was taken as Artemis / Pathfinder took to the skies on an F-35 White Lightning motor. More on this flight soon!
Nesaru X6 update
Names, Names!
I’ve decided (after vacillating back and forth on the subject) that the X6 rocket design will be named “Nesaru”. The rocket itself (and any subsequent ones built within the X6 family) will have its own name(s). I have not decided on a name for Nesaru X6-1 as of yet.
Also, the formal name of the Nesaru X6 will be “Nesaru Aerospace Craft”, and all missions (sorties) will carry the designation “NAC”.
Nesaru rocket nearly complete. It is now over 5 feet tall, and barely fits in the CPG Aeronautics workshop!
The maiden voyage.
After collecting lots of mission data from the Artemis X2 “Pathfinder” launches, I have come to the conclusion that just about everything that is needed to finalize the Nesaru design / construction phases is in hand. Work has begun on the final parts of the puzzle to move forward on a maiden launch.
A formal date has not been set, but the first flight could be really soon. Details to come!
NAC-001 Mission Objectives
The objective of the maiden voyage (NAC-001) will be to flight test the design, as well as to obtain my Level 1 certification.
One possibility for the first mission is to also test the redundant flight computer system, though that is most likely to occur on mission NAC-003 early next year.
NAC-001 will also make use of the (built-in) on-board camera system and will hopefully feature some dramatic video from the first flight.
Most importantly, the successful flight of the Nesaru rocket by me will mean Level 1 certification status!
🙂
The plan for NAC-001 is to launch to about 3,000 feet AGL. If all goes well, the video from that altitude should look really cool!
More details soon!
((( )))
(October 23, 2011 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH)
Artemis rocket “Pathfinder” took to the sky for two missions on Saturday, October 22.
The first mission of the day (ALS-039) had a mechanical issue which resulted in a “very successful failure”. The failure was a result of a misfit on the door for the apogee deployment charge. This caused a loss
of pressurization which resulted in the rocket not separating into two pieces at apogee. The entire stack started coming in ballistic at a “scary speed”.
Now the successful part: After a couple of seconds of sheer terror and facing the possibility of a total loss of the rocket, backup systems kicked in, separating the rocket at around 600 feet. This slowed the rocket down enough so that the main parachute deployment system was able to function, and Pathfinder landed slowly into a small tree. I was able to easily recover it. WHEW!
The success comes in the fact that the backup systems worked totally as planned. This was a total relief as the system was designed purely around theory. (In THEORY, it should work), but there was no way to test it in the real world. ALS-039 proved it to work in reality. The rocket was able to recover from a close to 200 MPH ballistic decent under parachute with NO damage to the rocket or any other property. THAT in itself was amazing to see! Unfortunately, no video of any of the flights as our club consisted of a skeleton crew of 3 (including me).
ALS-040 was a total success with all systems functioning as planned.
The next series of flights (ALS-041, ALS042) are set for November 12. I am making a few changes to the booster section to lower aerodynamic drag, and also testing some subtle changes to the parachute deployment system.
The November 12th flights will be the final flights under the power of an F24 motor. The next series of launches (ALS-043, and ALS-044) will be flown using the F-35 motor for the first time. My highest power flights yet!
Starting next week, I will begin construction on another booster section featuring a 29,mm motor mount. This will allow Pathfinder to reach heights well over 2,000 feet! The first mission using that system will be ALS-045 which is set to fly in December.
((( )))
(October 8, 2011 – Aurora, OH)
Pathfinder performed wonderfully in three test flights using dual deployment technology, but in a small BT-60 diameter airframe.
Pathfinder on the launch pad.
The tests were a raging success! Only two missions were planned. After the second mission, we found that there was some minor wear-and-tear on one of the ejection charge canister holders. A simple masking tape fix was enough to prepare Pathfinder for an encore mission.
Here are some quick data points:
ALS-036 (Maiden flight) Max altitude: 1007′ Speed: 240 MPH Main deploy: 500′
ALS-037 (Second flighy) Max Altitude: 1056′ Speed: 265 MPH Main Deploy: 500′
ALS-038 (bonus flight) Max Altitude: 902′ Speed: 220 MPH Main Deploy: 400′
Pathfinder lifting off on the encore mission ALS-038
All three flights were met with cheers as the main parachute deployed on target at the pre-programmed altitude, and Pathfinder floated home with a nice and gentle landing.
Since Pathfinder is equipped with a Perfect Flite “Stratologger” as a flight computer, she had an additional role.
Missions ALS-037 and ALS-038 were spotted by the MTMA optical tracking crew. They were working as contributors to a national effort across many of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) club chapters in the country
to verify the accuracy of the peak altitude calculations from the Stratologger. This data is needed to qualify the Stratologger for use in NAR altitude competitions.
Pathfinder lifting off on it's maiden voyage, mission ALS-036
In that regard, we found the Stratologger to be completely in line with the tracking crew’s calculations, which were derived from the tried and true method of optical triangulation.
More information to come as I crunch through the data from these missions!
Enjoy the video below of the maiden flight of Pathfinder!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7dbGp4eAM
Best to view full screen, maximum resolution (1080)
((( )))
Aurora "Firefly" launches from the MTMA launch pad for our first ever night launch!
Aurora X5-02 “Firefly” launches from the pad on a D12-5 for our first ever night launch!
Firefly was outfitted with a glowing red nose cone system as well as four bright white LED’s that were set up to strobe during the flight.
On the second flight (and the one in the video) children of MEMA club members enjoyed doing the countdown, and sending Firefly off into the night sky…
Enjoy the video below!