Latest Artemis flight results: excellent

Jun12
by cgould on June 12, 2010 at 9:51 PM
Posted In: XR2 (Artemis) Medium power booster Project

(Harmon flying field, Aurora, OH. – June 12, 2010)

Artemis missions 17 and 18 launched, and were flawless – despite the winds being on the high side.

Artemis booster #2 was flown initially test flown on an Estes D12-5 for a low altitude flight to confirm that the wind speeds were still within the safety margin for the Artemis vehicles.  We called that mission ALS017A.  After that, we performed a full power flight on Booster 2 using the Estes E9-6.  Flight and recovery was perfect on both flights.

Booster #2 - liftoff of mission ALS017B

ALS017B mission conclusion...

Artemis booster #4, the newest and last one added to the fleet made its maiden voyage (ALS018A) on the Estes E9-6, and its lighter construction weight allowed it to make it to 1000 feet or so.   Recovery was perfect — in fact the booster landed about 50 feet away from the launch pad.  On a windy day like today, that was quite amazing!

Booster #4 - liftoff of mission ALS018A

We aimed for a bonus flight after that on booster #4– mission ALS018B.  Winds aloft were much higher as a cold front was moving through.  Liftoff was perfect, and so was recovery, though it landed quite a way north — landing just short of the dreaded tree line – where several other rockets were lost today.

Another view of ALS018A as Booster #4 soars into the sky...

Up and away!!! - ALS018A at around 500 feet -- half way to apogee. This is an extremely zoomed in and cropped photo...

A great day for the Artemis project.

We are looking ahead to the next scheduled mission in July, though there is a  slight chance we may try to fit in another launch this weekend (June 19) in Amherst on higher power engines.   We haven’t decided yet — and a lot depends on what we find in the post flight vehicle analysis.

More to come soon!

((( )))

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Artemis launch window looks good so far!

Jun05
by cgould on June 5, 2010 at 3:42 AM
Posted In: XR2 (Artemis) Medium power booster Project

(Friday June 4th, 2010 – Cuyahoga Falls)

Well!  Here at Artemis mission control, all is looking good so far for a series of launches for the Artemis mission scheduled for Saturday June 12th.

Long range weather outlook is calling for partly cloudy sky / mid ’80s for a temp.  Launch is set for the Harmon flying field in Aurora, OH.  Artemis boosters are set to fly up on D-12 and E-9 engines.  This series of flights are designed to certify some changes made to our recovery system to make sure all is ready to go.   Our July 23 missions are set to be the first fully operational flights of the Artemis Booster fleet…rockets will begin collecting data by flying Altimeters.

The following missions over the final months of the summer flying season should involve testing on-board video camera systems.

More info to come as we move along!

((( )))

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The next launch windows for the Artemis fleet.

May30
by cgould on May 30, 2010 at 5:13 AM
Posted In: XR2 (Artemis) Medium power booster Project

Here’s a list of the next launch windows for the Artemis project.

June 12th – Harmon flying field.  Artemis booster #2, and the first flights of booster #4.

July 3rd – Pichman’s field.  Artemis booster #1 in a night launch…

TBD: A return trip to the Amherst field for another series of higher altitude launches – this time on Aerotech E15 White lighting engines!  We may even try to do this at the NY Power meed the weekend of July 23rd in Geneseo, NY!

Back to Booster #4 for a moment:  This one was just completed late last week (week of May 24th) and it is the last of the Artemis I boosters to be built.  The fleet of four boosters is now complete.  We will be thinking of names for these booster rockets, and will let you know what they are in the weeks ahead.

The next step in the Artemis program: We are currently designing a “heavy lift / high altitude” version of the Artemis booster called Artemis II.  The plan is to outfit the Artemis II booster with a dual deploy system to allow it to fly to the 5,000 foot ceiling at the Amherst, OH field.  It will also be a bit larger than the largest Artemis I configuration currently in operation.   Depending on performance, a modified version of Artemis II called Artemis II heavy could possibly be used to carry the Carina Shuttle into the sky when that project begins in a few years…

There’s your Artemis Program update for today.  Stop by in a few days when we talk more about the upcoming Artemis missions for the next launch windows!

((( )))

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Latest Artemis missions May 23rd launches.

May25
by cgould on May 25, 2010 at 2:41 AM
Posted In: XR2 (Artemis) Medium power booster Project

(May 23, 2010 – Amherst, OH)

The month of May was a busy one for project Artemis! A total of twelve missions.

We wrapped up our missions for the month of May on the 23rd with four flights.

The first mission of the day was ALS0013, the first flight of the official ArtemisV payload aerocraft on booster #3. Performance was perfect.

Artemis booster #3 on the pad awaiting the beginning of mission ALS013

Mission ALS013 begins!

The second mission, ALS0014, was the return flight of Artemis booster #1 (Big Red). We flew the Artemis 1E payload section, and the return to the air flight was absolutely picture perfect.

Artemis booster Big Red takes to the sky on mission ALS014

Mission #3 (ALS0015), another flight of booster #3. This one turned into a nail biter!

After a picture perfect launch, we experienced a shock cord failure causing separation of the booster from the parachute. The booster section free-fell from 850 feet. The landing happened to be in a water logged section of the field, so the booster was fine. The 1E payload was recovered a ways away in perfect condition (it came down extra slow on the parachute).

Artemis booster #3 at liftoff for mission ALS015

Mission #4 (ALS0016) was not a scheduled mission, but one we could not pass up. The first flight to break the 1,000 foot celing. Artemis booster #3 was quickly repaired, and put to the task of this feat. We loaded an Aerotech F12 black jack composite motor, and sent her off to over 1700 feet. Flight was spectacular, and was a great conclusion to the missions in the month of May.

Artemis booster #3 closing on a spectacular note with a high altitude launch on an Aerotech F12 black jack motor!

The next scheduled missions are set for June 12. More info to come!

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New Launch Pad in design phase

May22
by cgould on May 22, 2010 at 4:39 AM
Posted In: Launch and Recovery projects

We’re currently scheming up a launch pad system to support our current and future rocket programs.  There will be a definite need for a customized launch pad / ground support system for the Carina Shuttle, and the heavy lift booster project.  The same pad can support Artemis boosters as well as conventional model rockets.

We will be posting info & plans as they come together.

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