Questions tagged [amateur-rocketry]
Questions regarding model and/or high-powered rocketry.
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What would one need to do to get an amateur satellite into orbit?
I've recently become interested in amateur satellite packet radio, and I've seen that the bandwidth and thus the bitrate is extremely low on most amateur satellites, not even factoring in noise. So I ...
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Is it possible to reach space using home-made rocket?
The first stage would be a high altitude balloon, which could reach 30km. Then start a rocket-candy from that high.
Without cargo, is it possible to reach the edge of space (Kármán line - 100km), or ...
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What is the feasibility of a rocket hobbyist achieving a LEO orbit with a microsat?
Along with being a rocket hobbyist, I'm also an Amateur Radio Operator. I would like to determine the possibility of placing a "microsat" a miniature packet radio satellite, into a low earth orbit.
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Amateur satellite launch
Has there ever been a successful satellite launch done by amateurs? I mean both building the satellite and a rocket to carry it.
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Whipped cream hybrid rocket
I am currently working on a small hybrid rocket as a summer project. I've decided on using nitrous oxide as the oxidizer, but large tanks are expensive and I don't have a lot of money (I'm in high ...
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Can we use liquid propellants in amateur rockets?
Is it possible and worth it to use liquid propellants like liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in amateur rockets? What are the other types of liquid fuel used?
Moderator's Note: Remember discussion ...
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How easy is it to use liquid nitrogen dioxide as an oxidizer?
I was reading a similar question as mine here. But no one talked about nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Its boiling point is 21 °C, so it is easy to store. But how easy it is to handle compared to hydrogen ...
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Would a 'small' rocket like this reach space?
I want to build a solid fuelled rocket (I was thinking 3 stage with 2 boosters) that'd launch a micro-satellite (cubesat size) into space but first I want to try reach space (100km) with no payload. ...
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How does spin stabilization intuitively work?
I am not very familiar with physics or rocketry and I am having a lot of difficulty grasping why spinning a rocket or satellite stabilizes it. Most sources I have looked at have said either that it ...
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Why sugar is not commonly used as fuel in hybrid rocket engine?
Hybrid rocket engine usually used rubber or plastic as fuel but why not sugar? Just like many amateur solid rocket motors used sugar. What are the advantages of using rubber in hybrid engine over ...
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Could HIBEX propellant be used for amateur rockets?
The HIBEX rocket was a precursor to the Sprint missile system deployed briefly back in the 1970s. The rocket was only 18 feet long but had extraordinary performance(an acceleration of 100 G's!). But I ...
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How did the GoFast 2014 Rocket de-spin?
In this awesome Youtube video of HD footage from the GoFast 2014 Rocket, a de-spin maneuver is performed. Is this a yo-yo de-spin?
You can see the de-spin at 0:57 and at 3:47, where it really looks ...
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Can I make my own RP1? [closed]
Is it possible for me to buy kerosene from a local store and then try to refine it to the extent where it would be considered RP1. If so how would I do it? For those who are wondering me and a group ...
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Understanding Coefficient of Drag Verses Mach Number for Launch Vehicles
I've been working on a design for a sounding rocket that can go to the Karman line, that I want to make my senior capstone project next year. As a part of this process, I am making a program to ...
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How would E85 work as rocket fuel?
In the question Can I make my own RP1? the comments talk about using ethanol and water as rocket fuel. That made me wonder how well easily availible ethanol fuel for cars such as E85 (85% ethanol 15% ...
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Building a ultra-small almost space vehicle
I'm quite interested in small rockets-balloons that can reach more than 50km,
thus I want to build one myself (With my school financial support). I just want it to carry like a 350g-450g equipment. ...
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What is the feasibility of a graphite chamber, nozzle and bell walls
What is the feasibility of using graphite, particularly variants that are easy and affordable to acquire, in a combustion chamber, nozzle and bell as well as nozzle extension? Does it need ...
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Source of Gregorek's popular drag equation in ESTES TR-11?
In the early 1970s, Gerald Gregorek wrote a technical note on drag for ESTES (maker of model rockets and parts from what I gather).
The note is still very popular in the model rocket community, and it ...
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Challenges in Development of small scale liquid propellant engines [closed]
Being aeronautical engineering graduate, I have gone through huge literature regarding design of Liquid propellant engines(LPRs). But as I am planning to develop small LPR based on gasoline and oxygen....
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Is nitrous oxide hypergolic with anything reasonably safe and obtainable?
Can I start an amateur rocket using nitrous oxide as either oxidizer or monopropellant, using a hypergolic slug of something reasonable for use by an amateur rocketeer? What substance could it be?
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How does the open expander cycle separate the fuel for the pump and combustion chamber? [closed]
I'm designing a single open cycle expander rocket engine using propane. However, I've been unable to find out whether or not the fuel is split into the turbine and combustion chamber before or after ...
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Chamber Pressure and Burn Rate equations
I know that chamber pressure is
$$P_0=p \left[ 1+ \frac{1}{2}(k-1)M^2 \right]^\frac{k}{k-1}$$
where $M$ is exit Mach number and according this equation
$$M= \sqrt{ \frac{2}{k-1} \left[ \left( \frac{...
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What speed and altitude can I reach with a primitive sugar rocket? [closed]
I'm getting interested in amateur rocketry. I'm realistic about it and understand that my skills and technology currently available won't let me construct anything beyond very simple designs, with ...
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Record-setting flights in amateur rocketry
It appears that amateur groups have launched rockets to space (above the Karman line), but these were flights of commercial (Pegasus) rockets by amateur teams.
What I am interested in is record-...
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Why are hexa airfoils used on rockets despite having more drag that diamond airfoils?
I was doing a study on airfoils shape for a rocket. I tested the diamond and the hexagonal airfoil with Missile DatCom, RasAero and the Shock Expansion theory and from my results it seems like the ...
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The thrust in the calculation of specific impulse
In calculating the specific impulse using the thrust generated as one of the parameters, do we take the total thrust generated or the average thrust over the period of the burn?
$I_{sp} = \frac{F_{...
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Calculating the projectile of rocket using RCS to tilt the flight path
If I have main solid rocket with 800 N Thrust, 9 kg in total and has RCS thrusters 0.5 m from the center mass. Mid flight the RCS with 1 N force is activated for 2 sec. How does it affect the flight ...
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Open source liquid rocket engine
Is there an open source bi-propelant liquid rocket engine that would have all the documentation, computations, test results and 3D design files (CAD) freely accessible?
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Commercial Sources of variable thrust Rocket Engines [closed]
The project is to build a model rocket to take off and land vertically. Max height perhaps 100 feet.
Looking for a suitable engine which can provide variable thrust control and thrust vectoring which ...
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I don't know where to start with the calculations - rocket engine
Last year I stumbled upon the "How to design, build and test a rocket engine" pdf and since then I have been intrigued by making one (or at least calculating it).
So I've been doing some ...
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Spring release system 2.1m long rocket with a weight of 20kg
We have been searching for a trustworthy source to help us design the recovery sytem for a rocket which is going to fly 2600m high with a weight of 22.6kg in the beginning and 17kg in the end (at the ...
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How important is the convergence angle of a liquid bipropellant rocket engine
So I can't exactly find out what angle should the converging part of the rocket chamber be or why different angles are chosen for engines (varies by about 15°).
Are there any guidlines on the angle or ...
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Problems with the "How to Design, Build and Test Small Liquid-Fuel Rocket Engines" text
For those that have read or consulted the text: How to Design, Build and Test Small Liquid-Fuel Rocket Engines (Rocketlab/China Lake). Otherwise, see steps 10-13 here: https://risacher.org/rocket/...
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Rocket equation with Drag factor
For the
avg Thrust of 2 kN,
burn time = 3.5 s,
burn rate= 1.4,
over the time diff of
dt = 0.1 sec
Isp = 140 sec
Cd for the Ogive nose cone C-section = 0.75
Cross-sec Area of the ogive nose cone = 0....
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What's the most optimal method of motor attachment for Horizontal Static Fire Tests?
I'm a college student new to rocketry, and am working on the horizontal test structure for a static fire test of our motors.
The max thrust for the booster motor is about 6000 pounds, and the ...
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PID Controller for Thrust Vector Controlling of High Power Rocket [closed]
We are trying to design a Thrust Vector Control system for a High Power Rocket using PID Controller. Can anyone guide us what approach should we use to create this Controller?
Rocket Details:
Mass: ...
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Can a DIY rocket put an object into a stable orbit around earth? [duplicate]
Is it possible for a "home made" rocket to launch an object into a stable orbit assuming a person has calculated the right trajectory?
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What is the max height I can achieve with my solid prop rocket?
For a rocket of:
mass, $m$ = 25kg,
dry mass $m_f$ = 19 kg,
Thrust = 2.1 KN,
total powered burn time, $t_b$ = 3.5 s,
$I_{sp}$ = 129
I get powered burn height = 549 m and total time to max ht of 5506 ...
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Trying to make a program to calculate (liquid) engine size. Can you please help me check for any problems?
So as the title says I am trying to write code to calculate engine size and some other parameters.
For the equations, I used mostly :
Sutton's Rocket Propulsion Elements 8th Edition, and for the ...
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Can I launch a homemade rocket from the ground that can reach LEO? [duplicate]
If I had the time and the financial means to do so (and legal rights), could I design, build, launch, and deliver a small (very small)
payload to low Earth Orbit?
I think it would be awesome to put a ...
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Is there a "green" hypergolic propellant?
Is there any such thing as a non-cryogenic, liquid, "green" hypergolic bipropellant, where green means environment friendly and non-toxic?
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Why are my empirical and theoretical value of mass flow rate in solid propellant rockets not similar?
For a rocket of:
fuel mass $m_f$ = 6 kg,
Thrust = 3.1 kN, (vs 4k using reducing catalyst to delay burn time)
total powered burn time, $t_b$ = 3.5 s, (using reducing catalyst vs 1.8 sec)
This ...
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What is the practicality of using sub-cooled propane in combination with HTP in an amateur engine design? [closed]
Using sub-cooled propane, at approximately -90°C (b.p. -42°C at STP) in combination with >80% hydrogen peroxide, can any meaningful gains be made, whilst considering that this fuel mixture would be ...
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How to determine altitude when altimeters fail?
Specifically for high altitude amateur rocketry, how is altitude determined when you get too high(too low pressure) for barometric altimeters to work? I heard about GPS, however, COCOM limitations ...
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Which solid fuel is optimal for light rocket?
I am in search of comparatively cheap and powerful enough solid fuel. I've found rocket candy, but is it enough to reach 1km altitude?
(My aim is a 2 metre high rocket with 0.5kg of payload.)
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ULA/Ball Aerospace Intern Sport Rocket
So I've seen ULA post about their intern rocket launch a couple of weekends ago and was curious:
What are the performance specs on the motors used for the first/second stage? (Class, quantity, etc.)
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new nozzle design, is it a fail?
So I'm an amature rocket scientist. while having a conversation with a friend on a nozzles we though of a new nozzle:
Its a double nozzle where it expands a lot and then compress.
I want to put this ...
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What materials should I use to make a suborbital amateur rocket and where can I buy them? [closed]
I’m trying to make a suborbital rocket to get some pictures of the Earth but I’m not sure what material’s to use and where to get them. I’ve been thinking of titanium for the shell but I’m not sure ...
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Can I able to use RP 1 and LOX in metal tin small size rockets? Is that possible? [closed]
I love rockets. Planning to build a tin rocket but not with water and air pressure. I would like to build a small metal tin rocket using fuel as RP 1 and oxidizer as LOX. I know this is too hazardous ...
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Do fins with slightly different masses but the same surface area affect the stability of a rocket?
Each of four fins of a rocket are of slightly different masses like( 0.204, 0.2, 0.199 and 0.19 kg). If they have the same surface area, will that severely affect the stability (spin) during flight? I ...
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