Rocket
The rocket will be 36 in long and 2.2 in wide. It will be made out of a Carbon Fiber-Fiberglass Composite and high temperature epoxy resin. The rocket will have three 1.75 wide fins that are at an angle to create a spin of roughly 32 rps, enough to spin-stabilize the rocket.
The rocket will have a payload section which will comprise of a ThumbSat with a camera, GPS, antenna and batteries. Above the payload section is where the ejection charge, the drogue and main chute will be located.
The rocket will have a powerful composite engine with close to 1000 N of thrust. The rocket will lift off once the balloons reach 100,000 ft above sea level. When it lifts up, it will disconnect its electronics from the launch pad, and will go under internal power. At this height, the air is thin enough that a relatively small rocket, such as this one, could pass 2800 mph and get all the way past the Karman Line.
Once the rocket starts heading back down the altimeter will ignite the ejection charge to deploy the drogue-chute at apogee and then the main-chute at 5,000 ft. Once the drogue-chute deploys, the GPS will start to transmit its location in real time. It will continue to transmit until its power runs out.
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If you want more details on the rocket, please email us at hartvr2017@gmail.com.
launch pad
The Launch Pad consists of a triangular wooden base with nylon threads in each corner and merge 4 ft above the base, were a parachute is attached. The parachute is then attached via a 500 ft spectra thread to the high altitude balloon, which should be big enough to carry the everything to 100,000 ft before bursting.
In the center of the base, there will be a 2 axis gimbal that uses gravity to stay upright. On top of it, there will be a steel plate with an igniter sticking right out the middle. There will be three guide rails each being 5 ft in length (to be able to use these short rails, pre-spinning shall be done on the rocket by using the high altitude winds) To counter balance the weight of the rocket and rails, under the gimbal, there will be a capsule that has same length and diameter as the rocket (to keep the center of pressure in the center of the gimbal) that would carry all electronics, including GPS, 360° camera, batteries (to power rocket and launchpad until rocket launches off), moteino micro-controller, balloon release servos and antenna. In addition, by request we could also carry some small object donors would like to send up along with our craft. (you would just have to pay for the shipping).
If you want more details on the launch pad, please email us at hartvr2017@gmail.com.