Make: Rockets

Make: Rockets

Released September 2014
Publisher(s): Make: Community
ISBN: 9781457182921

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Buy on ebooks.com
Start your free trial

Book description

This book teaches the reader to build rockets--powered by compressed air, water, and solid propellant--with the maximum possible fun, safety, and educational experience.

Make: Rockets is for all the science geeks who look at the moon and try to figure out where Neil Armstrong walked, watch in awe as rockets lift off, and want to fly their own model rockets. Starting with the basics of rocket propulsion, readers will start out making rockets made from stuff lying around the house, and then move on up to air-, water-, and solid propellant-powered rockets. Most of the rockets in the book can be built from parts in the Estes Designer Special kit.

Table of contents

  1. Preface
    1. Conventions Used in This Book
    2. Safari® Books Online
    3. How to Contact Us
    4. Acknowledgments
    5. Photo Credits
  2. 1. Let’s Fly Some Rockets!
    1. Shopping List
    2. The Match Head Rocket
    3. Balloon Rockets
      1. Rocket Stability
      2. Building the Balloon Rocket
    4. Air Rockets
  3. 2. Model Rocketry Today
    1. The Five Faces of Hobby Rockets
    2. Solid Propellant Rocket Motors
      1. Some Common Motor Sizes
      2. Reading Motor Labels
      3. Storage and Disposal
      4. Low-Power Model Rockets
      5. Mid-Power Rocketry
      6. High-Power Rockets and Beyond
      7. Water Rockets
      8. Air Rockets
    3. A Typical Model Rocket and Its Flight
    4. Let’s Get Started!
  4. 3. Juno: A Solid Propellant Rocket
    1. Parts and Tools
      1. Where to Buy Parts
      2. A Detailed Walk-Through of the Parts List
        1. Body tubes
        2. Nose cones
        3. Screw eyes
        4. Fins
        5. Centering rings
        6. Engine hook
        7. Launch lug
        8. Shock cord
        9. Parachute
        10. Snap swivel
      3. A Detailed Walk-Through of the Tools and Supplies
        1. Hobby knife
        2. Cutting boards
        3. Glue
        4. Sandpaper
        5. Sanding block
        6. Wood primer
        7. Paint
        8. Paper
        9. Pencil
        10. Wax paper
        11. Metal-edge ruler
        12. Tape
    2. Building the Rocket
      1. Cutting Body Tubes
      2. Marking the Body Tube for Fins
      3. Motor Mount Construction
      4. Cutting Fins
      5. Gluing the Fins
      6. Attaching the Launch Lug
      7. Installing the Motor Mount
      8. Shock Cord Installation
      9. Making a Parachute
      10. Attaching the Parachute and Shock Cord
      11. Before You Paint
      12. Painting the Rocket
    3. Options
      1. Alternate Fin Shapes
  5. 4. Launch Pads
    1. What Makes a Good Launcher?
    2. A Quick Lesson in Igniters
    3. The Mono Launcher
      1. Building the Base
      2. Cutting the Metal Pieces
      3. Building the Tilt Mechanism
      4. Safety Cap
      5. Final Assembly
      6. Blast Deflector Plates
        1. The Estes Blast Deflector Plate
        2. A Steel Plate from the Hardware Store
        3. The Tin Can Deflector
      7. Launch Rods
    4. The Mono Launch Controller
      1. How the Circuit Works
        1. The Basics of Launch Circuit Design
        2. Electrical Characteristics of Some Common Igniters
        3. Resistance in the Launch Controller
        4. Clusters of Rockets
        5. Summing it All Up: Analysis of the Mono Launch Controller
      2. Building the Mono Launch Controller
        1. Building the Launch Box
        2. Building the Launch Cable
        3. Building the Arming Key
        4. Building the 12-Volt Wiring Harness
    5. The Quad Launch Pad
      1. Launch Rods and Blast Deflectors
    6. The Quad Launch Controller
      1. Building the Launch Box
      2. Building the Launch Wire Harness
      3. The Arming Key
      4. Testing the Launch Controller
  6. 5. Flight Operations
    1. Picking a Launch Site
    2. Packing for the Launch
    3. Range Operations
      1. NAR Safety Code
      2. The Role of the RSO, LCO, flier and Spectator
      3. Fire Prevention
    4. Site Setup
      1. Mono launcher
      2. Quad launcher operations
    5. Preparing the Rocket
      1. Installing the motor
      2. Recovery wadding
      3. Packing the parachute
      4. Installing the igniter
      5. Flight preparation checklist
    6. The Launch
    7. Recovery
  7. 6. Compressed Air Rockets
    1. Building an Air Rocket Launcher
    2. Building Ballistic Air Rockets
    3. Flying Air Rockets
  8. 7. Rocket Stability
    1. What is Stability?
    2. Experimenting with Stability
    3. Checking Stability with the String Method
    4. Checking Stability Experimentally
      1. Finding the Center of Gravity Experimentally
      2. Finding the Center of Pressure Experimentally
      3. Checking Stability with a Rocket Simulator
    5. Checking Stability With Math
      1. Finding the Center of Gravity With Math
      2. Finding the Center of Pressure With Math
    6. Further Reading
  9. 8. How High Did It Go?
    1. The Single Axis Tracker
      1. Building a Single Axis Tracker
      2. Math Behind Single Axis Trackers
      3. Using a Single Axis Tracker
      4. Altitude Tables for Single Axis Trackers
    2. Dual Axis Tracking
      1. Building a Theodolite
        1. Cutting the Parts
        2. First Steps in Assembly
        3. Finishing
        4. Installing the Protractors
        5. Final Assembly
      2. Math Behind Dual Axis Tracking
        1. The Vertical Midpoint Method
        2. The Geodesic Method
      3. Using the Dual Axis Trackers
        1. Using More than Two Theodolites
      4. Program for Dual Axis Trackers
    3. Altimeters
    4. Comparing the Methods
  10. 9. Payloads
    1. Liftoff Weight
      1. Using Charts to Find The Proper Motor
      2. Picking a Delay Time
      3. Using Math to Cheat Mother Nature
    2. Juno Payload Conversion
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Juno Payload Conversion with an Altimeter
    3. The Ceres Payload Rocket
    4. The Ceres A Booster
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Ceres A
    5. The Ceres B Booster
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Ceres B
    6. The Thin Man and ICU Payload Bays
      1. Construction of the Thin Man and ICU Payload Bays
      2. Flight Preparation
    7. The Fat Man Payload Bay
      1. Construction
      2. Flight Preparation
    8. The Over Easy Payload Bay
      1. Over Easy Construction
      2. Flight Preparation
    9. The ICU2 Payload Bay
      1. Construction
      2. Flight Preparation for the ICU2
  11. 10. Selecting Parachutes and Streamers
    1. How Fast Should a Rocket Fall?
    2. Streamers vs. Parachutes
    3. Streamer Design
    4. Thoughts on Parachute Material
    5. Parachute Selection Tables
    6. Parachute Physics
      1. The Energy of a Falling Body
      2. Parachute Aerodynamics
        1. Example: Find the speed of descent for a rocket.
        2. Example: Find the proper parachute for a duration event.
        3. Example: Find the Coefficient of Drag for a Streamer Rocket
  12. 11. Water Rockets
    1. The Launcher
      1. Building the Launch Tube
      2. Building the Lower Pressure Tube
      3. Building the Launcher Base
      4. Building the Launch Release Mechanism
      5. Adding the Pressurization Tube
      6. Adding the Launch Cord
    2. Themis: A Ballistic Water Rocket
    3. Flying Water Rockets
  13. 12. Parachute Recovery of a Water Rocket
    1. Building the Water Rocket Parachute System
      1. Installing the ServoChron Software on the LaunchPad Microcontroller
      2. Building the Electronic Timer
      3. Building the Framework for the Parachute Chamber
      4. Building the Parachute Bay
      5. Adding the Spring and Electronics to the Parachute Chamber
      6. Programming the Servo Position and Delay Time
      7. Finishing Touches
    2. Flying Themis with a Parachute
  14. 13. Subsonic Aerodynamics
    1. Reynolds Number and Viscosity
    2. Mach Number
    3. High Reynolds Number Drag
    4. Kind of a Drag: The Three Types of Drag
    5. The Importance of Streamlining
    6. Understanding and Reducing Drag on a Model Rocket
      1. Nose Cones
        1. Conic Nose Cone
        2. Ogive Nose Cone
        3. Elliptical Nose Cone
        4. Parabolic Series Nose Cone
        5. Power Series Nose Cone
        6. Haack Series Nose Cone
        7. Selecting a High Performance Nose Cone
      2. Body Tube
      3. Base
      4. Fins
      5. Launch Lugs
      6. Putting it All Together
    7. Example: The Coefficient of Drag for Juno
    8. Further Reading
  15. 14. How High Will It Go?
    1. Predicting Altitude Using Physics
    2. Predicting Altitude with a Rocket Simulator
      1. Rocket Finish
      2. Launch Conditions
      3. Rocket Mass
    3. Comparing Simulators to Flight Data
  16. 15. Minimum-Diameter Rockets
    1. Hebe: Skinny Rockets Fly Faster and Higher
      1. Construction
      2. Recovery
      3. High Performance Finishes
      4. Flying Hebe
  17. 16. Mini Rockets
    1. Toutatis: The Powerful Midget Rocket
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Toutatis
    2. Eros: A Small Rocket that Flies High
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Eros
  18. 17. Multistage Rockets
    1. The Two Stage Romulus
      1. How Staging Works
      2. Construction
      3. Flying Romulus
  19. 18. Cluster Rockets
    1. Clustered Rockets
      1. Why Cluster Rockets?
      2. Picking the Right Number of Motors
      3. Configuration of Clustered Motors
      4. Staging Cluster Rockets
    2. The Three Motor Cerberus
      1. Construction
        1. Cutting the Parts
        2. Motor Compartment Assembly
        3. Nose Assembly
        4. Fin Assembly
        5. Final Assembly
        6. Finishing
      2. Flying Cerberus
    3. The Ceres C Booster
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Ceres C
  20. 19. Helicopter Recovery
    1. The Nicomachus
      1. Construction
      2. Flying the Nicomachus
  21. 20. Rocket and Boost Gliders
    1. Rocket Powered Aircraft
    2. The Icarus
      1. Construction
        1. Cutting the Parts
        2. Building the Glider
        3. Building the Pop Pod
        4. Finishing
      2. Flying the Icarus
        1. Balancing the Glider
        2. Flight Preparation
    3. More About Rocket Gliders
      1. Further Reading
  22. 21. Air Rocket Glider
    1. The Daedalus Air Rocket Glider
      1. Construction
        1. Cutting the Parts
        2. Building the Wing Root
        3. Building the Tail Section
        4. Finishing
        5. The Wing Holder
      2. Flying the Daedalus
        1. Balancing the Glider
        2. Flying Daedalus
  23. 22. Rocket Clubs and Contests
    1. National Association of Rocketry (NAR)
      1. The Pink Book
      2. National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet (NARAM)
      3. National Sport Launch
      4. World Space Modeling Chamionship (WSMC)
    2. Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA)
      1. Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS)
      2. Badd Ass Load Lifting Suckers (BALLS)
    3. Local Clubs
    4. Canadian Association of Rocketry (CAR)
    5. Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC)
  24. 23. Onward and Upward
    1. Reloadable Motors
      1. Building the Aerotech RMS 24-40 Motor
      2. Attaching Igniter Clips to a Copperhead Igniter
      3. Cleaning the Motor
    2. Designing Your Own Rockets
      1. Collect the Requirements
      2. Initial Design
      3. Simulate the Rocket
      4. Construction
      5. Flight Testing
    3. Odd Rockets
    4. The Outer Limits
  25. A. Programs from the Book
    1. Juno Simulation
    2. SRockS
    3. Theodolite
  26. B. Places to Buy Stuff or Find Information
    1. Model Rocket Parts and Supplies
      1. Aerotech Consumer Aerospace
      2. Altus Metrum
      3. Apogee Components
      4. Art Applewhite Rockets
      5. Balsa Machining Service
      6. Custom Rocket Company
      7. Estes Industries
      8. Flis Kits, Inc.
      9. Hobby Lobby
      10. JonRocket.com
      11. Maker Shed
      12. Micro Center
      13. Rocketaruim
      14. Quest Aerospace
      15. Stomp Rocket
    2. Clubs and Information Websites
      1. AirRocketWorks
      2. Author’s Website
      3. Elprotronic
      4. Open Rocket
      5. Rocket Reviews
      6. The Rocketry Forum
      7. ThrustCurve.org
      8. US Water Rockets
    3. Electronics Parts and Supplies
      1. Digi-Key
      2. Jameco Electronics
      3. Mouser Electronics
      4. Newark element14
      5. Radio Shack
      6. SpartFun
    4. General Supplies and Hardware
      1. Ace Hardware
      2. Amazon
      3. Bolt Depot
      4. Home Depot
      5. Lasco
      6. Lowes
      7. JoAnn Fabric Store
      8. National Balsa
      9. OnlineMetals.com
      10. SIG Mfg. Co.
  27. C. The Projects in This Book
    1. The Rockets
      1. Air Rockets
      2. Balloon Rockets
      3. Cerberus
      4. Ceres
      5. Compressed Air Rockets
      6. Daedalus
      7. Eros
      8. Hebe
      9. Icarus
      10. Juno
      11. Juno Payload Conversion
      12. Match Head Rockets
      13. Nicomachus
      14. Romulus
      15. Themis
      16. Toutatis
    2. The Launch Pads
      1. Compressed Air Rocket Launcher
      2. The Mono Launcher
      3. The Quad Launcher
      4. The Water Rocket Launcher
    3. Trackers
      1. Single-Axis Tracker
      2. Theodolite
    4. Science and Math
      1. Aerodynamics
      2. Computer Science
      3. Electrical Engineering
      4. Mathematics
      5. Rocket Motors
  28. D. The NAR Model Rocket Safety Code
  29. Glossary
  30. Index
  31. About the Author
  32. Colophon
  33. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Make: Rockets
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: September 2014
  • Publisher(s): Make: Community
  • ISBN: 9781457182921