Kimball Tucker – NAR L3 Rocket Design and Specifications

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NAR L2 – #85752, Cal PIII #2960-12, LEUP 9-CA-017-34-6H-01228

 

Introduction

 

The goal of my Level 3 Project is to build a low cost but reliable rocket flying a 75/5120 M1297W with velocity lower than Mach and altitude less than 6,500 ft.

 

 My Previous experience includes a range of Level 2 NAR and Tripoli projects and flights of my own.  This experience also included two L3 group projects where the flyer was L3 certified.  The teams included L2 and L3 members. 

 

My Level 3 Build, the “ACME MISSILE” will be a scratch built rocket.  I am designing the rocket and all sub components.  However, as a Technical Principal representing Aerojet Rocketdyne (a rocket propulsion company), I am mentoring students at the ITT Technical Institute Design Department to allow them to use their CAD skills in a real life activity.  They will create 3D solid CAD models of its parts and assemblies.  Then they will create a complete set of detail and assembly drawings that would compare to real world drawings in the manufacture and design industry.  They will not build the rocket or any parts of it.  Their task is just to use their CAD skills to document my rocket design.

 

The “ACME MISSLE” will be a 7.67 diameter dual deploy rocket with a 75mm motor mount.  The rocket will be 9’ 9-1/8” long with a launch weight of ~48 lbs. It will have main recovery bay, a coupler electronics bay and the lower booster and drogue recovery bay. As mentioned above, the motor I will be flying will be an Aerotech 75/5120 casing with an M1297W reload.

 

The expected altitude in this flight configuration is 6,378 ft with a max velocity of 461 mph pulling 27 G’s.  The drogue will deploy at apogee at an expected 51 mph velocity.  The Main will deploy at 1000 ft at a velocity of 78 mph.  The decent rate after main deployment will be ~20 ft/sec.  There will be redundant electronics to mitigate the risk of deployment event failure.

 

Some novel features of this rocket will be the way the bulk plates and bulk rings are held in place.  The bulk plates will be inset by ½” and a Kevlar epoxy ring will be built up outboard of the bulk plate to hold it into the airframe.  This will be discussed in more detail later.  In addition the fins will be made from ¼” plywood and then laminated with 3 layers of carbon fiber and epoxy.  The 1st layer will have the fiber orientation in the rocket axial direction.  The 2nd layer will have the orientation 45 degrees to that and the 3rd layer will have orientation running axial again.  This method will stiffen the fin in all directions to prevent and mitigate fin warping & flutter.