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Introduction to Rocketry

June 2013

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Rocket Concepts

• Newton’s Laws of Motion• Thrust• Drag• Stability• Moments of Inertia• Parachutes• Rocket Construction• Rocket Testing and Analysis

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A Little Bit of Historical Context

1200 BC1926 AD

1945 AD

1969 AD

1981 AD

2013 AD

Werner von Braun

Robert Goddard

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Robert Goddard is known as the Father of Modern Rocketry. He experimented in Massachusetts in the early 1900’s and then moved his operation to Roswell, New Mexico in 1930.

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Types of Rockets

• Performance Capability– Sub Orbital

• The trajectory intersects the surface of the Earth

– Orbital• Must be able to reach a velocity over 17,500

MPH

• Propulsion Types– Solid Propellant– Liquid Propellant– Hybrid

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Types of Rockets

• Performance Capability– Sub Orbital

• The trajectory intersects the surface of the Earth

– Orbital• Must be able to reach a velocity over 17,500

MPH

• Propulsion Types– Solid Propellant– Liquid Propellant– Hybrid

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Reaching Orbit is all about achieving the right amount of velocity…

17,500 MPH

Orbital

3,000 MPHSuborbital

Sounding rockets can fly higher than orbital rockets

If an orbital rocket were launched in a more vertical trajectory like a sounding rocket, it would go thousands of miles high, but it would eventually fall back to earth.

In order to escape earth’s gravity, the rocket must reach a velocity of ~24,500 MPH

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Types of Rockets

• Performance Capability– Sub Orbital

• The trajectory intersects the surface of the Earth

– Orbital• Must be able to reach a velocity over 17,500

MPH

• Propulsion Types– Solid Propellant– Liquid Propellant– Hybrid

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Types of Rockets

• Performance Capability– Sub Orbital

• The trajectory intersects the surface of the Earth

– Orbital• Must be able to reach a velocity over 17,500

MPH

• Propulsion Types– Solid Propellant– Liquid Propellant– Hybrid

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Solid Rocket Motor Oxidizer

Tank

Fuel Tank

Pump

Rocket Engine

Oxidizer Tank

Solid propellant and combustion chamber

Payload(Science Experiment)

Solid Propellant Rocket Liquid Propellant Rocket Hybrid Propellant Rocket

11Liquid Rocket Solid Rocket

Hybrid Rocket

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Sounding Rocket Launch Vehicles

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Lift-off of two stage solid propellant sounding rocket

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Can Sounding Rockets be used to reach orbit?

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Model Rockets• Model rockets work just like NASA Sounding

Rockets

‒ Solid rocket motors are used to produce thrust

‒ The rockets use fins to provide the necessary stability

‒ Parachutes are used to recover the rockets• Sounding Rocket payloads are recovered, but not the

motors

• Model rockets can be safely used as part of the class curriculum if the instructor is knowledgeable and basic safety precautions are taken‒ The biggest No-No is building your own rocket

motors

Stable Base

Launch Rod

Remote Electronic Ignition Control

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Rockets applied to the classroom…

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Cool Things You Can Do With Rockets• Write software to predict rocket performance• Design your own rockets• Conduct flight experiments• Build a wind tunnel to conduct testing• Develop experimental payloads to make real engineering or science

measurements

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What are we going to do this week?

• Build a foam model rocket• Analyze and test the rocket• Learn some basic rocket physics

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Questions?