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ECOF events - Kelly Engineering Challenge 2014
Ok, folks. You have waited and waited patiently for it, and today is the day we reveal...
Welcome to the Kelly Engineering Challenge for WOOSH ECOF 2014 ----- “Relaunchable Rockets” ----- The official rules for the 2014 ECOF Kelly's Engineering Challenge. This will be the 6th year she has hosted this event. There have been a lot of great ideas built and flown in the past - we have some very creative people in our group, and we are looking forward to seeing what you can dream up for this one. As this is a particularly involved challenge, especially in keeping it within the NAR Safety Code guidance, we reserve the right to modify these rules as necessary when things we forgot get pointed out. While the rules seem complicated, they are actually intuitive when applied in context of a real mission. Some examples are included at the end. July 2014 marks the 45th anniversary of our first landing on the moon. To commemorate that event, we will be replicating it on the barren surface of the Richard Bong State Recreation Area in southeastern Wisconsin. A few minor modifications will be required to comply with the NAR safety code, but basically, the rocket will fly once, safely land, gather a cheese sample, then launch and land again, simulating a return to Earth. (Hey, remember when they told us the moon was made of cheese?) Everything required to fly a second time, (to include launch guidance but NOT ignition circuitry), must have flown the first time. After the first landing, the lander will be moved back to the range, RSO’d, and launched by the LCO using the rocket’s onboard (flown) launch pad but with the range launch controller (LCO). Possible ideas would include a dual-purpose rocket (ala Buck Rogers), dedicated descent and ascent modules (ala Lunar Module), a sky crane (ala Mars Curiosity), airbags (Mars Spirit and Opportunity), etc. The descent portion of flight #1 must have, as did the lunar module, the ability to land upright, and it must necessarily hold itself upright during relaunch of the ascent stage. Reliability of first landing is clearly a critical design element. The Apollo program was a learning experience for us, and we had some set-backs. The Apollo 1 capsule fire claimed 3 astronauts. But we bounced back, and the United States had a 100% success rate in lunar landings. EVERYBODY that landed on the moon came back to Earth (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17). Also, EVERYBODY that even got close to the moon came back to Earth (Apollo 8, 10, and 13). So, we believe, that with a one year advance timeline, midwest rocketeers should be able to have similar success, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. To simulate the challenges involved in the actual operation… 1. The rocket must fly at ECOF in 2014, under thrust of certified propellant (BP, APCP, or hybrid). Any motor class is allowed. The rocketeer must be certified to the level of combined motors flown. NAR safety code applies. 2. The rocket must land, be recovered, pick up a cheese sample payload, and fly again using only what flew in flight #1, to include on-board launch guidance (rail, rod, vectored thrust, …), but not ignition circuitry. There will be NO onboard ignition source to ascent stage motor. The 2nd flight must be from the active range. Rocket must be picked up from the 1st landing site, inspected by the event judge, then RSO’d and launched in sequence by the LCO, on the active range and utilizing the WOOSH controller. You only have what you flew. Nothing can be brought to the mission after the first launch. Things may be removed, however, if their functions become no longer necessary. See “transition event” simulation in rule #3. 3. Simulated events - Other than ejection charges used in normal recovery deployments, there will be NO pyrotechnics. This is to comply with the NAR Safety Code, with the added benefit of keeping participation costs down. 4. Design and operation of the vehicle will be judged prefight. Unique features should be described, and simulated events must be declared in advance. No secrets going in. Innovations in designs are always encouraged. Family friendly theme mandatory. Remember the judge is a twelve year old girl. 5. Only one qualifying series of flights is allowed per rocket. While practice flights are allowed, the qualifying 1st flight must be identified as such in advance, and the 2nd flight must follow. i.e. no “in-between” flights are allowed. There is no restriction on number of rockets per participant. If a participant makes two or more qualifying rockets, he may register and fly each of them as an individual entry. However, individual participants may not "sweep" the awards. While it is possible that two or more entries from one flyer could score high enough to each qualify for an award, there will be only one award given to any individual participant. (i.e. only the highest scoring rocket from each participant will count for First, Second, or Third place awards.) 6. Points are cumulative, with up to 100 base points total, plus the possibility of 20 bonus points. The bonus points may prove to be crucial, as historically a majority of participants have been within 6 points of the leader. Scoring as follows...
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AP used in 2010: 28,044 Ns (36.9% O) AP used in 2011: 43,488 Ns (6.2% P) Highest altitude achieved: 21,981' AGL "Gravity is a cruel and unpredictable mistress" Last edited by Sather : 08-11-2013 at 11:17 PM. |
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7. Rewards... In addition to eternal bragging rights, each of the top three finishers gets an engraved trophy, with ribbons for 4th thru 10th place. All pre-registered participants get a nifty certificate suitable for framing. And I am rolling over last year’s cash prize, so that this year the winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Wildman Rocket Supply. Second place gets a new AeroTech 29-40-120 hardware set and a G64-W reload. Third place gets a G79-W motor in his/her choice of 4 or 7 second delay.
8. Expanded explanations & examples - Some effects are under our control, some are not. We can adapt, i.e. a damaged rocket may still result in a successful mission. This is a unique challenge, and all results will be treated as if occuring during an actual spaceflight mission, with due respect to those failures and successes. Some examples are listed below. Actual flights may demonstrate combinations of these.
================================================== ================================================== ================================================== ===== Challenge dates - ECOF 2014, dates to be determined. Saturday, __ July 2014 and Sunday, __ July 2014 9:00 AM - tent and table setup 10:00 AM - group photo (bring your rocket) 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM - preflight judging and qualifying flights (thru Sunday if weather forecast acceptable) preflight judging - max of 40 points inflight points - 1st flight - max of 30 points inflight points - 2nd flight - max of 30 points postflight points - bank points deducted if used - max of 9 points - bonus points added - max of 20 points 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM - point tabulation 4:00 PM - awards ceremony edit - clarified cheese gathering and moved some text from post 1 to post 2 to fit 10,000 character limit.
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AP used in 2010: 28,044 Ns (36.9% O) AP used in 2011: 43,488 Ns (6.2% P) Highest altitude achieved: 21,981' AGL "Gravity is a cruel and unpredictable mistress" Last edited by Sather : 08-11-2013 at 11:28 PM. |
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sort of like this...
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AP used in 2010: 28,044 Ns (36.9% O) AP used in 2011: 43,488 Ns (6.2% P) Highest altitude achieved: 21,981' AGL "Gravity is a cruel and unpredictable mistress" |
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what size 'sample' were you thinking of?
rex |
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They are cubes, about 0.6" on each side. If squished slightly, should fit inside of a BT-50.
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AP used in 2010: 28,044 Ns (36.9% O) AP used in 2011: 43,488 Ns (6.2% P) Highest altitude achieved: 21,981' AGL "Gravity is a cruel and unpredictable mistress" |
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hm, lets see (sound of keys clicking) about 1/3 once...I believe a C impulse motor ought to work nicely, and fit inside a 4" tube...thanks for the info.
rex |
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Quote:
Super Hint #1 - a BT-50 tube fin rocket WILL fit inside of a 3" body tube.
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AP used in 2010: 28,044 Ns (36.9% O) AP used in 2011: 43,488 Ns (6.2% P) Highest altitude achieved: 21,981' AGL "Gravity is a cruel and unpredictable mistress" |
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