Wireless Video Rocket

video camera, pointing down

LCO at the control pad

5,4,3,2,1… blastoff. Here you can clearly see the benefit of the blast shield plate (protecting the launch electronics below).

My friend Erik modified a LOC Precision NORAD rocket to take a video camera and transmitter in the upper body tube. I am stationed at the base station with a medium-gain directional antenna and video recorder. I posted a clip of the video feed, where you can see me and the red blanket after takeoff.

My favorite part is the roar of the motor and the speed of ascent. The motor is a hand-assembled Aerotech G64.

The altitude is limited by an early ejection charge. This causes some crazy tumult in the video. The chute pops while the rocket is still climbing fast, and it keeps climbing, with the air drag of the open body tube. It's still climbing when the chute catches air and unfurls, and that finally arrests the climb (the heavier bottom tube shoots up fast the nose cone at this point; so the two rocket halves are still climbing with the chute below holding them back).

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Comments

Erik Charlton says:

The RocketSim launch (simulation software) showed that I needed a longer delay...but that was the only motor I had. According to the software, the modified NORAD had an upward velocity of about 47 feet / sec when the parachute was deployed. That is approaching the edge of tearing the shock cord...but still "technically" in the "good to go" category. Well, it worked out!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

benjiman says:

Sooo... Steve or erik please explain how/why the early ejection charges work.

Awesome shot and rocket!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

Ahoy Erik! Please to meet you! I am the alieness, aka Gisela, A.P.A.'s (see tags --> "Alieness Postprocessing Agency ") founder and director and, uhm, sole employee too. =)

Steve friends are my friends so I am very happy to see you here in flickr, welcome abord! Enjoy the ride! :D

I´ve peeked your abum a second ago... do you have there a photo which would be the original version (not the same pic but the same scene) of this photo here I slightly tweaked, don´t you?

Neat shot anyway. I´ll go see the video. *blink blink*

Oops... Nice date today! -already today here- P-)
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

No veo nada says:

wow......congrats man....that´s a fantastic shot
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

esteban says:

More of this please.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

alex jtb says:

YES! YESS! BRING IT ALL DOWN! that looks like good fun - I feel a bit stupid with my bottle of diet coke and pack of mentos...
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

Don't feel stupid.... =)

(Here is the grand 200 liters of Diet Coke + 500 Mentos video for those who do not know the reference)

Esteban: more? Happy to.... The "Rocket Set" above right has the past... Next month, I go to the Black Rock Desert for some really big rockets. I am borrowing a Canon 100-400mm Image Stabilized lens from a friend for the event...

benjiman: premature ejection is a bit of a bummer... ;-) Worked out fine here, but it can damage the rocket, or worse, if the rocket faces too much wind resistance, it might not be able to get the nose cone free and the chute deployed.... and then it becomes a lawn dart:

Each motor has a delay fuse before popping the forward facing ejection charge (gunpowder blasts forward within the rocket to push the chute and nosecone out). The fuse time needs to be appropriate for the rocket size/weight and motor size. Kits comes with recommended motor configurations. Custom rockets with custom motors, like this one, take guesswork and experimentation... and they can benefit from RockSim.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Oliver Lavery says:

(Hi, I've chosen your photo for the competition of the week at Scientist Photographers group, you can follow the scoring in the discussion section of our group! Good Luck!)
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )