Getting this rocket ready for tomorrow! Should have some interesting onboard footage, it has a camera on top shooting a horizon shot.
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Working on some new release heads for rockets! Shrike had some issues with the release head, so I am trying to improve reliability somewhat. I am also working on the video for Shrike, which should probably be out soon
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Flew Shrike this morning! Although almost everything worked well, the rocket didn't go high enough to get chutes out, and the release head on the ground didn't work great. The main problem seems to be that the rocket was flexing and rubbing really bad on the rail, which robbed a bunch of energy and made it not get high enough.
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Shrike is ready to fly! Unless something goes catastrophically wrong, it will fly in the morning!
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The sustainer is pretty much done, the booster is complete enough to do a rough assembly. This is one of if not the tallest rocket I have ever made. I'm a little worried about bending, especially in the interstage, but it should be alright.
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Two recovery modules for Shrike, booster on the left, sustainer on right. Booster is more complete because it is taken from Swordfish, the sustainer is newly built. Booster will also use Starlight for flight control, which is already well proven, the sustainer will use an Eggtimer Quantum which needed some ground testing.
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Making a pair of new splices for Shrike, I only have spares from Sai which have rings glued on
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This is my current project, Shrike, named after a bird for no particular reason. It is designed to teach me more about multistage rockets, and especially behavior at staging, such as how far the sustainer tips over and if/how much the booster decelerates due to staging.
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Working on a new two-stage rocket! Been doing a lot of soldering to get the electronics ready, two stages means two flight computers! Also in this picture is the staging mechanism, which is the release head from my recent video but slightly shortened, which will be controlled by a flight computer.
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Hmmm, what could this be?
New video out tomorrow hopefully, Monday at the latest!
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I build water rockets, and just want to share what I do with the world!
19 January 2024