Special Thanks

Two things, first, We have to thank Timur Balbekov for helping with the programming aspect of this project because the accelerometer stuff was too crazy for us to do alone. Tim's the man.

Second, we also have to thank Schmartboard and Freecale for donating some supplies for the accelerometer. Along with that is this entry from Timur's website (www.orbitality.com, go check it out) had typed up about his experience using these supplies.

"Sourcing Accelerometers: Most accelerometers are designed for use in laptops and cell phones. Because of this, they are designed to be small. Their size makes it extremely difficult to solder for the average hobbyist without a reflow oven (think toaster oven for microchips) or a really hot blow dryer. A company that has sponsored our efforts, Schmartboard, has developed a product that makes soldering easy.

A schmartboard contains solder and small gutters into which the tiny pins of these accelerometers drop into. From there it is a small matter of heating the junction with a regular soldering iron. The board contains drilled holes through which headers can be placed to plug the sensors into a through-hole board. From start to finish, attaching a chip to one of these boards should take no longer than five minutes. The downside of this convenience is size: compared to a standard breakout board (board without the pre-placed solder), the Schmartboard is much larger. Since we are working with size constraints (the device has fit into a rocket), it will be necessary to take a dremel to the boards to cut them down to size.

The accelerometers were sampled from Freescale, who sent us two 50g (upper accleration limit) single-axis accelerometers (MMA2202EG) and a two three-axis 10g accelerometers. Small rockets can reach upwards of 100g, so these sensors are by no means excessive. The 50g accelerometer is in a SOIC (surface outline IC) package, which means its a small DIP chip that has “gull wing” leads that don’t poke through the PC board. The smaller accelerometer is QFN (quad flat no lead) and has no protruding pins. It’s also very small, and it turns out that the chip has non standard lead pitch. Normally, QFN16 (16 leads) chips have a distance (pitch) of .65mm between pins. The chip we received has a pitch of 1mm, making it impossible to use the Schmartboard for that chip. It is possible to solder wires directly to a QFN chip provided the wires are thin enough (magnet wires). A good idea would be to glue the QFN chip to the adapter board but make the connections with magnet wire."

Oh, and here is the Schmartboard logo:

And their site: www.schmartboard.com

And here is the Freescale logo:

Along with their site:www.freescale.com

-Rebel Rockets

Rebel Rockets-Day 22

I guess this is the last journal post. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be what we did or if we are supposed to reflect on the overall experience, so I'll just do both. To start off we made this awesome video montage of our rocket launches and then made a slide show, and then put together a presentation board for the SEE Fair...that took up our whole day. As for the whole project, I had a really good time, and it was way better than going to school. During the project we had to constantly adapt to our different needs because we always had problems. This is something that we probably wouldn't have had to do if we were in school, and that single learning experience is something that makes the senior project worth it. I had a great time, almost want to keep doing it...Almost.

-Mike B.

Today, we completely finished the project. We made the video montage, which took a good deal of time because we had to get all the videos uploaded onto the computer. Also, we lost one of the cameras, and that took a while to find. We also printed out all the graphs and placed them on the poster. We also printed out the program that Tim wrote for us for the accelerometer and placed that on the poster. A powerpoint was also finished for the SEE fair.
This entire experience was really fun. It was a lot better than going to school for the last month. I couldn't imagine how bad senioritis would have been if we were in school instead of doing the Senior Enrichment Experience. I didn't expect to run into all the problems that we did during this experience. There were so many obstacles in this project like waiting for the accelerometer to arrive, figuring out a way to construct homemade model rockets, and all the failed launches. We really had to work together and come up with new ways around all the problems so that our ultimate goals could still be accomplished. Overall, it was a really good experience, however, since it was the first time for our school to be doing this, there will probably be changes made.

-Christian

Today was spent making the video montage for the SEE fair. That took up most of the day. We worked on uploading all of the pictures and put music to the music. We also built a poster to present our project with.
Over the course of this project, i learned many new things. I also learned how to solve problems in a new way. If i had not done this project, i wouldn't have been forced to solve these problems. I believe that i have grown because of this project and I would definately recommend this to continue on over the next years.

-Ben W.

Today was the final day of our SEE project. We did all that was left to do. We worked on making a video montage for our presentation. We then made a poster to present our project. We printed out all of the accelerometer graphs and put them on the poster. We then printed the programming for our poster, crediting Tim. Last we put the A3-4T thrust graph and the displacement prediction graph on the poster. With this we had finished our project. Our project was a learning experience for everyone in the group. We all learned to solve problems in our own way and through teamwork. The roadblocks that we encountered only helped us push ourselves to accomplishing our goals, whether they were during construction or in the math. I personally was able to push myself farther than I have before when doing the calculus. It was good to get back into math, as I did not have a math course to take this year. It was a good experience to prepare for my major in college. I would recommend the SEE project to any senior who would have the opportunity to participate in it.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets- Day 21

We finished the math today completely, along with all the graphs. Not only this we launched the final rocket successfully, so we're all done with that stuff. Now all we have to do is finish the presentation stuff for the SEE Fair and everything is done with. Not much else to say besides that. And the video of this last launch was accidentally uploaded to another day, so it's a couple posts below.

-Mike B.

Today, all the calculus predictions were completed and also, since we launched the last rocket, the data was collected from the accelerometer for the final graph. We got all the data ready on the computer and started to compile all the videos and pictures from all the cameras we used to document this entire experience. All that is left is to actually make the presentation for the SEE fair. The poster needs to be done, and so do the powerpoints and the video.

-Christian

Today we launched the last rocket and collected the data from the accelerometer. We then started to collect all of the accelerometer graphs and the launch videos for presentation. We also double-checked all of the calculus and then made all of it ready for presentation. All that remains is the presentation itself: the poster and the powerpoint show.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets-Day 20

We built our final rocket today. Not only this but we finished up the math/graphs and started preparation for our presentation for the SEE Fair. On the downside though, the launch didn't work, we think it's because the fuses are kind of faulty, and we needed another electrical ignition system but we didn't have one. So we have to wait until tomorrow to launch off the final one.

-Mike B.

Today, we built our last rocket. We did most of the graphs and math for the project. We also started to prepare for the SEE fair, deciding what to make for it. We decided to do a slideshow of our pictures, and a video montage of all our launches. We then tried to launch, but the conditions for launching were not optimal. Also, the fuses were not working for some reason and we couldn't find any igniters. The final launch will be done tomorrow.

-Christian

Today was spent building our final rocket. We also began our work on the SEE fair presentation. We decided on making a powerpoint to show everyone what we had done. We would also show our launches. Tomorrow, we will finish the final launch of the project. After this, we will be able to combine our data to find which rocket went the highest.

-Ben W.

Today we finished integrating the equations for the predictions. We got a maximum height of around 22 meters, which is very close to what we had in actuality. We then graphed the piecewise function of displacement that was integrated from the velocity. The graph was close to what we generally received from the accelerometer. That concluded one part of our project. We then moved on to creating the final rocket with the shorter fuselage. We will do our final launch tomorrow and conclude another part of the project.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets-Day 19

Today, we set off many of our variables. We were able to find a system of launching then quickly changing the engine to launch again. We were able to do the launches for the cone, wings, and the taller fuselage. With this data already done, we will easily be able to finish our variables by tomorrow. We will launch the shorter fuselage tomorrow. Once this is done, we will compare the different data and compare.

-Ben W.
We set off most of the rockets to collect data today. The accelerometer hopefully worked in all of them. We found a way to change the engine quickly enough so that we could do multiple trials. We had 2 trials per variable. Since we used hot glue to glue in the engine, once we recovered the rocket, we were able to pull out the used engine and place in the new one while the glue was still melted. Tomorrow all we need to do is test the shorter fuselages. Then we also have to upload all the data onto the computer. We are almost done with the project,but we still have to set up our presentation for the SEE fair on the 17th.

-Christian

We did many launches today to collect all the data for our different variables. We went to the field and used the same fuselage to test the type of fin and the cone size. For each variable, we had two trials. It did no take too long to test all these variables with one fuselage because we had a system that allowed us to quickly remove and insert the engines. It went pretty systematically because we used this method. We also made the second fuselage that we are going to test tomorrow and collect the data from the accelerometer.

-Kushal

Because of the use of the hot glue gun to mount the engine we were able to launch several rockets today in rapid succession. Since we constructed the shorter fuselage today we were only able to test variables on the longer fuselage. Tomorrow we are going to test the shorter fuselage provided that the accelerometer yields good data.

-Mike S.

We found a good way to do launches, because the glue gun glue melts when it is hot we could launch a bunch of rockets in the same day. This made this great for us, we made a lot of progress. Tomorrow we are going to test the shorter fuselage since it had to dry overnight (the wood glue) after that we are pretty much done I think. Good stuff.

-Mike B.

Today we spent doing a large amount of launches. We felt that we were ready to test many of the variables in one day. We have found a quick way to exchange engines using the hot glue gun, which sped up our process. We tested all but the shorter fuselage, which we will do in the near future. We are fairly sure we received good data from the accelerometer again and are near finishing our trials.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets-Day 18

Today, we finished putting together the rocket that we started on yesterday. We added the fins, and they were spaced out almost perfectly. A better way of fitting the cone into the wider fuselage was made, and it made it look neater. This rocket had more padding on the inside than the last rocket, so this one was a bit heavier. We went to launch this rocket, with the accelerometer inside. The rocket did not travel very high at all. It probably went around 30-40 feet in the air. We would want the rocket to travel higher, however, since we are running out of time, we just need to get stuff done already. We then hooked up the accelerometer to the computer and then got the graph it outputted.

-Christian

Today we launched the rocket that we had begun work on yesterday. Probably due to the increased padding, this one traveled only about 40 feet in the air. Normally we would try to increase this, but due to our time constraints we will have to be satisfied with this height. We also downloaded the data from the accelerometer, and it again seems to have given us good data.

-Mike S.

We finished up the rocket we were making yesterday and it looks good. The fuselage was sturdy, the fins were spaced properly, and the accelerometer was padded and fit well. We also improved on how we placed the cone in the fuselage. We went to the school to test the rocket out but the rocket only went up around 30 feet. Then we went and outputted the graph from the accelerometer to our computer and the data gave us a similar graph as last time.

-Kushal

We worked on creating more rockets and then proceeded to doing another test launch. The rocket was built well and was sturdy, with extra packing to protect the accelerometer. The problem was that the extra packing added more weight, and so the rocket did not launch very high. This may not be a true problem, however, because the low height makes it easy to recover and keeps the accelerometer safe. Later in the day, we linked the accelerometer to the computer and got the data. It seemed to have worked out well and we will now be able to move on.

-Scott

We were able to do a new launch today. There was extra padding in the rocket to protect the rocket. Unfortunately, this caused the rocket to be heavier. This caused the rocket to go at a lower height. This helped to keep the rocket safer. It will also cause our data to have smaller changes. This will make the data harder to determine. I still believe that the rocket will work . The tests will work and we fill find out which variables will help the most.

-Ben W.

We did another launch today. We put a lot of padding in it just to be safe, but we think this made the rocket heavier so it didn't go as high. But this kept the rocket safer at least. However, the problem is is that this may make data harder to compare since we don't have the same amount of padding in each of the rockets, oh well.

-Mike B.

Rebel Rockets-Day 17

Today we made more parts for the newer rocket design. Since the diameter of the rocket is larger, there are less layers to place wood glue on, so it is very flimsy. We found some business card paper laying around, so we decided to use this for the new fuselages so that there is more rigidity to them. Also, we got the graph from the data that the accelerometer recorded yesterday. This is good because it means that the accelerometer is actually working fine. We decided on which fin types to test out for that variable. More thought was placed into coming up with a better way to fit in the cone into the wider tubes. Also, we had to look for a scale because we need the new rocket's mass for the calculations.

-Christian

Today we constructed the various parts for the variables that we will be testing. We also found some more rigid paper that has given our rocket more structural integrity, as well as discovering a better system for placing the cone in the top of the fuselage. We also got the graph from the accelerometer, which contains very good data and seems to be a positive sign for upcoming launches.

-Mike S.

We ended up making a lot of material today for our variable testing. Luckily, we found some better quality paper to make a more sturdy fuselage as the other fuselage was very flimsy. We found a better way to place the cone into the fuselage also. We also received our accelerometer graph so we know that the accelerometer works. The data also made sense so we know that we can finally test our variables.

-Kushal

We acquired the mass of the rocket today. This will allow us to get farther in the prediction equations. We also made some new parts for the wider rockets. We found some better paper to construct the fuselages and a better way to fit the cones in the fuselage. We also received the accelerometer graphs to confirm that the test worked. The graphs were very similar to graphs of other model rockets we had seen online, giving us more reassurance in our tests. Later in the day, we finished the equations for the force of drag and put them with the rest of our prediction equations. All that needs to be done is the integration and then the drawing of the displacement graph.

-Scott

Today, we created parts for the wider rockets. We made the new rockets out of card stock. This would allow the rockets to be much more structurally strong. We obtained the graph from the accelerometer. This was a good graph and allowed us to see how high the rocket went. We will be able to compare this graph to many others and figure out which variables affect the rocket the most.

-Ben W.

We made parts for the wider rockets today. We used card stock since it's thicker. This would give the rockets a stronger body and hopefully be better. We also got our first results from the accelerometer and it is pretty good, it gave us some good information. We can now compare graphs to see which variables are best for the rocket.

-Mike B.

Rebel Rockets-Day 16

Today began as any other. We met up and began work on the new fuselage. We then tested out the rocket to make sure that it would go in the air and not destroy itself. We had to first create a cone that would fit in the rocket. The cones that we had were to small. We built paper around the cones in order to make them fit in more perfectly. After we found that the rocket would launch fine, we decided to launch a new rocket with the accelerometer. After this, we went home.

-Ben W.

We decided to test another rocket today, just to make sure that the accelerometer would be safe, we can't risk that breaking or else we will be at a stand still. The test went pretty well and now we're relatively confident in our rockets. Because this was successful we went to try the accelerometer. We think it worked, but we have to see if it actually recorded everything and if the graph will work. The problem is that the rocket fuselage is still pretty weak, so we might try and use thicket paper, and hopefully that will work well.

-Mike B.

We had to make a new rocket today. We made one of the new ones, with the larger diameter for the accelerometer. We tested the accelerometer today also. The launch wasn't as impressive as the previous ones because of the additional weight of the new rockets. We need to test and see if the accelerometer actually recorded data also. The cone on this rocket didn't fit so we had to modify it to fit in. We hope the accelerometer actually works.

-Christian

We started off today with another dry run just to be completely certain of the ability of our rocket to safely return the accelerometer. Because this went fairly well we decided later in the day to do a test with the accelerometer in the rocket. The test went well, and we believe that we will have some good data from this launch, but we will have to see the graphs from the accelerometer before we make any conclusions.

-Mike S.

We made another rocket today and decided one more test was necessary before we used the accelerometer. The launch went very well and we believed that it would be safe to put the accelerometer in the rocket. We decided to do another launch later in the day to test the accelerometer. The test went well and is our first step on testing the variables. We believe we will get some good data from the accelerometer and will be able to move on to the final step in our project.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets-Day 15

We finished the rocket today, it was really flimsy so we decided to launch it without the accelerometer to make sure it was safe enough. After the launch we decided it was safe enough, but some of the wings had fallen off so we decided to fix up the fuselage and make sure we attached the wings better to make sure that nothing will happen to our accelerometer. It was a successful launch overall I guess, but we need to make sure the accelerometer works.

-Mike B.

Today we finished another rocket and we decided to launch it. However we wanted to launch it without the accelerometer so that we could see if the impact would be too strong when it landed. Since we aren't putting in a recovery system anymore, we had to see if it would be safe for the accelerometer. It seemed to be safe enough, although some fins fell off. We hope that we can get the accelerometer to work also.

-Christian

Today we finished to construction of one of our new rockets and decided to test it to make sure that the accelerometer would be secure inside. The test indicated that it would provided that we used sufficient padding, for which we will be using fiberglass insulation.

-Mike S.

We finished up making our new rocket and and went to test it without the accelerometer inside to see if this rocket design worked properly as to not damage our accelerometer. Also, we decided not to add a parachute this time. We discovered that all we needed to do was to add some padding to the accelerometer as the impact of the rocket was not too strong. Some of the fins fell off but this can be fixed easily if we apply the glue better.

-Kushal

We first finished the larger rocket today and went off for a test launch. We wanted to try a launch without the accelerometer to test if the new design worked. We could not risk losing that piece of equipment. We launched the rocket without a parachute since it did not go very high and the ejection won't work correctly with the accelerometer. We have decided on using padding inside the rocket to keep the accelerometer safe. We also made the piecewise function for the graph of the thrust for the A engines and will use that for the predictions.

-Scott

We launched the rocket today. We did not put the accelerometer in the rocket, we were just testing to see if the accelerometer would be able to survive the fall. The rocket went up and came down relatively softly. 2 of the wings fell off of the rocket, but that would easily be fixed. We decided that the rocket would be safe enough and began the repairs on the rocket.

-Ben W.

Rebel Rockets - Day 14

After receiving the accelerometer we realized how much larger we needed to make our rockets. In order to do this we needed something with a larger diameter to wrap the paper around. To do this Mike See used a piece of wood and a lathe and created a dowel with an inch and 3/4 diameter. We then constructed a fuselage using this dowel. It's not as sturdy as the other ones because it's a larger area, but hopefully it will hold. Also, we needed larger cones so we went to the hobby shop to look for larger ones, we got some, but they still aren't large enough so we have to find another way to attach them.

-Mike B.

Because we were unable to find any circular objects with a suitable diameter for our rocket I used a lathe to create a dowel of about 1 and 3/4 inches in diameter. Using the same technique as for our other rockets we then created a fuselage. The increased surface area caused a decrease in structural rigidity, but it is still acceptable for our purposes. We then went to the hobby shop to find larger cones. The cones that we bought were larger than those we were using previously but still not large enough for our current fuselage, so we will need to find some way to attach them securely.

-Mike S.

In order to fit the accelerometer into our rocket we had to find an object to model our fuselage after. Since we couldn't find one with the appropriate diameter, Mike See had to make a dowel with a lathe. We ended up making a fuselage with a large enough diameter to fit the accelerometer but it was not very sturdy. Later we went to the hobby shop to buy larger cones. We did find larger cones but they were not wide enough to properly fit them in the fuselage. Yet we can still find a way to secure them well.

-Kushal

The accelerometer is larger than we expected and this presented some problems. We needed to make wider fuselages to fit the accelerometer. We also needed something cylindrical to wrap the paper around. We decided we needed to lathe a dowel to a diameter of 1.75 in. Mike did that as others went to get larger cones. The cones were smaller than we needed and we will have to adjust to that. The fuselage that was made is very flimsy and may also present a problem.

-Scott

We obtained the accelerometer. We found that it was larger than we had originally anticipated. We had to make a larger rocket to fit it in. We could not find a larger dowel, so we had to create one out of a piece of wood. The larger fuselage causes the rocket to be weaker. This means that we may have trouble with the rocket falling apart. The new rocket is 1 and 3/4 inches high.

-Ben W.

Rebel Rockets-Day 13

Today we went to the hobby shop to buy the A engines. After that, we quickly built another rocket with one of the A engines fitted into it to see how high it would go. It ended up going about 300 feet, which is much lower than the C engines we've been using , and much less exciting than the C engines. However, this is a good height because it would be harder to lose the rockets and we really need to start testing out the other variables. Also, we finally received the accelerometer. It will be difficult to figure out a way to mount them within the rocket.

-Christian

We got our new engines today, the A ones. We rushed a rocket to test the height and see how it would fit in our fuselages, it looked kind of strange because of the size difference, but it worked. We launched it and it went up a good amount still, but not even close to the C engines, so it was kind of lame in comparison, but we finally recovered a rocket. But, for doing our research, it probably is better since we need to test variables. Lastly, we got our accelerometer and hopefully can figure out a way to safely put it in the rocket and in such a way it will do its job.

-Mike B.

Today, we got the accelerometer, and the new engines. We quickly built a rocket with the engine and tested it. It went a reasonable height up and was easily obtained. I believe that these will work much better. The accellerometer is slightly larger than we anticipated, so we will have to create a larger fuselage for the rockets.

-Ben W.

Today we started by acquiring the new A3-4T engines at the hobby shop. They were smaller than we expected. We quickly built a rocket so we could test the new engines. The rockets went a much shorter height up compared to the C engines, but we were easily able to recover the rocket. This is important because we need to save the accelerometer for reuse. We later got the accelerometer and will need to figure out a way to fit it in our rockets. We also took our first steps to refiguring our calculations for the A engines.

-Scott

After buying the A3-4T engines we slapped together a rocket to determine whether or not they offered sufficient propulsion for the rocket. The rocket only went up a fraction of how high it had been previously, but we decided that due to the importance of being able to recover the accelerometer after every launch we would have to be satisfied with this. Later we met Tim and took the accelerometer from him. Due to its size we are going to need to significantly increase the diameter of our rockets.

-Mike S

We went to the hobby shop to buy some A3-4T rocket engines that are weaker than the C engines we were using. We need a smaller engine so we don't end up losing our rockets like the last few times. We created a rocket with the A3 rocket fitted and went to the school to launch it. It went up around 300 feet which is not as much as the C engine. This engine seems to be the right size even if it is not as impressive as the C. We also received our accelerometer today and hopefully we can get to testing our variables soon.

-Kushal

Rebel Rockets- Day 12

Today we had two failures, but it lead us to the solution to our problems. We had our first launch in the morning, this went so high we had absolutely no idea where it went, at all. So we decided to make our parachute smaller, that way it would fall faster and not be carried by the wind so much. We still lost this rocket, even though we were able to follow it to the ground, it went into the woods and was lost. Because of both these failures we decided we had to switch to a smaller engine. While this is pretty disappointing, we had initially thought the rocket wouldn't go so high with our chosen engine so we are actually closer to what we proposed by switching to an A engine rather than a C.

-Mike B.

Today, we launched more rockets. We tried to look for a different spot at the school to launch, and we did find a larger, wider area more suitable for launches. The first engine we tried to use was a dud, however, the second one worked. We ended up losing the rocket again cause the wind took it too far. So, after that we went back to construct another rocket. We launched this one with a smaller parachute, thinking the wind wouldn't take this one as far, but it did so we lost that one too. We decided at the end of the day that we would have to use smaller engines because we can't lose every single rocket that we launch, especially when the accelerometer is mounted in them. We decided to go with A engines, which are much weaker than the C engines we've been using. The A engines would be easiest to work with because they don't go as high up and it would be more difficult to lose them.

-Christian

Once again, we launched rockets. We used the new field and lost the rocket after it fired. We decided to change rocket engines. First, we decided to try out a smaller parachute, in hopes that the rocket would fall down more vertically. This did not happen, so we were forced to change to smaller rockets. This will make the rocket go less high, but hopefully, we will be able to find the rocket afterwords.

-Ben W.

We were able to launch a rocket early in the day. We rocket went so high in the air that we were unable to even see it come down. The parachute must have ejected and the rocket flew away. We decided to try another launch, but to use a smaller parachute so the rocket would fall faster and would not be as far off target. The rocket fired correctly and we were able to follow it's path, but it went into the woods. We now concluded that we need to use the A engines instead of the C engines so that the rocket will not go as high and we will be able to recover it.

-Scott

We went ot the school first thing in the morining and set up near the baseball field. This time the rocket went very high and we some how lost track of our rocket. We were on the fence about uses smaller engines but today proved that we should. So we went and made a smaller parachute so it will fall faster and not go off into the woods where we can't recover it. We initally thought that the C engine was not strong enough but we are thinking that the A engine is the way to go this time.

-Kushal

Even though we redesigned the parachute to fall more quickly and thus improve our chances of retrieving the rocket the C engine still propelled the rocket too high. Even with the smaller parachute the rocket still drifted off into the woods and we were unable to find it. We've decided that due to our time constraints we will move directly to an A engine to ensure that we no longer lose the rockets.

-Mike

Rebel Rockets-Day 11

Today, yet again, we made another complete rocket. We decided to go launch it at the school, but at a different location. We found an area larger than the field we were using before. We drove around for a while around town to look for a larger field, and we did find one, however, it was pretty far away. We thought that it wouldn't be too smart to drive the half hour to the field daily, so we just decided to use a different part of the school. The launch today was pretty bad. There was something wrong with the way the rocket was attached to the launch pad, and the rocket did not even come off of the launch pad. It stayed on the ground and just flailed around. We were quite disappointed. After the launch, we tried to fix the launch pad, because it broke. Also, more construction was done afterwards on parachutes and fins.

-Christian

We decided to move our launch site, instead of using the cross country field we moved to the one on the practice football field. We think this is a better area and it was much better than driving to a large field a long ways away. The launch was messed up though, the rocket somehow stuck to the launchpad and then the rocket started spinning around all crazy-like. It was pretty annoying that something like that happened. We had to fix our launch pad using duct tape and did some more construction. Disappointing day.

-Mike B.

We found a new place to launch our rocket. We decided that we would use the area next to the baseball field because it was more open. If we used this area, we figured that we could find the rocket more easily. When we tried to launch the rocket, it stuck to the launch pad and spun out of control. The test was invalid. After this, we decided to fix the launch pad and call it a day.

-Ben W.

Today we drove to find a better field to launch the rockets. We found one, but it was farther away then we expected to find one. We decided not to use that field today, but it remains an option for the future. We then built another complete rocket. For the launch we decided to move to a different part of the high school. We attempted to launch the rocket, but it stuck to the launching pad and spun around on the ground. The launching pad was damaged, but not beyond repair and we were able to fix it with duck tape before moving on.

-Scott

We decided today that we were going to use a better field so we don't lose our rockets again. This time we used the area next to the baseball field because the other fields we found were too far away to always go there to test a rocket. We are getting the hang of building these rockets so it did not take to long to set up a rocket that was ready for a launch. Yet the rocket spun out when we ignited it and the launch pad broke. We think that the rocket stuck onto the launch pad because we applied the tape to strongly. We ended up having to fix the launch pad with some glue and a lot of duck tape.

-Kushal

Rebel Rockets-Day 10

Today, we built another complete rocket. We had to construct a new parachute because it was lost at the last launch. We reused the same fuselage though, and the same shock cord. We also mass produced fuselages today, because we thought we will need a lot of them for when we test out the other variables. We went to the field again to launch this rocket, and it flew up and the recovery system worked well. However, since the fins that were placed on this rocket were not of the same size and were also spaced out incorrectly, it caused the rocket to spiral upward instead of just flying straight up. Also, the wind carried the rocket too far and it got lost in the woods. We need to fix those fins and we also need to find a bigger field because we cannot keep losing these rockets. If we lose one with the accelerometer in it, then that would be a very large setback.

-Christian

We finished another rocket today. We used the same fuslage as the last launch, but we needed a new cone and parachute. We made a bunch of other fuselages today though, because we keep on losing them or breaking them, plus it gives us a chance to test more variables at once. The problem with the rocket we planned on launching was that the fins were different sizes and weren't spaced evenly, so during the launch it spiraled up in the air, it looked cool, but it wasn't supposed to do this. The good news about the launch was that the parachute was ejected and it worked, but the bad news is that it was carried away by the wind. It's really annoying actually. So we have to find a bigger field because we can't lose the rockets especially if the accelerometer is in it.

-Mike B.

Today we built another complete rocket, with a new cone and parachute. We made sure that the shock cord was more securely attached to the cone so the rocket would stay in one piece and we could stand a better chance of recovering it. While doing this we included the newly found coefficient of drag into our equations to nearly complete them. We then went to the high school to launch the rockets. There we acquired the mass of the rocket. With this we will soon be able to finish our predictions. The launch did not go as we had planned. The fins were constructed incorrectly with uneven spacing and sizes, which caused the rocket to spiral as it went upwards and lost maximum height. The rocket stayed attached to the cone and parachute but it still floated away into the woods. We will have to find a more open area to launch in the future.

-Scott

Today, we launched another rocket. This one was much more successful. The rocket flew up and deployed the parachute. The parachute stayed attached to the rocket. Unfortunately, the field was too small, and the rocket floated away. We were not able to recover it. The rocket did not fly up perfectly either. This was because the fins were not spaced correctly. Also, the fins were all asymmetrical. The next time we plan on launching our rocket in a mch larger field. I have a good feeling about the next launch.

-Ben W.

We made many fuselages today and finished up one rocket that was ready for a launch. We made improvements on the shock cord, cone, and parachute. The parachute managed to deploy during the launch but we lost the rocket as it went spirialing out of control. This was because one of the fins was not of the right size and not spaced properly. Good thing we made many fuselages so we can find a bigger field hopfully and recover our rocket this time. It was also a good thing that every thing went fine so we can reproduce better results.

-Kushal

Rebel Rockets-Day 9

Today we went back to the school to test our rocket as it was too windy yesterday. The wind was not as strong this time around so we picked a good place to launch and set up our pad. The rocket fired off but the fuselage fell close to the launch site but the cone/parachute structure went far far off. Despite this, we know that the engine stayed in place and the parachute did deploy when going up even if broke off from the rocket. Also the fins came off because the glue did not hold this time around. I believe everthing would have worked had the shock cord been better attached to the cone. It seems that the shock cord was not tied to the cone/parachute apparatus well and we need to apply more tape and glue next time around so it safely holds onto the rocket when it is coming down. I think we are getting close to a point where we have a final build to our constant variable rocket model so we can test other independant variables. Later we started working on the calculations by doing some research on the force of drag and the coefficient of drag that we can implement in our calculations that are already done.

-Kushal

Today we had our first successful full-scale test of the parachute ejection system. We used a different cone and a different parachute, which coupled with gluing the engine into the fuselage allowed the parachute to eject. However, the connection between the cone and the parachute was too weak, and the parachute and cone separated from the fuselage. The fuselage was recovered, but the parachute and cone drifted off and were lost.

-Mike S.

Today we launched the rocket early in the day out in the back field. The rocket fired relatively straight up and the parachute ejected correctly, but the shock cord separated from the cone. The fuselage with the engine in it and the shock cord attached to it came straight down, but the cone stayed attached to the parachute and with the lack of downward force it floated away into the woods. We never found the cone or parachute and will have to acquire new ones. Later that day we researched more about the force of drag and the Reynolds number.

-Scott

Today, we almost successfully were able to launch our first rocket. The parachute deployd, but it was not attached to the rocket though. We lost the parachute, but were able to recover the fuselage. This allowed us to see what happened. Next time, we have to attach the cone to the rocket more securely. Once we are able to do that, we will have a successful launch. Then we can begin to test our variables.

-Ben W.

Rebel Rockets-Day 8

We decided to construct more tubes. We also made a new parachute because we thought the plastic bag by itself wouldn't do so well as we originally thought. We made the new parachute out of cellophane we found lying around. We made it a circle, which we thought would do well. Then we figured out a new way to fold the parachute, and this way worked very well because it opened up completely all the time when we tested it out. We made new fins and attached them to an old tube that we constructed the other day so that we had a completed rocket. Then we went to the field to test out the rocket, but it turned out to be way too windy for a test launch, so we decided to delay the test for tomorrow. The purpose of this test was to see if the rocket would work properly, which includes the recovery system working as well. Tomorrow hopefully will not be as windy so that we can test it out and see if we can get a home made rocket to work. Time is running short, and we still have to test out the variables for our project.

-Christian

Today we started off with building a new parachute as our old one was lost and may not have been as reliable as we thought. We used some cellophane and we constructed it so it would hopefully work better than our old parachute and maybe eject better. So far it seems to be the case as it unravels when we test it out. We then began constructing another rocket so we can test out our new parachute with a fuselage that was already built by fitting the engine, adding the cone and wadding, and some newly constructed fins. We went to the school to test out our rocket but we decided not to because it was too windy. So we decided to launch the rocket off in the morning when it will hopfully not be as windy as today. I hope that the parachute will work this time around as we need to make sure that the accerlerometer will not break when the rocket comes back to earth.

-Kushal

We kept building today. We made a new parachute since the other was lost before, and we also made some more fuselages. We were pushing to get a rocket done so we could see if we could finally get a successful launch, however when we got to the school it was really windy, and after several failures and one probably due to weather we decided to wait until tomorrow. While this was a good idea I'm kind of disappointed since I won't be able to make it tomorrow. We really really need that to be successful we're running out of time so we gotta stop making mistakes.

-Mike B.

Today was another day for building. We modified the parachute design into a more compact, circular shape. Hopefully this will increase the chances that the recovery system functions. We also tried out using a new, flat shock cord. Its flatness should make it easier to attach to the top of the rocket fuselage.

-Mike S.

Today was spent mostly building. We created more tubes for the rockets, and created a new parachute. We purchased a new shock cord that will have more surface area to keep the shock cord attached. This will keep the parachute attached to the rocket itself. We were going to test out the rocket, but it was too windy. We decided to test the rocket out tomorrow for safety reasons. If tomorrow's launch is successful, we will be able to begin testing our variables.

-Ben W

Today we started by meeting and deciding on a new design for a parachute. We chose to make a circle out of a more compactible material. We also found a better way to fit the parachute in the tube to increase the chance of it ejecting correctly. Then we proceded to work on making more fuselages until late in the day. We went to the field to launch the rocket, but found that it was too windy, which may have caused the rocket to blow to far off course. We will try to launch early tomorrow.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets-Day 7

Today we built more tubes. We had to figure out a new way to fold the parachute because the way we were doing it before was not opening every time. The new way seems to work a lot better than the initial way. We actually finished a rocket today and went to the field again to test it. The purpose of this launch was to see if the parachute would actually deploy this time. The launch failed because we lost the rocket. It probably came down in pieces because we found the engine completely separated from the rest of the rocket. We did not find the rest of the parts so we had to take another trip to the hobby store to pick up cones and more fuses. We figured that the cones were too difficult to construct well enough, so we just decided to buy them prefabricated. Losing the rocket was pretty upsetting, and we viewed it as a step backwards.

-Christian

We built more rockets today first, then we had another launch. But the launch didn't work again, and the parachute never ejected, the reason we don't know, we couldn't find the rocket. We think it came apart because the engine fell out. Since we lost the rocket we had to get another cone for it, so we went to the hobby shop and got some more cones and fuses. It's pretty annoying the chute still didn't eject all we can really do is try to launch another rocket and hope for the best because even though our test worked, during the real one we still messed up. It's pretty disappointing we still haven't achieved a fully successful launch.

-Mike B.

Today we started by building more rockets and working on the prediction equations. The equations are nearly finished and the only information needed is that pertaining to the force of drag. This means that in the near future we will have to use the wind tunnel to test our rocket's drag. Then we will be able to make the equations and then predict the path the rocket will take. In the meantime we needed to check if the parachute would eject so we could save the accelerometer that would give us the data to check our predictions. We finished one of our rockets this morning and set off to do a test launch. The launch did not work out as we had planned, and the rocket fuselage was lost, as was the cone and parachute. The rocket may have not been able to withstand the force of the engine's backwards propulsion and could have broken apart. At least, we found the engine separated from the rest of the rocket. In the future, we will have to make the engine tighter in the rocket and find a way to make sure the parachute ejects correctly.

-Scott

We began today with more work on building rockets. We created more shells, and fins. We created new fin shapes for the next variable and further worked on the parachute. We then decided to test the parachute by launching a rocket. The launch did not go as planned. We lost he main rocket and were only able to recover the rocket engine. We then went to the hobby shop to purchase a new cone for the rockets we would be building.

-Ben W.

Today we began to build more fuselages and put some finishing touches one of them by adding fins, wadding, shock cord, and parachute that we were also testing. We wanted to make sure that the parachute will work this time so we decided to launch our second rocket. This time the launch did not go so well as the engine got seperated from the fuselage and parachute that we never were able to recover. So now we know that the engine needs to be secured better and another parachute apparatus is needed so it will stay attached to the cone and fuselage. Therefore, we went to the hobby shop in Danbury to get more cones and fuses for our next attempt.

-Kushal

After finishing up the rocket that we had begun building yesterday we decided to do another test to determine whether or not our recovery system was working. Sadly, it did not go as we had hoped. The rocket flew well, but the second charge of the engine backfired, pushing the engine itself out of the fuselage. The engine was recovered, but both the fuselage and recovery system were lost.

- Mike S.

Rebel Rockets-Day 6

Today we tested to make sure the parachute would eject since it didn't last time. We duck taped it to a tree and lit it off, and the chute popped out, so we're hoping that with the less wadding and the less tightly packed cone the next time we will have success. We also continued to look for a better way of folding the parachute and continued to build more rockets. We should probably be able to launch another next time.

-Mike B.

Today we continued to test the parachute and build more fuselages. We tested the parachute by taping a fuselage with a parachute and a C6-O rocket inside of it and the cone on top to a tree. We then ignited the fuse to the engine and the rocket engine's backwards propulsion was great enough to shoot the cone and the parachute into the air. The next step is a launch with a successful parachute ejection. This is an important part of our experiment as we will have delicate equipment inside the rocket and will need the parachute to eject.

-Scott

We tested our parachute apparatus today and it worked this time as it failed when we fired our first rocket. We have a feeling that the cone was to compact to allow pressure to make it eject. What we did was we taped a fuselage to a tree with an engine and lit it off with the parachute attached. It managed to come lose this time. We also found the best way to fold the parachute so it will unfold properly when it ejects by testing the parachute some more. Hopefully we will be able to test to see if the parachute works properly in a real launch so our accelerometer won't be damaged.

-Kushal

Today we were concerned mostly with making sure that the second charge of the engine would eject the parachute without problem. To accurately observe the actions of the rocket we attached it to a small tree with copious amounts of duct tape and lit it. The deployment system functioned without problem, giving us good hope for the next test.

-Mike S.

Rebel Rockets-Day 5

Turns out we didn't need that 2 inch PVC pipe, the motherboard was smaller than we initially thought so it turns out the original size of the rocket fuselage is fine. Today we basically just consolidated all the information we had, and continued construction on the new rockets. We just made some progress but nothing that drastic happened, but we completed a decent amount of work.

Mike B.

Today we figured out that we did not need the PVC pipe because the accelerometer does not take as much space as we thought it might. We then spent time making tubes of the original size and making the styrofoam cones to that size. We also were able, through trial and error, to make a piece-wise function to approximate the graph of the thrust force over time given by the instructions of the C-class rockets. From here we can find a function for acceleration and then move farther on our way to modeling the flight path.

-Scott

Today was just another day of construction basically. We found better way to fold the parachute so that it opens when it is supposed to. Before, it wasn't opening completely, but after playing around with the way that it was folded, we found it to completely open. Also, we came up with the idea of using styrofoam for the cones. We began construction on the cones by cutting and sanding layers of styrofoam. Also, more mathematical work was done and a piece-wise function was devised that would approximate thrust force vs. time. This would allow us to get a function for acceleration, which in turn would make the goal of modeling a flight path more attainable. More tubes were constructed today, but these were slightly thinner than the one we tested the other day. Also, the two inch diameter tubes won't be needed because we found out that we could make the accelerometer fit into a smaller area.

-Christian

After our first launch, we found out that we needed to change the way our parachute ejected so we played around with that. We also began building a styrofoam cone for our rocket. It may be the right idea so the accelerometer can fit inside the rocket and not get damaged during a launch. The accelerometer was smaller than we expected to be so we used our original design materials and began building the frame of our second rocket. Obviously there will be other variables we will change from what we learned from our first attempt.

-Kushal

Today, we did more work on the construction. We began to work on a cone made of Styrofoam. To make the cone, we cut a square out of foam and began to sand it to the desired shape. The math team made good progress on the equations. The larger 2 inch pvc pipe that we bought the other day was found to be unnecessary.

-Ben W

Rebel Rockets-Day 4

We got some more supplies today. Because the acceleramator and motherboard had a diameter of about 2 inches, we had to find something else besides a dowel, so we got some PVC pipe and hopefully that will work. After that we just continued on with some building of new rockets because the other one got smashed, and we also continued to work on the math. It was a pretty uneventful day compared to yesterday, but we got done what we needed to get done.

-Mike B.

Today was spent on constructing more rocket parts because the rocket we tested yesterday was destroyed. More materials were purchased today. We figured that we would need to make the diameters of the fuselages bigger, so the tubes we constructed today were about two inches. More work was also done on the math aspect of our project. More thought was placed into making a new way to attach the shock cord and attaching the fins onto the rocket. The fins on the first rocket were not completely straight, which might have affected it's flight path. Also, a new way of folding the parachute for the recovery system was thought of.

-Christian

We worked on building new rockets today. First we needed a larger diameter for the rockets, so we picked up PVC pipe. We cut the segment in half so we could build two rockets at a time. The rest of the day was spent building the rockets and working on the equations. We increased the diameter of the rocket in order to fit the accelerometer into the rocket.

-Ben W.

Today began with planning on what we need to do after a good launch yesterday. We figured our that we need a larger diameter for our rocket as to hold the accelerometer. So we went and got some PVC pipe and cut it into two. We also did some more research into the math so we can figure out the height and other variables when we launch our second rocket.

-Kushal

Today we began with discussing what modifications we needed to make to the rocket to ensure that the payload delivers. We decided that better sealing to increase pressure would increase the probability that the engine pushes the cone out. We also purchased PVC pipe with a diameter of 2 inches.

- Mike See

Today we started with acquiring more supplies for the next rockets. We went to the hardware store and purchased a large piece of PVC pipe with a diameter of 2 inches. This may be neccessary for the accelerometer to fit in the tube. We also discussed the changes that need be made to the rocket to improve the performance, such as more filling to increase the pressure in the tube and cause the parachute to eject, and improvement on the design of the fins.

-Scott

Rebel Rockets-Day 3

We launched our first rocket today, and it was fairly successful. It reached a height much higher than we initially expected. Our initial estimate was 200-300 feet in the air, but the rocket probably reached a height of at least 800 feet. The rocket did not travel straight up, and it landed much further away than we thought it would. The parachute did not deploy and we definitely need to fix that problem. Maybe the parachute was packed too tightly inside the tube, or maybe the cone fit too tightly in the tube. Also, there might have been too many leaks in the tube that allowed pressure to decrease inside, preventing the parachute from deploying. Also, we need to create a new way to attach the shock cord to the rocket because when we examined the rocket after the launch, the shock cord did not stay in place.

-Christian

Today we got our first rocket to actually launch. It went a lot higher than we though, I'm not sure how exactly high it will be, but it was definitely more than 300 feet. The major problem was that the parachute didn't deploy, we think this is because there was either too much wading in the tube or the cone was too tight into the tube, this is a pretty easy problem to solve. A not so easy problem is that the shock cord didn't stay where we wanted it to, meaning if the chute did deploy the body of the rocket would have still been in free fall. So we need to find an alternate way of attaching that other than just tape. Even though the parachute didn't deploy it was really cool seeing the rocket actually work and fly well, I'm looking forward to see how we can improve our design.

-Mike B.

Today began quite well. We met at the school and repaired the damage done to the rocket yesterday. The rocket was then allowed to dry, and a new engine was put in. We then fired the rocket. It went considerably higher than any of us expected. It remained relatively straight. The only problem was in the parachute. It didn't deploy. This could be due to the fact that the wadding was too tight, or that the cone was on too tight. Either way, we will have to look into this problem and find a solution before we finally test our variables.

-Ben W.

Today was promising. It served as proof that this is actually an achievable project for us. The most exciting part, at least to me, was the relatively stable flight path of the rocket. The fact that there was little tilt and yaw reduces my concern that calculating the height based on accelerometer data would be heinously difficult.

-Mike See

Today we reached the goal of our first stage. Our first launch occurred today, showing that the prototype was a success. There are still factors that need to improve, such as the ejection of the parachute and the wadding of the tube. But the rocket launched to a height beyond eyesight and had a flight path that was easier to calculate with less variation in the data than the worst case scenario. This gives reassurance to the future calculations that we will have to do for the rest of the rockets.

-Scott

We were able to modify our launch pad and fix our rocket for a launch in the morning. We launch our first rocket and it was much better than we all expected as the rocket went relativly straight. We may still need to adjust the rocket angle and figure out another way to do that by changing the launch pad. Overall, we know that we can build a rocket that works and we know that we can modify it to get better results. We also need to rework our parachute as it did not eject itself from the rocket.

-Kushal

Rebel Rockets-Day 2

We were glad to see that the tube we constructed yesterday dried well. The single sheet of paper with the layers of wood glue and polyurethane had a good hardness to it. It took us several tries to get a working parachute. We initially tried to make it by connecting pieces of plastic with masking tape, however this method did not work well. The masking tape made it difficult for the parachute to open up. Instead, we just used a plastic grocery bag that we cut smaller. Surprisingly, this design worked extremely well. Today, we also tried to launch our first rocket, but we failed. We need to devise a better way to attach the rocket to the launch pad because every time we tried to do so today, the rocket would not stay straight. We also need to modify the launch pad so that the fuse is not resting on it. The engine did not even ignite, and we did not bring extra engines with us at the launch site. Next time we need to bring spare materials. Also, the rain did not help today. We should probably find a launch site that is further away from a road. We should also learn to calm down because we definitely rushed this first launch. We were too eager and did not think about what we should have done.
--Christian

Today started off well. We were able to meet up and begin work. We started by going to the local hobby shop and purchasing the items we would need. We bought rocket engines and fuses. We tested out the fuses and the rockets to make sure we would know how to work them and how long it would take until they fired. We then began work on the parachute. The first design was made from plastic bags and tape. It did no hold together well, so we built a new one out of a plastic bag. This design worked better than we could have imagined. We then got to work putting the rocket completely together. When the rocket was completed, we went to the school to test it out. When we attempted to light the rocket, we failed. We had acted too hastily, and it caused us to be unable to launch or rocket. In the future, we will bring extra rocket engines and be more patient.

-Ben W.

Today we were able to start off the morning well by quickly getting the engines and fuses we needed and returning to continue construction. The tubes that were made the previous day came out very well, so we moved on to the parachute. The initial try to make the parachute was unsuccessful, due to the excess of tape used to bind the pieces of plastic. The parachute would not open from a crumpled position and even if it did open it would not significantly change the rate at which the attached item would fall. The second attempt, which worked surprisingly well, used part of a plastic grocery bag. After this, we moved on to attaching the fins and cones while working on formulas for modeling the path of the rocket. Off of the instructions from the engines, we obtained a graph of the thrust(Newtons) provided over time. From here we plan to create a piecewise function to describe the graph, then integrate it to find the momentum. At that point we will divide by the mass to find the function for velocity. From this point, we can find a function for the force of drag and weigh it against the function of the force of the rocket. After this we finished up by putting the engine in the rocket and then set off to test with our first launch. The launch ended up never happening due to a problem with the engine igniting. We failed to modify the launching pad to use with the fuse and to bring extra engines because we were caught up in the excitement of a launch on the second day and were too hurried. In the future we will be sure to have taken care of everything that need be done before any launch we proceed with.

-Scott

We made a lot of progress today. The tubes for the rocket dried and are pretty hard now, and are sturdy enough to make it through the launch. We also got some more supplies, we now have all the rockets we will need and also some fuse as a way of launching each of the rockets. We also had made a parachute, the first didn't work that well and was made up of sandwich bags and tape, so we made another using a home depot plastic bag and that should work pretty well. We also carved out some wings using balsa wood and those look pretty good, not perfect but they are close enough and the rocket should fly pretty straight, I hope. However, at the end we kind of rushed our launch and because of that we attempted to launch in bad conditions and without enough supplies. Our engine didn't ignite so the rocket didn't go off, and we didn't have any more engines so we had to call it a day. The weather we were trying to do this in wasn't that great anyways, it was rainy and cloudy so we probably are better off that we waited.

-Mike B.

Progress was excellent today. The polyurethane had strengthened the tube even more than expected and it had dried quite symmetrically. The construction of the rest of the rocket went off without any problems. Connecting the fins was a simple matter of directly attaching them to the rocket body with super glue and the parachute was just half of a plastic shopping bag. Launching the rocket proved to be more difficult. The weather was damp enough that the rocket would not ignite, and since we had neglected to bring any extra rockets we were forced to give up. The stability of the rocket was also an issue on the launch pad. We will need to put a hole through the blast shield to prevent the fuse from making the rocket unstable.

- Mike See

Most of our work on our inital rocket was done today and we were even able to attempt a test flight which did not work. The rocket engine was a dud and our launching pad needed to be modified so the rocket would not tilt in a dangerous direction. The weather was also not ideal for a test launch as it was wet and a little windy. Despite these problems, we were able to get some sutiable rocket engines and test those out. We also spent time building a parachute and testing that out. So far it works but it may need to be modified in the future. We also worked on some more calculations and it was apparent that a little more research was needed.

-Kushal

Rebel Rockets-Day 1

I think we got a lot done for the first day of our project. We need to work more on organization. Meeting up with everyone was kind of a hassle in the morning, but once we all got together we worked pretty well considering none of us have worked together in one group before. We should probably finish buying the materials for our rockets tomorrow and we need to keep the receipts so that we can split up the charges between all of us at the end. The tubes we constructed today were alright; they weren't completely cylindrical but they will do. Hopefully they will dry uniformly.

-Christian

I think today was a good first day. It got off to a rocky start since we didn't really know what we were doing or meeting, but once we got together things started working out pretty well. We got to building and started a little bit with the math and it seems like it's going well. Our first rocket was horrible, but the next two looked pretty good, we'll see how they dry tomorrow. We still got some stuff to figure out though, we need some more supplies, but that can be taken care of tomorrow. I think we're off to a good start.

-Mike B.

The day started off poorly. We had trouble meeting up, but once we ll got together, we were able to work. We spent the morning getting the supplies we would need for the day. We then began the process of making the rockets. It started rocky. The first rocket we created was not very stable or straight. after this, we were able to create a new rocket that was much better. we then coated it in glue. we created a second rocket, and coated that one in glue too. We then coated the first rocket in lacquer and are allowing that to dry overnight. We are then going to compare the two rockets. Whichever rocket we find works better, we will use as the basic outline for the future.

-Ben W.

The first day was the time that was needed to organize, get supplies, and plan the days to come. We did not start the day very well-organized, and had trouble meeting up at a certain spot to begin our project. But after the initial confusion we were off to get supplies. We got the majority of the things we needed without much trouble and preceded to the construction of the initial prototype. The first tube was not very stable and slightly misshapen as it was made without any definite premise for the actual crafting, but improvements were made on the second tube, which was then coated with glue and set out to dry overnight. Besides this, we researched the formula for the force of drag and considered how the different forces on the rocket would combine and interact. On the second day we plan to get the rest of the supplies and continue construction on the prototype with intents of soon having a completed model to base our efforts on in the future.

-Scott

The first day was primarily a learning experience for the construction of the rockets. After a couple of attempts at building the fuselage it became apparent that its structural integrity is far more dependent upon the application of glue and polyurethane than the amount of paper. The discussion about modeling the flight path centered primarily around the method for calculating the force of drag given the inconsistent thrust of the rocket. We will probably spend more time on the modeling after we've finished designing the rocket itself.

-Mike

In the first day we figured out what materials we needed for the rocket and where to get them. We were able to obtain most of the materials we needed for the first day so as to build the inital fuselage. Form there, we planned on what to do next and what other materials we needed. We aslo looked for calculations so we can determine the hieght of the rocket when we launch it and any other variables. We were able to find a formula for the force of drag as it will help us in determining the flight path of the rocket.

-Kushal