Technical Design
The low-weight, slender, aerodynamic and structurally sound design of our
rocket allows us to efficiently reach the altitude of one mile while withstanding
high acceleratory forces during flight. It is designed to securely hold several Petri
dishes (up to 2.6 inches in diameter) in an upright position during flight and
recovery. The rocket is designed for J-class re-loadable composite motors which
allows to keep the per flight costs under $100.00.
A proposed and detailed approach to vehicle design
a. Vehicle Dimensions
Diameter: 3.1 in
Length: 7’4.8”
Span Diameter: 11.5 in
Weight: 13.0 lb
Static Stability Margin: 4.18 calibers
b. Projected Motors
Primary Motor: J800T (Blue Thunder Propellant)
Diameter: 54 mm
Burn Time: 1.6 sec
Total Impulse: 1264.80 Ns
Average Thrust: 790.50 N
Estimated Maximum Speed: 450 mph
Estimated Maximum Acceleration: 23g
Secondary Motor: Aerotech J2135N-P (Warp9 Propellant)
Diameter: 54mm.
Burn Time: 0.6 sec.
Total Impulse: 1261 N-s.
Average Thrust: 2135N
Estimated Max Speed: 485 mph
Estimated Max Acceleration: 38 Gees
c. Primary Requirements for Rocket and Payload:
• Rocket needs to reach altitude of 1 mile.
• Both rocket and payload must withstand acceleration up to 40g.
• Rocket must successfully recover (using dual deployment).
• Payload must be well integrated into rocket and easily extractable.
• Payload must recover without damage or contamination.
• Payload must be well heat-insulated to assure near-to-constant
temperatures both in the normal and cooled compartment.
• Payload bay must be large enough to house the number of plants
necessary for accurate RT-PCR analysis and post-flight growth
observations. On the other hand, the whole assembled payload must
fit into the rocket to assure the rocket performance (reaching the target
altitude, achieving sufficiently high acceleration and safe recovery).
• Rocket must descend in an upward orientation to prevent unwanted
stress on plants and agar media.
• Rocket must be reusable after flight.
d. Major Challenges and Solutions:
• Building the rocket well enough to withstand the stresses of high g
(up to 40g), high speed flight: The rocket will be built from fiberglass
tubing, the TTW fins will be built from 1/8th inch G10 fiberglass, the
bulkheads will be built from 1/4th inch plywood, industrial strength
epoxy (West system) will be used to glue parts together, Kevlar shock
cords, metal U-bolts, and rip-stop parachutes will be used for recovery.
• Successful Recovery: Redundant deployment systems will be used
(two PerfectFlite altimeters and one G-Wiz accelerometer); radio and
sonic beacons will be employed to aid vehicle location and recovery.
• Integration of the payload in vehicle: the proposed vehicle is fairly
small and the number of plants required for the experiment is
relatively large. Keeping the size of the vehicle within the proposed
limits will allow us to use less costly motor (J-class) and thus make
ore flights within our budget.
• Planting and growing the plants: The recommended laboratory
procedures including aseptic technique will be used for agar production and seed planting. The plants will grow in sealed Petri
dishes to prevent contamination.
• Extraction of sufficient amount of RNA from plants: about one gram
of tissue is necessary for RT-PCR, so more than a sufficient number of
plants will be grown and incorporated into the experiment to ensure
required biomass.
• Correct execution of RT-PCR technique: We will work together with
experienced professionals (Promega, UW Horticulture Department,
Madison West High School BiologyDept., BTCI, and DNASTAR, Inc.)
to get appropriately trained in RNA extraction/analysis techniques. • Scientific research: successful completion of the project will require
substantial amount of scientific research, mainly in the field of gene
expression (suitable genes must be selected for RT-PCR analysis).