The "Blue Blur" (working title) - a rocket build log

[skyress3000]

I've occasionally seen build logs here with subjects other than PCs (like a flashlight) and I thought I'd contribute my non-PC build log in the form of a rocket I'm helping build. I'm on a team of 10 students participating in NASA's Student Launch program, where we build a rocket which goes to a mile high and carries a scientific payload. This thread will focus on the construction of the rocket, as my job is the Lead Vehicle Engineer and so I probably won't be very involved with the payload. The current project for the vehicle team is constructing a 1/2 scale model of our rocket to prove that the design works, as well as preparing for our teleconference next week. Tomorrow, construction of the model will begin, and hopefully I'll post some pictures. The scale model will be made out of Blue Tube (the same material as tank shells) and it'll fly on an I800-Vmax (a full I motor that burns in .5 seconds.... mwahahahaha). The name Blue Blur comes from the Blue Tube and will not be the name of our final rocket, which will probably be something Greek or at least classical as is tradition in our club.

 

Here's our statement of work to NASA which only talks about the full scale rocket: http://westrocketry.com/sli2016/SOW_MadisonWest2016_Mutants.pdf

 

Here's a picture of the scale model in OpenRocket:

 

If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask.

 

DAY 1: Getting parts

[I need a better name]

doesn't sound too hard, it's not rocket science

[samcool55]

Do you have more specs about it? Like 0-100mph time or something? Or a guess is also fine.

[skyress3000]

Do you have more specs about it? Like 0-100mph time or something? Or a guess is also fine.

Also, there's something I DEFINITELY should've put here that I didn't - the document detailing our plans for the full scale vehicle thus far. http://westrocketry.com/sli2016/SOW_MadisonWest2016_Mutants.pdf

[The Official Czex]

doesn't sound too hard, it's not rocket science

 

Heh... It's funny because it literally is rocket science...

[samcool55]

Also, there's something I DEFINITELY should've put here that I didn't - the document detailing our plans for the full scale vehicle thus far. http://westrocketry.com/sli2016/SOW_MadisonWest2016_Mutants.pdf

Good god that's a monster... 550mph peak? That's damn insane, well good luck!

[skyress3000]

Good god that's a monster... 550mph peak? That's damn insane, well good luck!

Blue Tube can withstand mach... it's pretty impressive considering it's made out of the same stuff as cardboard (it's technically vulcanized fiber). I'll make sure to post some pics of how sketchy the rocket we're harvesting some of our tubing from is.

[samcool55]

Blue Tube can withstand mach... it's pretty impressive considering it's made out of the same stuff as cardboard (it's technically vulcanized fiber). I'll make sure to post some pics of how sketchy the rocket we're harvesting some of our tubing from is.

Tbh i know absolutely 0 about rockets I don't even know how much mach 1 is... i never go outside D:

 

But it does indeed look damn impressive. Would love to see the pictures!

[Phyronite]

Post some pics of the rocket when we are done building it, Skyress.

[skyress3000]

Post some pics of the rocket when we are done building it, Skyress.

^the resident dumbass of our team

[Phyronite]

^the resident dumbass of our team

^So mean.

[skyress3000]

Just got home from workshop, pics in the editing oven! #hype

[skyress3000]

Alright, here come the pictures despite imgur being a bitch to me...

WARNING: they huge. that's why they're in spoilers
 

 

Here's a close-up of the booster we harvested from...

This thing was pretty sketch. It used a nosecone as a transition, which we ended up dremeling off to get the tubing.

We cut tubing off the booster after smashing the fins off.

Here's all the tubing we acquired (before the booster was mauled even more)

 

We found an old nose cone, but it had some ballast in it...

Maybe adding hot water will help us get it out.

Nope, let's use a good old threaded rod

What the fuck is this stuff? It's nasty as hell

All that work with the tie rod was for naught - we found a legit nose cone. At least I got this awesome picture.

 

This will be our source of motor mount tubing

Its fins got smashed on the floor so we could cut it

Chop that sketchy shit off!

 

We 3D printed a tail cone, it's pretty nifty...

Except the motor casing didn't fit, so time for sanding

 

This is our full scale motor casing. Holy shit it is huge.

Some wood I got from a drawer so we can make centering rings. This is probably my favorite shot in this set.

[Phyronite]

Teleconference with NASA T- 23 hours.

[skyress3000]

Teleconference with NASA T- 23 hours.

T-43200 seconds ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[theninja35]

I thought you were putting a PC in a rocket, then I freaked out when you said, "A mile high."

[skyress3000]

I thought you were putting a PC in a rocket, then I freaked out when you said, "A mile high."

Hopefully someday, getting inspiration from the fallout bomb build... I don't have that much money though

[unijab]

Reminds me of the model rockets I used to build when I was young.

I kind of miss it. None of mine ever went over 1800ft though.

[skyress3000]

I worked on this more today, and we actually made some progress worth showing but I forgot to bring my camera The booster (the part with the fins & motor) is nearly done and so the rest is pretty much done except for the chutes; I'll post pics next workshop, which will probably be Friday.

 

Also, you know that i3 I posted a picture of on Day 1? We delidded it because we were waiting for epoxy to dry.

[unijab]

How do you determine balance....

Are you supposed to carry more weight in the tip, tail, or will the balance point be determined by total length?

 

Also is that an "off the shelf" motor?

[skyress3000]

How do you determine balance....

Are you supposed to carry more weight in the tip, tail, or will the balance point be determined by total length?

You want the center of mass to be higher up in the rocket than the center of pressure (the average point where air is pushing on it), which makes the rocket more stable. We have software which tells us where these two points are and therefore how stable it is, which is the reason the fins are backswept so far (it moves the center of pressure down) and we're adding weight to the nose cone (moves center of mass up).

 

Also is that an "off the shelf" motor?

Pretty much, the scale model is flying on a Cesaroni I800-Vmax. The motor itself is a plastic tube with "grains" of propellant inside it which we buy, which then goes in a reusable metal casing which we buy separately, and fits any motor of the same size. It's a good thing the casings are reusable, because the bigger ones can cost a few hundred dollars. The motor still requires some assembly, but we don't make our own propellant or anything.

[Ridska]

The name '' Blue blur '' sounds like a club ecstasy pill drug if you ask me...

 

No offence.

[Phyronite]

The nae '' Blue blur '' sounds like a club ecstasy pill drug if you ask me...

 

No offence.

Well the name comes from the fact that our rocket has its entire airframe (outer body tube) and fins/nosecone are blue. And because the rocket is going 550 mph in 0.5 seconds, it will be the blue blur.

[Phyronite]

How do you determine balance....

Are you supposed to carry more weight in the tip, tail, or will the balance point be determined by total length?

 

Also is that an "off the shelf" motor?

The program we use mentioned above is called Open Rocket. You can download it yourself and mess around if you want.

[skyress3000]

the blue blur.

inspired by Sanik, of course