Ares Space Co.

Rocket Reflection

   By Catalina Cabrera (Watney), Botanist & Mechanical Engineer

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    Today we have launched our rocket, and very proud of how far we have come. When we first went over what we had to accomplish, we were looking forward to the project. We had to work together and construct and launch a rocket with a contraption that would keep an egg safe. At first, we had to use a chicken egg, but things changed last minute. When brainstorming, everyone had already done some of there own research to have a little bit of background. We researched each part of the body, fins, and nose cone to find out what was most effective. For the egg contraption, we where kind of stumped. We looked up videos that had different contraptions but we needed something small and compact. We ended up using straws and making them into triangles to surround out egg. We filled the edges and gaps with bubble wrap to prevent the egg from hitting the ground. Afterwards, a parachute was made from nylon and had 6 sides and strings. Two strings where attached to each corner in the original contraption, but was changed later. The egg was successful during the fall. Changes we made included making a bigger parachute and using thicker straws. When constructing the rocket body, we used two 6.5 inch tubes and glued them together. They had a diameter of 2.75 inches, and the shape was a complete cylinder. For the fins, we made 3 clipped delta shapes out of cardboard. The nose cone was made out of Styrofoam cone with a rounded top. We carved the inside of it so our contraption could fit inside of it. We reattached all of the strings to one corner of the contraption to make sure they wouldn't get tangled. We used cardboard for the fins because it was inexpensive and light. The styrofoam was also light and we could shape it very easily. For the contraption, we used thick straws because of the way they absorb the shock of the fall away from the egg. Nylon was used for the parachute because it was strong and would create more drag. 

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    The day before launch, we where informed it had to be under 3 ounces for the nose cone to pop off, and changed to a quail egg (this was significantly smaller). This was a large set back because our rocket was nearly 5 ounces. We ended up cutting our rocket in half and using only one tube (6.5 inches). The fins where cut down about half an inch around each fin. We completely got rid of the nose cone and just used our contraption. as the nose to reduce more weight. The parachute was cut down to the original size and the small engine tube in the center was also cut down. In the end, our rocket was 2.85 ounces and we felt confident about it. On launch day, our rocket did not go very high. During launch, the clear Engine tube inside our rocket shot out of the rocket, and made the nose cone come off. the contraption did what it was suppose to do, but it was only about 3 feet off the ground. The rocket did not go anywhere, but the engine went about 10 feet. Overall, i think if we glued somethings together properly, it would have worked a lot better. The egg was safe, but I would definitely change a few things. First, I would glue the clear engine tube to the bottom of the rocket. We never thought about this and didn't think it was important, but we now know this was our major issue. We would make the bottom of the rocket more secure so the tube fits very snug. Another change I think would make our rocket more stable is having a proper nose cone, like the ones that where 3d printed. They seemed to be more efficient and stable. During the course of this project we learned how to work together as a team and how to work under pressure. Everyone took there own role, but i really liked my partners and working together.

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My Reflection

   By Owen Wilson (Lewis), Team Commander & Dr. of Geological and Planetary Sciences

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    Building a rocket in 3 weeks seems like no problem when you have a clear cut plan. Our rocket started out like that. We used to of the big tubes to build our project. Each tube is 6.5 inches tall and has a diameter of 2 ¾ inches. So our rocket is going to be tall. We thought that taller rocket would be more stable and a more direct flight route up. Also wanted our fins to be a reasonable length compared to the rocket body. We went with clipped delta fins(that look like trapezoids). The provide the most amount of support. Also the stabilize and control where the rocket i going. We used cardboard as the material because it is light but strong. The dimensions were 3 inches tall(base 1), 2 inches wide, 1.5 inches base 2, and a slant of 2.5inches. Our original nose cone was a 6 inch tall styrofoam cone that will surround our contraption. We also used styrofoam because it's light but strong. Our original center of pressure was 6.06 inches and our fins are well below that.

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    The contraption we originally used, was made out of straws. The contraption was a triangle pyramid shaped with straws extending out 2 inches on each side of the straw. When the contraption falls all of the impact is meant to be all on the extended straws and not on the egg. Also we used a nylon parachute. Nylon is stronger therefore it would give more drag on contraption slowing it down. It worked but we made it smaller so it could fit in our rocket. We cut down the size and the extra endings so it can fit in the rocket. Also if it is going to be inside the cone it has more protection. When we tested it worked. Our egg did not break.

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Just 1 day before the launch we had to lose 2 ounces to make a cut of 3. If our rocket was less than 3 ounces the rocket would be able to pop off the top of the rocket so it can expand the parachute and release the egg contraption. So we cut our rocket in half and lost the styrofoam nose cone. Also we cut our fins to 2.5 inches tall (base 1), 1.5 inches wide, 1.5 inches for base 2, and 2 inch slant. Our new rocket weighs about 2.8 ounces. Also we used quail eggs instead of  regular white eggs. That reduced the weight of our rocket so we can make weight.

Test day. We have very high hopes for our rocket. We made weight and our contraption works. As we launched the clear tube shoot through the rocket and took off our nose cone contraption. The body of the rocket did not move. So our rocket failed but we were able to save our egg.

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    Things we would like to change are glueing the body tube in place. This means when the body tube goes up so does the rocket. Also we would not like to cut such a big slit in the clear tube. Inside our rocket you could see burn marks on the inside of the rocket in one side. That also caused it to burn a hole in our parachute. We think this was due to the big gap in the clear tube. That's why our contraption poped of. Also have a better idea for securing our nose cone. We added newspaper around it so it would create less drag. But create drag on the way down so it would pop off. But we would like to use cardboard to create an open dome so it all flows together. I really loved working on this project and loved working with my group.

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The Creation of our Model Rocket

   By Christopher Fields (Johansson), Communication Systems Engineer & Reactor Technician

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    Our model rocket launched on Wednesday, January 4th, 2017. Although the rocket never actually made it high in the sky, our egg survived the landing. When designing the rocket we had to use the Engineering Design Process; this would make sure we had a safe and successful flight. The problem in this project was that we had to create a model rocket that can both reach Earth’s orbit and land Watney (an egg) safely. When generating concepts for this design, we thought of using many types of materials and researched multiple designs for the fins, nosecone, and body tube of the rocket. We wanted to use a cardboard body tube with a 2.75 inch diameter. We chose this design for maximum stability and space for the egg (which originally was a chicken egg). We also wanted to use a foam nosecone as a lighter alternative (compared to plastic or cardboard). For the parachute, we wanted to use a hexagonal piece of nylon fabric to create maximum drag. We also wanted to make the fins out of cardboard with a clipped delta shape, in order to create stability during our rocket’s launch. We then started developing a solution, focusing mainly on the egg drop contraption. We chose to use straws in the shape of a pyramid with bubble wrap outline for the base. We then connected the nylon parachute to the contraption with strings. This didn’t go exactly to plan, although our egg survived the drop. After egg drop testing we decided to create a larger parachute and connect the strings to one central point for more stability. After we made adjustments to the contraption, we started working on the rocket itself. We made the rocket out of two 6.5 inch long tubes with a 2.75 inch diameter. We attached the cardboard clipped delta fins and foam nosecone to the rocket, as we had previously planned. We then put the egg drop contraption inside of the nosecone. Our team then attached a plastic tube on the inside for the engine. Flags and our company name were attached to the outside of the rocket for branding.

 

    On the day before launch, we were informed that our rocket had to be under 3 ounces in weight. This was a major setback in our design process. We decided to do multiple things to lose weight, including shortening the fins, rocket body tube, and inner plastic tube. In addition, the nosecone was removed (the egg drop contraption served as a nosecone), making our rocket about 2.8 ounces in weight (including varying quail egg weights -- the egg changed from chicken to quail because of weight issues). It was now time to launch our rocket. As previously mentioned, our rocket did not make it very high, even though the parachute deployed and saved Watney. Overall, I think we had a successful landing but failed in launching the rocket. The rocket body never actually left the launch pad, although our engine still moved. Our team has reviewed our launch video (see Engineering Design Process page for video) and our rocket. We think that the engine tube was not secured enough to the rocket, causing it to push through the rocket, pushing the nosecone off with it. The contraption was pushed upwards and the parachute was deployed, creating a successful landing.

 

    If we were to do this project again, I would definitely make sure the inner tube is secured on the rocket tube tightly. I would also add another piece of tissue paper (which we used to prevent fires) to the inner tube, to prevent the inside of the rocket from burning (the inside of the rocket and the parachute were burnt). Throughout the project my team has worked well together, and even though our launch was not successful, we have learned how to work together as a team (even under the pressure of last minute changes). This project has proved the circular path of the Engineering Design Process, and even though we have finished this project there are still innovations that I could make to our rocket.

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Review of Rocket Launch

   By Tiffany Trotter (Martinez), Pilot & Astronautical Engineer

 

         The rocket our group built was successful in some areas, but failed in others. When we launched, we managed to keep Watney (Quail Egg) safe because our egg contraption protected it. However, we did have a problem with our rocket lifting off--only the top part made it into the air. We also had a problem with heat that caused the inside of our rocket to burn and created a small hole in our parachute. In order to have avoided these problems from ever happening, we could have glued our tube in so it didn't fly out. When it comes to the top part of our rocket it would have been better to use a cone shape instead of a pyramid one. Another improvement we could have done with the overall rocket would be to use a long, skinny shape for our rocket--as opposed to the big, fat one. Overall, there is a lot we could improve on when it comes to our rocket, but in all I think we did well with the time and resources given to us.