It has been a great year for the WSU Aerospace Club. We have excelled in innovations, attempted new challenges, and grown even larger. This is the second year the club will be attending IREC and the WSU Aerospace Club has shown true dedication and excitement for the event. We have researched, manufactured, and tested our own propellant, which is no small task. We have created a parachute system that not only is designed and hand made, but also autonomously guided by GPS coordinates. We have created a 34″ wingspan glider that fits into a 4.5″ body tube and will autonomously glide back to the launch site with GPS coordinates. We have created a new electronic system with an upgraded arming mechanism and we have built an all carbon fiber fuselage with a stunning paint scheme.

All of this is possible due to the hard work that each of the club members put in for the past 8 months. It takes exceptional students to come in every Friday and work hard after a full week of school. This year is truly one for the books and I hope all of the members are proud of their accomplishments.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what makes clubs so exciting and impressive. Never stop improving and encouraging each other to conquer new challenges. You can do it!

After weeks of hard work and even more so this week, the Crimson Fire is nearly finished. Many members didn’t sleep for literally days and even though the team worked diligently to try and get the rocket ready for a flight today, we ultimately decided to wait to launch. Tests on the ejection system in addition to a couple other parts will be very beneficial for the rocket before its first flight. After all, sometimes you only get one shot with a rocket and we want to make sure that we have done everything that we can to make it safe and reliable for its maiden flight. We will make May 27th our new launch date in Mansfield at the “Fire in the Sky” event. Here are a couple photos from this morning of our rocket compared to last years, and the spectacular fin paint scheme designed by Jon Farrell.

Aerodynamics

Weight: 28lbs

Length:

1. O-Give nosecone
2. Trapezoidal fin
3. Material CF for body

Propulsion

Weight: 5-7

Length: 24”

diameter: 3”

1. Ammonium perchlorate and aluminum
2. Commercial engine & case nozzle

Recovery

Weight: 15

Length: 36”

1. Controllable parachute

Electronics

Weight: 3lbs

Length: 12”

1. See Recovery Presentation

Payload

Weight: 10lbs (Glider~2lbs)

Length: 24” tube, 20” wingspan

1. Collapsable autonomous Glider

Hybrid Propulsion

1. Oxidizer- nitrous oxide
2. Nylon and HTPB

Aerodynamics

1. O-Give nosecone
2. Trapezoidal fin
3. Material CF for body

Propulsion

1. Ammonium perchlorate and aluminum
2. Commercial engine & case nozzle

Recovery

1. Controllable parachute

Electronics

1. See Recovery Presentation

Payload

1. Collapsable autonomous Glider

Hybrid Propulsion

1. Oxidizer- nitrous oxide
2. Nylon and HTPB

As Part of this year’s rocket design effort we have a great and motivated team working to accomplish some lofty goals. Among those are Solid and Hybrid Propulsion Teams which are working on creating and testing our own propulsion system. Our current plan is to implement the solid propulsion this coming year’s competition, while the Hybrid propulsion system is to be vetted for the following year’s rocket. This team has put together this timeline for the year with plans to test early next year. Here is the Timeline: Wish us luck!

Timeline:

Sept. 27-Oct. 3:

• Read up on Hybrid Propulsion from the past teams (3-4 Weeks)
• Prepare and give PowerPoint presentation (Monday)
• Look into Funding (2-3 Weeks)

Oct. 4-10

• Read up on Hybrid Propulsion from the past teams (3-4 Weeks)
• Fuel/Oxidizer Selection (2-3 Weeks)
• Look into Funding (2-3 Weeks)

Oct. 11-17

• Read up on Hybrid Propulsion from the past teams (3-4 Weeks)
• Fuel/Oxidizer Selection (2-3 Weeks)
• Research fuel grain casting methods (2-3 Weeks)
• Look into Funding (2-3 Weeks)

Oct. 18-24

• Read up on Hybrid Propulsion from the past teams (3-4 Weeks)
• Fuel/Oxidizer Selection (2-3 Weeks)
• Research fuel grain casting methods (2-3 Weeks)
• System diagram (3-4 Weeks)

Oct. 19-31

• Research fuel grain casting methods (2-3 Weeks)
• System diagram (3-4 Weeks)
• Assess test stand needs (1-2 Weeks)
• Research necessary gauges for data collection (2-3 Weeks)

Nov. 1-7

• System diagram (3-4 Weeks)
• Assess test stand needs (1-2 Weeks)
• Research necessary gauges for data collection (2-3 Weeks)
• Injector selection (1-2 Weeks)

Nov. 8-14

• System diagram (3-4 Weeks)
• Research necessary gauges for data collection (2-3 Weeks)
• Injector selection (1-2 Weeks)
• Solidworks 3D image of the entire motor and injector (1-2 Weeks)

Nov. 15-21

• Solidworks 3D image of the entire motor and injector (1-2 Weeks)
• Injector creation “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify test stand (2-3 Weeks)
• Efficiency calculations (1-2 Weeks)

Nov. 22-28

• Injector creation “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify test stand (2-3 Weeks)
• Efficiency calculations (1-2 Weeks)
• EES Modeling of motor (1-2 Weeks)

Nov. 29-Dec. 5

• Injector creation “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify test stand (2-3 Weeks)
• EES Modeling of motor (1-2 Weeks)
• Fuel Grain casting “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)

Dec. 6-12

• Fuel Grain casting “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)
• Get approval to test fire “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)
• Test injector water/air “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)
• Data collection (1-2 Weeks)

Dec. 13-19

• Get approval to test fire “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)
• Test injector water/air “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)
• Modifications to prototype “scaled” (1-2 Weeks)
• Data collection (1-2 Weeks)

Jan. 10-16

• Get approval to test oxidizer (1-2 Weeks)
• Analyze Data (1-2 Weeks)
• Modify test stand for oxidizer “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Miscellaneous

Jan. 17-23

• Get approval to test oxidizer (1-2 Weeks)
• Analyze Data (1-2 Weeks)
• Modify test stand for oxidizer “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Miscellaneous

Jan. 24-30

• Modify test stand for oxidizer “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Test fuel/oxidizer “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Make full-scale injector (2-3 Weeks)
• Make full-scale motor casing (2-3 Weeks)

Jan. 31-Feb. 6

• Test fuel/oxidizer “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Make full-scale injector (2-3 Weeks)
• Make full-scale motor casing (2-3 Weeks)
• Analyze Data for fuel/oxidizer test (1-2 Weeks)

Feb. 7-13

• Test fuel/oxidizer “scaled” (2-3 Weeks)
• Make full-scale injector (2-3 Weeks)
• Make full-scale motor casing (2-3 Weeks)
• Analyze Data for fuel/oxidizer test (1-2 Weeks)

Feb. 14-20

• Analyze Data from test (1-2 Weeks)
• Predict expected data for full-scale test (2-3)
• Scale up entire design (3-4 Weeks)
• Modify EES Calculations for full-scale (2-3 Weeks)

Feb. 21-27

• Analyze Data from test (1-2 Weeks)
• Predict expected data for full-scale test (2-3)
• Scale up entire design (3-4 Weeks)
• Modify EES Calculations for full-scale (2-3 Weeks)

Feb. 28- Mar. 5

• Predict expected data for full-scale test (2-3)
• Scale up entire design (3-4 Weeks)
• Modify EES Calculations for full-scale (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify Test Stand for full-scale (2-3 Weeks)

Mar. 6-12

• Scale up entire design (3-4 Weeks)
• Modify Test Stand for full-scale (2-3 Weeks)
• Cast full-scale Motor (3-4 Weeks)
• Get approval for full-scale test (2-3 Weeks)

Mar. 13-19

• Modify Test Stand for full-scale (2-3 Weeks)
• Cast full-scale Motor (3-4 Weeks)
• Get approval for full-scale test (2-3 Weeks)
• Last-minute modifications of full-scale design (2-3 Weeks)

Mar. 20-26

• Cast full-scale Motor (3-4 Weeks)
• Get approval for full-scale test (2-3 Weeks)
• Last-minute modifications of full-scale design (2-3 Weeks)
• Miscellaneous

Mar. 27- Apr. 2

• Cast full-scale Motor (3-4 Weeks)
• Last-minute modifications of full-scale design (2-3 Weeks)
• Full-scale test of prototype (3-4 Weeks)
• Solidworks version of prototype body (2-3 Weeks)

Apr. 3-9

• Full-scale test of prototype (3-4 Weeks)
• Analyze Data from test (2-3 Weeks)
• Solidworks version of prototype body (2-3 Weeks)
• Analyzing of internal piping (2-3 Weeks)

Apr. 10-16

• Full-scale test of prototype (3-4 Weeks)
• Analyze Data from test (2-3 Weeks)
• Solidworks version of prototype body (2-3 Weeks)
• Analyzing of internal piping (2-3 Weeks)

Apr. 17-23

• Full-scale test of prototype (3-4 Weeks)
• Analyze Data from test (2-3 Weeks)
• Analyzing of internal piping (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify prototype for 2^nd test (1-2 Weeks)

Apr. 24-30

• 2^nd Full-scale test of prototype (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify prototype for 2^nd test (1-2 Weeks)
• EES modeling of full-scale rocket (2-3 Weeks)
• Presentation to Rocket group (2-3 Weeks)

May 1-7

• 2^nd Full-scale test of prototype (2-3 Weeks)
• EES modeling of full-scale rocket (2-3 Weeks)
• Presentation to Rocket group (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify full-scale rocket (1-2 Weeks)

May 8-14

• 2^nd Full-scale test of prototype (2-3 Weeks)
• EES modeling of full-scale rocket (2-3 Weeks)
• Presentation to Rocket group (2-3 Weeks)
• Modify full-scale rocket (1-2 Weeks)

Recovery (1)

Aerodynamics (1)

Electronics (1)

Propulsion (1)

Payload