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On Saturday, August 17, one member of our project traveled to the Maryland launch site to try out some experiments with two parachutes. The weather was great. We had prepared the rockets the week before the launch. We completed two launches (one for each rocket) during a 2 hour launch window. We recovered all the rockets, but had issues with the dual chute deployments. NARHAMS conducted a special multiple rocket launch - see the video. Objectives First flight of the rear deployment Big Daddy rocket. Try two chutes one on cargo and one on booster with an old rocket.

Lessons

• The gold rocket (rear deployment) did not deploy smoothly, and it came down too fast. We definitely need bigger chutes (and bigger deployment tubes).
• The yellow rocket shock cord broke free of the booster. The shock cord needed to be much longer (3-4ft). The descent rate is not representative of the complete rocket coming down with two chutes.
• The E20 motors were not powerful enough to reach the 825ft. We need to get the weight down around 350g, or get more powerful motors.
• The altimeter for the gold rocket failed to record the flight. We added it to the yellow rocket and found it does work. The conclusion is that the air holes on the gold rocket were too small or blocked.

Launches

Altimeter Data (Excel format)

Pictures

  Our small team                                                                         Loading the rocket