Embarking on a journey of discovery – Pushing the limits of personal learning and discovery – realizing a passion for aerospace and engineering creativity. With this space shot amateur rocket, the sky is not the limit – it’s just the beginning.
Reaching space (100km / 320K feet) is not trivial… something that is done weekly by the likes of SpaceX but for amateurs this is still an elusive undertaking. The group of amateurs that have sent rockets to space is still a very small crowd – mostly University teams or really ambitions individuals. Why is this hard?
Amateurs with High-power rocketry certifications can fly rockets to any altitude given the right FAA waiver – reaching altitudes of 20K’ or even 100K’ – these rockets use commercially available motors with very high impulse and are likely 2 stage rockets that add additional complexity. To reach 320K’ involves rocket motors or a motor that has more specific impulse than commercially available motors – so custom solid rocket motors are needed – designing and building these motors is a complex and potentially dangerous undertaking.
Then there are the speeds involved… the rocket will likely reach and or exceed Mach 4 and the stresses to the airframe are tremendous… designing and manufacturing airframe components such as the nosecone and fins that can withstand the heating and aerodynamic pressures is key. Optimal fin to airframe attachment is critical especially in a minimum diameter rocket where the fins are attached directly to the airframe and not through the airframe – fin stiffness is also critical to prevent fin-flutter at supersonic speeds. Fin leading edges must also be capable of withstanding high heat and aerodynamic pressure.
A rocket such as this will experience high G’s right off the pad – 50++ G’s and will likely break the speed of sound within the first couple of seconds into flight. A single weak point in the airframe / nosecone / fin-can construction could see the rocket literally disintegrate as it accelerates off the pad.
So yes… this is a complex project bust at the core it can be broken down into a small number of components –
The vision: an amateur rocket to reach space**…
**not orbit – this is up and down 🙂