Sojourner Explorer Post 1010
Lockheed Martin Exploring Program
Launch - December 30, 2010
 
Victoria Crater

Project Home

Eleven members traveled to the Maryland launch site on Thursday, December 30, to flight test recently completed rockets.  The weather was warm (almost 40f) and light wind (5mph to calm). We used the short launch rail for all flights. We conducted four launches (one for each team) and they were all relatively successful. We found the booster lost to a tree in November, with the motor casing. It fell down due to weather, but the chute is still in the tree.  We found other rocket parts in the "rocket grave yard". See a video of our teams.

Objectives

  • Initial flights of new boosters and cargo units.
  • Confirm the E30-7T for rockets under 380g (teams 9213, 9214, 9215).
  • Confirm the use of the hemispherical 15in chutes.
  • Get data on each rocket.
  • See if we can find the black booster rocket lost in a tree on November 20.

Lessons

  • The initial flights were all successful. The boosters flew nicely, although they all cocked into the wind except team 9213 (White/Gold) rocket. Team 9214 may want to reduce the size of their fins on the purple rocket.
  • The E30-7T worked fine for the light weight rockets. The teams will have to work to maintain their rocket weight under 380g. Team 9212 will have to use the F24-7W.
  • The hemispherical chutes worked fine.
  • The spike in team 9212's flight was caused by the ejection charge and some issue with the altimeter holder and the connection to the chute.
  • Some of the eggs experienced hairline cracks. We need to work on packing the eggs better.  Some of the cracks may have been there before the fight.  Teams need to review their egg before they fly.
  • We had some problems with the copper igniters. We may want to look into better igniters.
  • We recovered the rocket booster lost in November, including the reusable motor casing.
Team 9212

Recovered Rocket

Launches (see video of launch comparisons)

Team Rocket Engine Cargo Cargo Recovery Booster Recovery Weight Results Comments
9214 Purple
test 1
E30-7T egg,
altimeter F
15in hemi-chute attached 385g 724ft, 40sec
(video)
Cocked into the wind a little, nice recovery
9212 Red
test 1
E30-7T egg,
altimeter J
15in hemi-chute 7x70 streamer 430g 658ft, 48sec
(video)
Nice flight, altimeter spike in data, interesting descent
9215 Maroon
test 1
E30-7T egg,
altimeter H
15in hemi-chute attached 363g 794ft, 46sec
(video)
Nice flight, chute came out, but deployed late
9213 White
test
1
E30-7T egg,
altimeter I
15in hemi-chute 10' Xchute 378g 807ft, 56sec
(video)
Nice straight flight

Altimeter Data (Excel format)

Altimeter Data

Pictures

Purple Rocket                           Red/Silver Rocket                     Maroon Rocket                         White (Gold) Rocket
Purple Rocket    Red/Silver Rocket    Maroon Rocket    White (Gold) Rocket
Loading an Igniter
Loading an Igniter
The Bleachers
The Bleachers
Making an Angel                                       Setting Up a Camera
Angel   Setting the Camera   Camera

Copyright 2011 Lockheed Martin Exploring Program
Updated: January 1, 201
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