Yough Cougar Rocketry Team

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Yough Cougar Rocketry Team

• Herminie, Pennsylvania
• Project Dorothy
• NASA SLI 2008
• Critical Design Review

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Amy Rene Bickerstaff
Team Lead Vehicle Design Scheduling Manager
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Ashley Wiley
NAR FAA Regulations Flight Control Payload
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Stephanie Abbott
Safety Operations Manager
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Josh Sarosinski
Hazardous Materials Environmental Concerns
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RockSim Drawing of Dorothy II
The center of gravity is located 11 inches aft of
the coupler. This design is to allow a
helicopter style descent rather than a ballistic
trajectory in the event of recovery
failure. Currently there is a 4.97 caliber level
of stability. No wobble has been detected in
smaller scale test launches thus far, which
should indicate successful flight of the full
scale design.
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General Assembly of Dorothy II
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General Arrangement of Dorothy II
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Outline of Dorothy II
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Thrust Data for L1150
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Thrust data for L900RR
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Launch Rail Exit Velocities

• The Aerotech L1150 motor
• 48.9 ft/sec
• Animal Motor Works L900RR
• 35.65 ft/sec

The L1150 provides a sufficient velocity to
ensure stable flight from a 60 inch rail. The
L900RR would need a 90 inch rail to achieve a
desired rail exit velocity of 44 ft/sec.
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Descent Rate of Dorothy II

• Classic 60 SkyAngle Parachute
• 30.06 ft/sec
• Large SkyAngle Cert - 3 Parachute
• 24.31 ft/sec
• XL SkyAngle Cert - 3 Parachute
• 17.12 ft/sec

Data gathered from http//www.onlinetesting.net/cg
i-bin/descent3.3.cgi
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Ejection Charge Test

• 4 inch tubing with aluminum bulkplate
• Glow plug ignition
• 4 inch coupler, 4 inches in length with bulkplate
  to form piston
• Attached to the aluminum bulkplate with stainless
  steel cable
• Stainless steel cable cut to a length to prevent
  piston ejection from tube
• 4 inch coupler, 30 inches in length to mimic
  sabot
• Will impact nosecone bulkplate
• Test nosecone created

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Ejection Charge Amount

• 20 psi desired inside airframe
• Piston style ejections use less powder
• Equation shows only .64 grams of powder required
  to eject
• CDR Recovery Subsystem
• Multiple tests to ensure proper ejection

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Ejection Test Procedure

• Slide piston into airframe
• Measure 1 gram of 4Fg powder
• Pour powder into chamber
• Insert chamber into airframe
• Insert coupler tube into airframe
• Install nosecone by attaching U-bolt
• Secure test apparatus
• Energize glow plug

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Ejection Charge Testing
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Ejection Charge Testing
The piston design proved to be very
successful. Using 1 gram of 4Fg powder, the
nosecone was sent about 20 feet into the yard.
The only issue discovered was that the bulkplate
in the piston separated from the tubing. This
will be corrected by using HP-20E Hysol epoxy
rather than the slow cure CA glue.
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1/4 Scale Test Flight

• Click the link to view the video of the test
  launch.
• Windows Media Player
• Windows Media Player of Quarter Scale Dorothy
  Rocket
• QuickTime Video File
• Apple QuickTime of Quarter Scale Dorothy Rocket

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Notes from Scale Launch

• Quest A6-3 motor used
• 10 - 15 mph winds, gusts to 20 mph
• Nearly perfectly vertical flight during the
  thrust portion of the flight
• Very little drift during coast phase
• Ideal launch considering a low thrust motor was
  selected

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Deployment System

• PerfectFlight LC800 Dlx Altimeters
• Dual Event Logging
• Ejection at Apogee via pressure sensor
• Main ejection at 800 feet
• One powder charge with two E-matches
• Piston pushes Sabot with parachute
• Sabot peels away
• Still retained by kevlar chord
• All pieces remain attached to the launch vehicle

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Electronics
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Sabot Ejection System

• Fiberglass coupler cut in half to form sabot
• Fiberglass bulkplate, hinged in the center to
  allow sabot opening
• Forward portion of sabot impacts nosecone
  bulkplate upon ejection sheering the nylon pins
• SkyAngle parachute begins to deploy
• Whirlybirds begin to disperse when sabot peels
  back
• Payload protective bags not required
• May still be used to eliminate burning of
  parachute

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Payload Integration

• Split Sabot contains all payload
• Whirlybirds placed along main axis
• Main parachute above whirlybirds
• Upon ejection, sabot opens to release parachute
  and whirlybirds
• No payload protection required as piston contains
  ejection gases
• Odd shaped items work easily inside sabot since
  they do not need to slide up the airframe for
  ejection

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Community Outreach

• Computer Refurbishing and Sales
• Computers saved from landfills
• Community can purchase internet ready computers
  at very low cost
• Chinese Auction
• Items donated from Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates,
  and Penguins
• Seven Springs Mountain Resort
• Giant Eagle Food store
• Westmoreland Mall
• Westinghouse
• Display during lunch
• Funding

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Funding Issues

• Student Outreach Drastically Modified
• Quest Starhawk rockets to be given away during
  Chinese Auction sale days
• Rocket Fair to pick prizes and launch rockets
• 3780 raised selling computers
• 1500 for candy sales
• Are we going to make it ???

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SLI Grant monies

• 1250 SLI grant uses ( all gone !!! )
• Purchase Quest Starhawk rockets
• 300
• Purchase Quest Flight Packs for launches
• 177
• Replacement Parts lost during SLI 2007
• Over 500 so far
• FedEX fees for shipping
• 300

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Exit 8 - Huntsville

• Huntsville Trip in April
• Trip Total estimated to be - 6875
• Airfare - 275 per ticket - 2750 total
• Lodging - 425 per room - 2125 total
• Meals - 200 per person - 2000 total

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Looking into the Future

• Complete construction of Dorothy II
• Perform ejection charge testing
• Continue analysis of whirlybird flight
• Attempt construction of Data Ball
• Launch 66 scale version with payload
• Continue fundraising efforts

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In Closing

• Great Progress has been made
• Learned from last year
• New members working well
• More is being accomplished
• Improved design of deployment
• Piston / Sabot ejection system
• Money is an issue
• Funding changes need addressed
• Keep working hard
• Rewards are coming soon
• Thank you
• NASAs MSFC makes it happen