The Tufts SEDS rocketry team traveled to Kingston, RI for the first launch of the school year and our busiest launch yet! The nearly perfect weather allowed us to complete 13 launches in total. Six members received their NAR L1 certifications, including one member who received hers after immediately re-flying her rocket. Three more L1 attempts failed due to a combination of parachute failures and fins that broke on landing.
The remaining three launches were exciting and eventful learning experiences. The (arguably) tamest of these saw the chute remain inside the airframe after nosecone deploy, causing the rocket to return in a stable nose-down orientation and subsequently take an unintentional core sample of the Rhode Island soil. On another launch, the ejection charge incorrectly fired right after motor burnout, tearing the rocket apart at over 100 mph. Finally, another failed nosecone deployment caused an L1 rocket to bury itself in the ground at approximately 185 mph. Post-flight analysis of on-the-pad slow-motion footage showed an unintentionally loose bolt caused the launch rail to whip a few degrees downrange at liftoff, which extended the rocket’s ballistic trajectory just enough to spare the cars parked nearby.
This launch showed us there is plenty of room for improvement. It took several hours of on-site work to prepare all the rockets for launch, primarily because we left so many aspects of preparation and integration until launch day. The rockets that lawn-darted taught also us the importance of properly sealing the aft end of the airframe. Going forward, we aim to improve our parachute packing skills, increase our recovery success rate, and build more reliable airframes. Regardless, it was a very fun day, and a great start to the school year!
