Owl Rocket
April 2023 - July 2023
This was a club project I got the opportunity to work on as part of Northeastern's Aerospace club ("AeroNU"). The Owl Rocket was an 11'2" tall x 6" diameter ~55 lb test rocket designed to test internal mechanical components. This project post relates to the launch at FAR (Friends of Amateur Rocketry) in California's Mojave Desert. This launch showed a successful flight to over 5800 feet, and a successful separation of the internal clamp mechanism that was being tested. Much of the design for this rocket was completed before I joined the club my freshman year, but I was fortunate enough to participate in late stage testing / assembly during the spring semester. I was also able to assist with launch day preparations and assembly.
Project Walkthrough
Look through the images and descriptions below to see how this project came to life!
01
Starting Assembly
Upon arriving at the launch site in California, assembly work began immediately to piece together several sections which would form the complete rocket. The image on the left shows the motor assembly after mounting the solid fuel rocket motor and stabilizing fins, as well as the nose cone. I was able to help install the motor to complete the motor assembly of the rocket.
02
More Assembly
Once the motor section was together, the upper sections of the rocket were assembled in order to bring the rocket into two halves. The transparent section with 360 degree flight cameras had to be connected to the nose cone, and the center body tube containing the electronics bay had to be attached to the motor section. I was able to help assemble the black powder charges which would separate the rocket sections. Once this was done, the electronics bay was able to be installed in the rocket.
03
Testing Avionics
With all the rocket sections together, I installed the shear pins which would hold the rocket together during flight until separation after apogee. With the rocket fully assembled, the electronics bay was turned on in order to test avionics and connection to the ground station. Once everything was verified to be functioning normally, the rocket was ready to head to the launch rail.
04
Mounting On The Launch Rail
The last step before igniting the rocket motor was to mount the rocket on the launch rail. This was done by lining up the rail mounts to the groove in the rail while the rail was horizontal. The rocket was then slid onto the rail with the assistance of myself and several others. With the rocket mounted on the rail, the rail was raised to 90 degrees to prepare for launch.
05
Lift-Off !
This was by far the most exciting part of the launch. The Owl Rocket had a successful launch and flight to 5800+ feet with no major complications. The nose cone of the rocket was painted white in an attempt to prevent electronics overheating as it was 115 degrees at the launch site. This measure proved successful as the rocket did not suffer any of the electronics issues that were encountered by other rockets launching that day.
06
Recovery
After launch was complete, the final step was a successful recovery. The rocket did sustain minor damage on landing due to a partial non-deployment of one of the rocket's three parachutes. However this damage was mainly to simple 3D printed parts that were designed to be easily replaceable for this reason. The rocket was located using GPS telemetry data and a custom phone app that pointed us towards the rocket location. This made for a quick and easy recovery as the rocket only drifted ~600m from the launch site. Most importantly, the two sections of the rocket that were held together with the custom internal clamp successful separated. This was the main goal of the launch, proving the viability of the internal separation mechanism for future testing and research.
Internal clamp after separation
Project Gallery
Explore the photos below for a more complete look at this project!
