NASA Jr.

Team America Rocketry Challenge

William Smith High School
NASA Jr.

NASA Jr.

One

has to watch out for engineers - they begin with

the sewing machine and end up with the atomic bomb.

~ Marcel Pagnol

NASA Jr.

Table of Content
Page
Perface----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Introduction to Project---------------------------------------------------------------------------a. What is this project------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Engineering design-------------------------------------------------------------------------------a. Stage one (Identify the Problem and Constraints)----------------------------------i.
Rules--------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Rocket requirements---------------------------------------------------2. Time------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Altitude---------------------------------------------------------------------4. Ranking--------------------------------------------------------------------ii.
Past outcomes---------------------------------------------------------------------iii.
Due dates---------------------------------------------------------------------------iv.
Challenges--------------------------------------------------------------------------v.
Analysis to find game plan ------------------------------------------------------1. Time------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Altitude ---------------------------------------------------------------------3. Release angle (angle of elevation) -----------------------------------b. Stage two (Research for background knowledge)-----------------------------------i.
Physics of rockets ----------------------------------------------------------------1. How does it work--------------------------------------------------------- Newtons Laws of Motion-------------------------------------- Acting forces ---------------------------------------------------- Basic Aerodynamics-------------------------------------------2. How can we control these forces?------------------------------------ii.
Design of rockets------------------------------------------------------------------1. Stability---------------------------------------------------------------------- sub----------------------------------------------------------------- sub----------------------------------------------------------------- sub-----------------------------------------------------------------2. Safety of the egg (experiment)----------------------------------------iii.
Components of rockets----------------------------------------------------------1. Components --------------------------------------------------------------2. Recovery ----------------------------------------------------------------- sub---------------------------------------------------------------- sub---------------------------------------------------------------- sub-----------------------------------------------------------------iv.
Weather-----------------------------------------------------------------------------1. How do we work with weather---------------------------------------3

NASA Jr.

c.
d.

e.

f.
g.

h.

v.
Launch methods------------------------------------------------------------------vi.
Design Challenges- Research conclusion -----------------------------------Stage three (Brainstorm possible Solutions)--------------------------------------------i.
Possible design solutions----------------------------------------------------------Stage four (Analyze solutions)-------------------------------------------------------------i.
Pick solution--------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Design analysis -----------------------------------------------------------2. Component and Variable analysis-------------------------------------Stage five (Modeling and optimization)--------------------------------------------------i.
Design and simulate---------------------------------------------------------------1. 2D and 3D------------------------------------------------------------------ii.
Mathematical design --------------------------------------------------------------1. Optimization ---------------------------------------------------------------Stage seven (Construction)----------------------------------------------------------------i.
Build rocket --------------------------------------------------------------------------Stage eight (Analyze data from flight)----------------------------------------------------i.
Identify problems-------------------------------------------------------------------ii.
Brainstorm solutions -------------------------------------------------------------Stage nine (Refine/Rebuild Rocket)-----------------------------------------------------

3. Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Appendix------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Some sub-topics are omitted from the table because of their similarity to their section.

Perface
***********========*************
Some notations we use throughout the notebook are:
= this font indicates equations; often on a new line.

NASA Jr.
* = captions on pictures. Usually a quick note.
bold = sections of subsections. We believe these deserve a specific section but they still
must be under a larger section because they cant stand alone.
1.a.i =stage one of project, section a, subsection i. Smaller sections are not included in
this notation; they are simply indicated using bold.

We hope you not only learn from this notebook, but also enjoy it as we did while preparing it.
[could use some revision]

NASA Jr.
1.Introduction to project
[Deja dont forget this page, its now on you :) ]
---To be filled around the end of project.

NASA Jr.
Stage one:
2. Identifying the problem and Constraints
The problem to be solved in this project is to design and build a rocket capable of flying
to 800 ft with in 46s-48s. We will be using these guiding questions to solve the problem:
How does a rocket work?
How can we achieve an altitude of 800 ft?
How can we stay within the time frame?
There are also certain constraints present namely: resources, time and the rules of the
competition. This section will cover constraints of resources; rules and time will have their own
dedicated sections 3.a.ii and 3.a.i respectively.
Resources:
Financial resources are currently our biggest constraint. A healthy progress of the
project can not be guaranteed if we dont find sponsors (link). One of our group member will be
responsible for this task. Gross cost of the project will be estimated at the completion of section
3.c, furthermore gross cost will be one of the filters when analyzing possible solutions in section
3.d.
2.a.i --Rules
Rocket must be safe in accordance with the NAR rules--basically it shouldnt endanger
anyone. Minimum number of students is 3; maximum is 10. Manufactured rockets are not
acceptable. Students must be grade 7-12 and anyone outside of the team can not participate in
the process of brainstorming, designing or building.
101 --Rocket Requirement
The minimum size for the rocket is 650mm or 25.6 inches in length measured from end
to end. Total weight must not exceed 650 grams or .65 kg at lift-off. The motor used must be
model F or lower class as listed on the TRAC website(link) any number and any combination of
motors can be used but the total impulse must be less than or equal to 80 N per Sec. Rocket
must not contain any pyrotechnic(link) charges except those, the basic ones, provided with the
motor. The portion of the rocket containing the egg and the altimeter must return to ground
without students help. This section must use a single parachute of any size. The remaining
portion containing the motor and other components may use any method for recovery. These
two portions must not be connected in any manner during the course of recovery. The rocket
will be carrying one hens egg weighing 55 to 60 grams and 45 mm or less diameter size. Any
external damage done to this egg is disqualifying.
102--Flight duration in relation to scoring
The flight duration of the rocket is calculated using the total amount of time the portion
containing the egg spends in the air, i.e. from takeoff to landing of the egg. The amount of time
spent in air is calculated in the following manner:
A zero is a perfect score. The goal is to record 46s-48s in air since that is the perfect range
(score of zero). Scores below 46s are calculated this way:
|
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And scores above 48s are calculated this way:
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NASA Jr.
where x is the total amount of time in air
[Analysis using basic calculus will follow shortly).
103 --Altitude in reference to scoring
The Goal for the altitude is 800 ft or 244 meters:
,
where flight is the altitude the rocket climbed
This, obviously, creates a decreasing linear
graph, as show below:
As clearly seen on the graph, altitude
of 600 ft or more gives a score of 200 or
less.

2.a.i.V --Ranking
Ranking is done on the basis of time score (explained above) and altitude score (also explained
above) using the following simple equation:
,
As indicated in the explanation of time scoring and altitude scoring, the lower the point,
the better the score; zero being the perfect or highest point possible. For details on resolving
ties and other related situations, refer to the TARC website(link) This information is omitted from
this paper as it does not contribute or affect the development of the project.
All the above ranking and scoring dont include the national competition. At the national, similar
scoring is used except there is a mandatory second flight where the target altitude is 775 feet/
237 meters and target time is 45-47 seconds. The ultimate final score is found by averaging the
score of these two flights.

2.a.ii --Past outcomes

NASA Jr.
This section is dedicated to evaluation of past ranking and scores inspite of finding the
level of competition we will be entering. This will help us estimate our ranking and the amount of
proficiency we must demonstrate at the minimum. We studied the scores of first, second, and
third ranks in the past 3 years and represented it in the following table:
Year and Rank

1st

2nd

3rd

2012

12

22.04

25.81

2013

29.24

32.08

33.24

2014

14.88

18.1

26.24

Average

18.706

24.073

28.43

*notice: there are outliers which decrease the accuracy of the data.
2.a.ii --Due dates
In this section we kept record of the major due dates of the competition. This shouldnt
be confused with the due dates we set for ourselves to ensure a steady progress of the project.
Due dates for the project will be tracked using a project management software. The due dates
for the competition are as follow:
Registration opens September 2nd and ends December 12th 2014
Qualifying flights must take place between September 2nd 2014 and March 30th 2015
The best 100 qualifying flights are invited to compete at the national competition on May
9, 2015, at Great Meadow, The Plains, VA.
2.a.ii --Challenges
We have briefly identified challenges in the introduction to section three, but it will be
discussed in more depth here:
The problem at hand is to design and build a rocket that is capable of carrying an egg to
an altitude of 800 ft preferably within the time frame of 46s-48s. Further more, the rocket must
be built in accord with the constraints provided above, i.e. time, resources, and rules. Before
proceeding into the designing process, we are going to explore various approaches to score the
best possible in attempt to figure out the best and ultimate approach. First, we must decide the
amount of time we want to spend in the air, then the altitude we would like to achieve, from this
we will find the most fitting velocity for the rocket at different intervals of the time frame. Below
we have used computer programs and calculus to analyze the rules and come up with a game
plan.
2.a.iii --Analysis to find game plan
Since final score is based on the time score and altitude score, we used integral calculus
to find the best combination of altitude and time scores to score the highest, i.e. to get a score
closest to zero or zero if possible.
101-- Time

NASA Jr.
By using a C computer program we found the time score from time zero to time 100
seconds. Represented in the graph below:
As it is observed in
the graph, time range from
10s to 20s and 49s to 60s
are the other best
alternatives other than the
perfect point ranges
To ensure the accuracy of
our computer program and
graph, we used algebra to
manipulate the equations:
|
|

--------------------------

--------------------------|

|
By following the same steps we determined the outcome to be
But given we are calculating time, we omitted the negative results (to avoid going back in
time). From this we concluded that: 4 seconds of airtime will also get us a perfect score of zero,
in addition to the 48s, 46s and 47s (already stated in the rules).
But 4 seconds in the air will not enable us to get high altitude, thus having a negative impact on
our final score. Therefore, we proceed into analyzing these areas using integrals:
First, we made an estimate range for the 4 second area using the graph. We decided to make 8
the lower limit and 15 the high limit:

This lead to:

x=210
We used the same process on the next part of the piece-wise function using 49 as lower limit
and 57 as the high limit:

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NASA Jr.
|
|

After this computation we found:

x=160
Since 160, longer air time, is less than 210, shorter air time, we decided that time range
10 seconds to 20 seconds is not going to be our goal. We also, noted that the engines listed are
not capable of climbing to high altitude with in this time frame thus deducting from our final
score.
Then we considered the derivative of both areas to see how much points we would lose if we
went out of the time frame we analyzed. Since the derivative shows the change of slope of the
function, it will enable us to see how much change we will experience in our final score if we
went out of the range estimated. The calculations are as follow:
|
|
|
|
|
|
By graphing the derivative of the function we were able to study the change over the
interval we were interested in. From this we discovered that the derivative is very large and
negative on the left side of the high limit (also seen in the graph-- almost vertical slope), and
positive and smaller number on the right of the high limit. The lower limit exhibits the same
properties of derivatives of smaller number on both side. Further more, we noted that we should
be setting a goal to exceed the range if we cant stay with in it. We also fully established our
time range by removing the 4 second range from consideration. We concluded, using all the
above data, that time range of 46 seconds to 53 seconds is our best choice.
Once we figured out the best time range, we started looking for the best altitude if the motor of
our choice can not achieve 800 ft with in the time frame we specified-- 46 seconds to 53
seconds. (For the second flight: 45 seconds to 52 seconds)
102 --Altitude
Altitude is another factor we carefully analyzed to score the highest possible points
(closest to zero). We first generalized the details in the rules into an equation and graphed it.
We also used another C computer program to analyze the output (altitude score) for the first
100 seconds, very easily we noticed that altitude of less than 790 ft will damage our score since
it will score more than 10. So we set the altitude range from 790 ft to 800 ft. We will now explore
the listed motors to find one that can travel at least 790 ft with in 46s to 53s thus dealing with
speed/velocity. This decision will be made in section b.iv after we have enough data from the
research. (For the second flight: 765 feet/ 237 meter with in 45-52 seconds) If the rocket makes
a successful flight within these time and altitude frames, the worst case scenario is around third
place since we will score 30, and 28.5 is the average score for 3rd place. The best case scenario
is a score of 0, while median is a score of 9.

103-- Release angle

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NASA Jr.
We considered having some angle of inclination at launch but decided otherwise-- to use
90 or straight up. This can easily be observed from common sense, mental simulation as
demonstrated by the picture below, but to be on the safe side, we picked an average velocity
and used trigonometry to prove the drawing:
o

*Image from Wikipedia

It is observed from the image that the angles between 90o and 75o increase altitude, and
angles lower than 75o increase rang. We will now use mathematical approaches to prove this
hypothesis:
Lets use the speed 46 m/s as the velocity for this calculation. The velocity doesnt really
matter at this point of our progress since we, yet, have to decide what motor to use, but the
motors velocity is independent from the angle. Any velocity will be affected by an angle of
elevation the same way no matter what. Furthermore, we will avoid angles below 75o since all
angles below 45o increase range not altitude (and all angles below 75o start approaching the
same outcome-- to increase range). Put together, we will be evaluating angles between 90o and
75o with velocity of 46m/s, dividing the angle range by 5os.
We will find only the Y-component since we have no interest in the X-Component or rang.

is the speed the rocket will travel at in the y-axis (without combining it with the x-axis).
From here we will calculate the maximum altitude reached for the angel:
, we will use the pull of gravity for the variable a since gravity affects the rocket in
the vertical component. At the highest point, the velocity is zero because the rocket will not
climb or fall, but maintains a zero velocity for a moment before falling down. Thus, the final
velocity is zero and the initial velocity is 44 m/s which we figured out from the previous set of
calculation. Thus the equation becomes:

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NASA Jr.

The rocket will reach maximum height of 98.7 meters moving at a velocity of 46 m/s, launched
at an angle of 75o.
We went through the same steps to figure out the maximum height of the rocket if it was
launched at 80o, 85o, and 90o moving at the same velocity. The outcomes of our calculation are
summarized below in a table format:
Angle

Maximum altitude

75o

98.67

80o

104.6

85o

107

90o

107.85

Further proof, that 90o is the best angle for release is the analysis of the equations:
The maximum value of sin is 1 at 90o or at and both right and left side limit of sin(x) is one.
This means all other numbers approach one as their value. In the Y-component analysis we
should note that we are multiplying the value of sin(x) with the velocity, thus the highest value of
sign will give the highest Y-component, which in this case is 1. From there the effect continues:
in the distance equation we will be dividing larger numbers with -19.62 as the angles get closer
to 90o leading to a larger altitude outcome.
From the above data we concluded that we will be launching the rocket at a 90o angle to
achieve the highest possible altitude. [This section we will be revisited in another section for
better optimization of time and altitude range]
To conclude Stage one, we should note that all these calculations and decisions are
made without the consideration of any variables such as: wind, pressure, humidity, weather, etc.
These variables will be discussed in section 3.b.ii and 3.b.iii under variables/components and
design challenge. The purposes of the above analysis is to serve as a control, and aid us
optimize the design to fit our needs.

Stage two:
2.b--Research for background knowledge

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NASA Jr.
The research stage is divided into three main parts namely: physics of rockets. design of
rockets, and parts of rockets. Each of our team members will take on one of the parts. Physics
of rockets will be researched and reported by Yonathan, Design of rockets will be researched
and reported by Deja, and Parts of rockets (component) will be researched and reported by
Miguel. We will each follow some guiding questions and the goal at the end of each research is
to fully answer those questions in reasonable detail. We will also explore the various variables
we will be working with when designing the rocket. This stage will be concluded by bringing
together all three researches and identifying the challenges that we will be facing to design the
best rocket for the criterias we specified above and within the section.
2.b.i-- Physics of rockets
In this section I will go in depth explaining the physics involved in the flight of a rocket. I
will start from Newtons Second and Third laws of motion, and explain how they enable a rocket
to make a successful flight. I will then consider basic aerodynamics to explain what forces affect
the rockets once its airborne and how they affect it. Furthermore, I will consider how we can
control these forces to maximize the success of our rocket. The following section will explain
how rockets work, followed by variable control. My research will be guided by these three
question:
What is the physics that makes rockets work?
What are the forces acting on a rocket?
How can we control these forces?
2.b.i.A-- Newtons Laws of Motion
My research focused on the second and third laws of motion, simply because the first
law of motion does not have significant effect on the system of a rocket, but we appreciate its
assurance that our rocket will not decide to stop in mid air by itself without the help of other
forces.(Joke) I will start from the third law and create the foundation of the concepts, I will then
proceed into the second law to further strengthen the concepts of rocketry.
Newtons Third law of motion
How does a rocket work?

Newtons third law of motion is one of the basic physics concepts introduced in middle
school thus I will spare both time and page number by not spending too much time explaining
the concept itself, but the concept in context to rocketry. Newtons third law of motion states that
for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This can be further broken and
analyzed as: for every vector of force (force with both direction and magnitude), there is another
vector of force that has the same magnitude but opposite direction. There are endless ways of
framing this single law, but I will be using the word form or the vector representation as it seems
fitting for our purposes and easy to comprehend without excessive mathematics.
This put in perspective to rocketry can be explained as follow: When the rockets ejects
power from the motor, due to the third law, the ground surface produces equal force put to the
opposite direction. Since the rocket outputs power down ward (even though the goal is to
climbed upwards), the ground produces as much force back on the rockets in the up direction
thus accelerating the rocket upward. This concept is seen at work on any such objects, not only
rockets. For example an inflated balloon when released goes through the same phenomena.
The air inside of the balloon (F1) goes out the opposite direction the balloon is traveling and the
air around it outputs force F2 in the opposite the direction as F1, thus making it travel forward.

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NASA Jr.
This law makes it possible for rockets to have motion, and it has utmost importance. Yet, there
is not much to be said about it as it is simple and plain. I will provide vector representations of
this law for future reference before proceeding into the second law.
, assume this vector represents the force of a rocket on a
magnitude f and a direction of angle. Then,
represents the reaction force of the surface on the rocket. It
goes exactly opposite direction of - with the same magnitude of . Note that the negative sign
does not represent a negative value but it rather means the opposite value. [we need an
illustration here Deja]
Newtons Second Law of Motion
How does a rocket work?

Newtons second law introduces the concept of force. This is another important concept
that is very useful to rocketry. Consider the basic formula of force that relates mass and
acceleration:
,
where F is force, m is mass, a is acceleration of the object.
This is very simplistic yet a powerful formula: to find force, obtain the mass and acceleration of
the object and multiply them, the product of the this operation is the force that is applied. Lets
now derive this and see why it works this way:
Before proceeding, I must define momentum in a clearer form because it is going to be used to
derive force. Momentum is the quantity of an object obtained through its velocity and mass. A
different form of definition is: momentum is mass in motion. This can be represented as follows:
,
where p is momentum, m is mass, and v is velocity.
Lets compare this with force formula we found above. We note that it is very similar and the
only difference is momentum deals with velocity instead of acceleration. Furthermore, consider
what you do when you apply force. You are creating motion in mass. Moreover, you are
changing the velocity of the mass (creating motion), which indicates acceleration. To sum it up,
force is change in momentum over a course of time, represented as follows:

where F is force, p is momentum, and t is time.

This is a derivative denoting change in momentum as time changes. We can replace p with a
the formula of momentum: m*v thus ending up with:

This, due to the product rule of derivatives, can be represented as follow:

,
Lets take a more careful look at this form before moving on. We see that velocity is being
multiplied by the derivative of mass. This indicates that we are dealing with a variable mass
(mass changing with time). Then we see that the derivative of velocity is multiplied by mass. We
are not concerned with variable mass for the moment thus we can set

equal to zero,

representing no change. Then the equation becomes this:

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NASA Jr.

Velocity changing with time is the equivalent of acceleration-- the change in velocity. Therefore,
we can change the equation into this:
,
This we can easily see to be the same as Newtons Second Law. By deriving the Second Law, I
have explored the relationship and the definition of force, momentum, velocity, and acceleration
along side with the Second Law of motion itself.
Lets now put this in context to a sample rocket. The force of a rocket is equivalent to its mass
multiplied by its acceleration. We can calculate momentum from its mass and velocity, and we
can find force using momentum. Assume a rocket has a mass of 500 grams, and is accelerating
at 15m/s2, the force of this rocket can be calculated this way:
,
,
,
Momentum can be identified through the same simple arithmetics, so I will not provide another
example on that.
I will revise this section later on to include dynamical mass since the motors propellant material
will be used up by the time of burnout (motor no longer produces thrust) therefore changing the
mass of the rocket, and we are in fact concerned about variable mass.
Other forces
We will consider: the three acting forces- thrust, gravity (weight), lift, drag, as well as
impulse and torque. Drag will be discussed in detail in
the Basic Aerodynamics section, thus I will only define
it in this section without further details. Additionally,
Center of Gravity and Center of Pressure will be
discussed. By analyzing these forces my goal is to
provide enough information for us to be able to affect
the forces through our design.

Thrust
Thrust is the force the rocket motor produces
in the opposite direction to the direction of motion. This according to Newtons Second Law of
Motion pushes the rocket upward.
Gravity (weight)

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NASA Jr.
Gravity is one of the acting forces on any object that is within a distorted space time.
This applies to objects on earth as well. A better definition of gravity for our purpose (classical
definition) is: the force that pulls everything down to the center of the earth. All objects are
decelerated downward (pulled down) at 9.82 m/s2 due to this force. The deceleration of objects
has nothing to do with the mass of the object as proven by Galileo Galilei in the late 15th century.
This leads us into dealing with weight. The product of how much of an object there is and the
gravity of the space. From this we obtain the weight formula:
,
where w is weight, m is mass, g is gravity.
By studying the formula more closely, we can see that weight is the force on a body due
to gravity as the gravitational acceleration is multiplied by the mass of the object. Therefore, the
proper terminology for our uses here is weight instead of gravity since it accounts for the mass
of our rocket instead of just the gravitational acceleration.
Through elementary algebraic manipulation we can identify mass as:
This will be used later in the paper when determining altitude.
Weight acts on the rocket by pulling it down towards the center of the earth. This effect is largely
seen at both two phases of the rocket:powered flight and non-powered flight. The second phase
is obvious as to how it is affected by the force of weight: it is falling down from the sky just like
any other object. [This will be revisited in the recovery section]. The first phase might not be as
straight forward as phase two: the rocket is accelerating against the force of weight through the
thrust produced by the motor. After motor burn out, the motor no longer produces thrust thus the
effect of weight starts to power the rocket. This part of the flight where the rocket is moving
without the thrust from the rocket trading velocity for altitude is known as coasting flight.
Generally, the rocket will start doing the curve of the parabola shape in this phase. Once it
reaches maximum height, weight will fully act on the rocket thus pulling it downwards.
Lift
One more thing that I must note before proceeding is lift. Lift is produced by the fins of
the rockets but, unlike airplanes, lift doesnt actually lift the rocket or help it float. Since the
purpose of the fins is to guide the rocket in a
predictable direction, we can say that lift is the
means for this to happen. More clearly, lift
provides guidance to the rockets flight. The
fins act like the quilts on an arrow. They dont
take the arrow into the air but they guide it
and keep it in the same trajectory of its
release. Guidance of the rocket will be
discussed in further detail at the end of this
section and lift will be revisited with further
details.
Drag

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NASA Jr.
As promised, I will not provide much detail on drag and it will be revisited in the
aerodynamics section with details. This will help me avoid unnecessary repetition in the paper.
Drag is the air resistance on the rocket due to the disturbance on the air by the velocity of the
rocket. In simpler terms, this means the air that pushes back on the rocket when the rocket tries
to move through the air smoothly. A simple demonstration is to move your hand with your palm
when it is in a horizontally and vertically position. You can feel that when moving your hand in a
vertical position the air pushes you more compared to moving your palm flat or horizontal.
Consider this illustration:
A flat plate will have way more drag because the air will be in contact with more area of
the surface. As the shapes become circular and oval, we see less disturbance behind the shape
showing smoother air flow, thus less drag. This clearly shows why almost all rockets (both large
scale NASA and the like rockets and model rockets) have a pointed shape instead of a curve, a
square or any other shape. I will consider different types of drag and how they affect our rocket
in the Basic Aerodynamics section.
Impulse
Impulse is an extension of Newtons Second Law. Recall the momentum formula and Newtons
Second law:
and
(for a non-variable mass)
We see that force and momentum are related through Newtons Second Law, in this form:
,
Impulse is the change in this interval over an interval of a given period of time. We can
represent this using integral calculus:

from here we can cancel out the time derivative dt, ending up with:

This obviously means change in momentum on the interval of momentum one p1 to momentum
two p2. In other terms, this can be shown in this form:
or
,
We arrived here by integrating force thus the equation can be turned into this:

I believe the mathematical representations say enough about what impulse is more than words
can describe so I will leave impulse at this and proceed into the next section-- torque.
Torque

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NASA Jr.
Torque wasnt not an expected concept to be dealt with because torque is force applied
in a circular path. Torque can have to applications: for large scale NASA rockets, the rockets go
around earth before going swinging towards the target position. For model rockets, torque can
be applied on the motion of the rocket in a circle called roll. The picture below shows this
concept:
I will provide a basic mathematical
representation of torque that can be
used to show and control the roll
motion.
Torque is a force that tends to
rotate a lever or a pivot in a circular
motion. From this we can obviously
see two components of the
mathematical representation: length
of the arm and the force applied.
Thus torque can be represented as:
,
where T is torque, r is the arm
length, and F is the force.
But it can be seen that the angle
between the applied force vector and the vector of the arm has significant value. Consider the
picture on the below:
To account for this angle, we use the sin function,
and the equation becomes:
,
But note that we used the vector values of not the
scalar, thus the equation must reflect that:
| | | |
,
We will be doing analysis on torque when we
consider autonomous control at the end of this
section. This control method will enable us to control
the roll axis movement of the rocket which might
result in a higher altitude, or otherwise give us the
power to control the altitude to be lowered down if
needed.

Rocket specific calculation

So far we have looked at hypothetical rockets or the general concept that can be applied
to any rocket. In this section, I will show how distance traveled can be calculated provided some
of the above values (impulse and weight). These calculation will obviously vary from rocket to
rocket as the impulse and the weight of the rocket change. I will first derive the equation that

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can be used to identify the maximum altitude achieved. Note, that this calculation is done in
three-dimensions combined. There are two reasons for taking this approach instead one
dimension at a time: 1) we are not interested in one specific dimension 2)it is simple and
exceptionally accurate. But we will be using vectors later on when we are designing and
optimizing the rocket design because it will help control specific dimension over the others.
Another thing worth noting is that we are still assuming that mass does not change. This is not
true and mass do change; I will revise the needed equations with this in mind in the section
Variable-mass system (variable mass).
Lets start out with a very basic 6th grade equation of speed:
speed is the amount of distance traveled in a given period of time. With a quick algebra, we can
manipulate it to get the equation of distance:
,
Distance obtained by multiplying speed with time. To account for backward motion, we
must replace speed (scalar) with velocity (vector) thus from this point on, I will be using velocity
instead of speed. Note that this does not change the speed equation; it simply enables us to use
a negative sign to indicate backward motion which wouldnt make any sense if it was speed
instead of velocity.
The above equation can now be replace with:
,
As mentioned before, the rocket has to phases of motion (or three depending on how
you think about, I will use two for this section) one is the part when the rocket is powered by the
motor or the time when the rocket is producing thrust. The second is when the rocket is moving
without the motors thrust. The velocity will, for obvious reasons, change drastically between
these two phases. Thus to be more accurate each phase has to be calculated separately then
added together to find the final altitude. I will show the equation for the thrust phase:
We have seen impulse to be the equivalent of change in momentum:
,
or neatly:
,
For our purpose, lets break the equation a little further:
at start of the rocket is not moving so clearly v0 is 0, the equation can be replaced by:
,
Recall from the Weight(gravity) section that:
,
With another quick algebra, we can get:
,
By applying this to the impulse equation we worked with we get:
,
Now it is a matter of remembering what variable we were looking for at the first place-- velocity
because from there we can find distance.

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NASA Jr.
,
This equation is of major importance because it gives us the velocity of the rocket if we have the
impulse of the motor and the weight of the rocket. Remember that this equation is for the phase
of the rocket when the motor is producing thrust; this time is specified by the motor
manufacturer as thrust time. Lets test out this equation with a hypothetical class A motor model
rocket:
Assume impulse to be 2.5 N-s, with a 5 second thrust time and the rocket weighs 500 grams.
From this we can find the velocity simply by:
,
The seconds cancel out leaving one s the kg cancels out with the Newton, leaving us with m/s
correct unit for velocity. The outcome is:
49.1 m/s,
recall the distance formula:
,
The seconds cancel out leaving us with meters:
d=245.5 meters.
This process can be tied together into one equation:

Note that this is the altitude at burn out (when the motor stops producing thrust). We still have to
the altitude traveled throughout the coasting flight.
The coasting altitude is the similar except there is no impulse involved. Acceleration is the
change in velocity:
,
by squaring the velocities and dividing by twice the distance instead of time,
,
By using a quick algebra we can arrive at:
,
Once the motor has stopped producing thrust only gravity is changing the velocity of the rocket
(accelerating it) thus the a variable in the equation can be replaced by g:
,
This equation, technically, starts from takeoff to a given velocity range so lets assume we are
calculating from takeoff thus yielding:

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NASA Jr.
, since it is not moving at takeoff.
v2 is the maximum velocity or the velocity at burnout, which we figured out in the phase one
calculation. Thus we can replace v1:
, (w1: weight after propellant burns out)
Lets recall our hypothetical rocket and apply the equation:

=121.75 meters

From here, we just need to add the two altitudes to find the final altitude:
distancfinal =245.5+121.75
367.25 meters
The final equation for the altitude is:
distancefinal=

By treating weight and altitude as variables for this specific rocket we found the following graph:

We can see an inverse proportionality-- altitude decrease as weight increases.

Before moving forward, one inaccuracy must be noted: at very low weight, the altitude
will decrease because the rocket will start to observe characteristics of a feather. Obviously, it is
hard to guide and control such a rocket and the altitude decreases as a consequence.

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NASA Jr.
Time
In this section I will set up the equations for calculating time during the first two phases
of the rocket flight. Recall the equation of distance for the second phase of the flight:\
d2 =

**The time to burnout doesnt need to be calculated since it is listed on the motor used, thus we
just need to calculate the time for the coasting flight and add it with the burnout time.
**********************may be not****************************
Remember that velocity is distance over time, therefore time is:
,
since d2 can be represented using impulse and weight:
/v,
Since velocity is:
v1=

We can simplify the equation into:

This gives us the time of coasting flight, and we simply need to add the burnout time, thus final
time can be represented as:
timefinal

+timeburnout ,

Lets put the equation to test and see how it works:

we will reuse the previous hypothetical rocket which weighs 500 grams, impulse 2.5N-s and
5sec thrust time. The equation would look like:
((2.5N-s*9.82 m/s2)/(2*.5kg))/2*9.82m/s2 + 5 sec,
The calculator outputs:
6.25 seconds as an answer.
This means the rocket will hit apogee after 6.25 seconds from launch.
Below are two graphs. The right one treats weight as a variable for this specific rocket, and the
left side treats impulse as a variable for this rocket:

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NASA Jr.

*Weight-time relationship

*Impulse-time relationship

We can see that as weight increases, time decreases. In calculus terms, the limit of the function
approaches thrust time as weight approaches infinity. And we see a direct relationship in the
impulse graph. As impulse increases, the time increases thus the linear graph above.

[there are some minor correction that need to

be made. I shall come back for you!]
Variable-mass system
So far we have been using average velocity for our calculations but there is a flaw in this
because it partially account for the change in velocity as a consequence of the change in mass.
Around the end of the 19th century, the Russian engineer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky noted this
same problem and came up with the equation now referred to as Tsiolkovsky rocket equation or
simply the rocket equation, which accounted for the change in velocity as the mass of the rocket
changes. The equation looks like this:

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NASA Jr.
,
where delta-v is the change in velocity, ve is effective exhaust velocity, m0 is mass a the
beginning, and m1 is mass at the end.
ve can be calculated using this equation:
ve=g*Isp ,
where ve is the effective exhaust velocity, g is the acceleration of gravity, and Isp is the specific
impulse.
The specific impulse measures the efficiency of the motor. It can be identified using this
equation:
Is = F/w
We can see a clear relation between the propellent mass (mass flow, m-dot) and the
thrust produced, thus specific impulse can be identified as the amount of thrust produced per
mass of the propellant. Since we can only use manufactured, off-the-shelf motors, efficiency
might not be of a major variable. But specific impulse is still useful in identifying the change in
velocity. This website (link) has a summary of specific impulse of motors of the leading
companies. If we have enough time we might try and find the specific impulse from our data
once we start shooting our rocket.

Basic Aerodynamic drag

What is the reaction of the air to the rocket?

So far we have been ignoring the effect of the air on the rocket, consequently we have
been accepting very large numbers from our equations, such as thousands of feet/hundreds of
meters for a model rocket with a class A motor in it. It is apparent that the air has large impact
on the equations since it is obvious that a class A motor will not travel that high, thus we must
deal with aerodynamics to account for this gap between reality and the mathematical
calculations. Aerodynamics, unlike Newtons Laws of Motion, deals with both the motion of the
rocket and the reaction of the air to its motion. This is of great importance to us since the rocket

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NASA Jr.
will be traveling in air and its motion is dependant on the circumstances of the environment. This
section will, therefore, cover the variables of the air involved with our rocket. I will mostly focus
on drag since it is responsible for most of the effects of the air on our rocket.
Drag
Drag is the reaction of the air that pushes it opposite the
direction is it traveling. From this we can see that the acting
drag on a rocket is going to have a direction towards the earth
since the rocket will be traveling towards the sky. Before
proceeding into dealing with specific drag types, one factor
must be identified: the drag coefficient. The drag coefficient is
value used to quantify the resistance of an object in fluid such
as air or water. One thing to note is that air is treated as fluid in
aerodynamics. According to the drag equation, less drag
coefficient indicates less aerodynamic drag. The general
equation for drag is below:

Fd
It is clearly seen that larger drag coefficient means multiplying
the other variables by a larger number, which will result in a
larger overall drag.
Now it is fair to proceed into the different types of drag that take effect during the flight. There
are two main types, under which there are three more. There is a third main type called wave
drag. This drag will not apply to mid-range rockets since they dont achieve velocity anywhere
close to the speed of sound.
1. Parasite drag
a. Friction drag
b. Pressure drag
c. Interference drag
2. Lift-induced drag

1.Parasite drag
Parasite drag (AKA zero lift drag) is drag caused by the rockets surface that deflect the
smooth airflow around the rocket. This deflection is caused by the form of the surface, the skin,
and the interference of the shape. Lets look at each one with detail:
Friction drag
As the name suggests, this is drag caused due to the friction caused between the rocket
skin and the air. Friction drag is responsible for a major part of the total drag on the rockets.
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NASA Jr.
Clearly, objects moving faster are going to experience more friction that objects moving very
slowly. Moreover, objects with a rough skin will experience even more friction. The area in
contact with the surface is also another variable for friction drag-- larger bodies will experience
more friction drag than smaller bodies. These variables are expressed with the drag equation:

Fd

The generally the relationship between these variables and drag can be represented as
follows:
Increasing/decreasing velocity increases/decreases the drag by two folds
Increasing/decreasing air density, area, and Cd increases/decreases the drag
linearly
The graph shows the
relationship between velocity
and drag. The negative values
of velocity indicate traveling in
the opposite direction
(backward) but since the rocket
was traveling upward, the
opposite direction is downward- recovery. As the velocity of
the parachute coming back
down to the ground increases,
the drag increases by two folds
as it did when the rocket was
traveling upward direction.
Obviously, at zero velocity there
will not be any drag since there
is no motion, thus the xintercept at the origin.
The other relationships will
create a linear graph which
does not need to be explained.

Pressure drag
Pressure drag is cause because of the dense air molecules that need to be pushed out
of the way by the nose cone. The molecules exert some amount of force on the cross section
area of the rocket, since pressure is force over area, and since the pressure acts to the opposite
direction of the rockets motion, it is drag-- thus the name pressure drag. As the molecules
continues traveling, the air particles move around the rockets with the laminar boundary layer
being in between and as the rocket nears the end, the flow enters a turbulent boundary layer.

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NASA Jr.
Base pressure drag is caused because of the unevenly distributed pressure of the air on the
rocket. At the front of the rocket there will be large amount of pressure (high pressure point) but
around the end, as the air particles start to leave, there is very little pressure (low pressure
point).

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NASA Jr.
2.b.II Design Principles of rocketry
Explain some concepts of designing rocketry. Stability will have its own section so dont spend
too much time on that. Assume you are explaining it to a teacher. Strong vocab should be used
and explain everything.
2.b.II.1 Stability
Start by explaining what stability is and why it is important then break it into three smaller parts
and explain them in detail.
101 Sub one
****
102 Sub two
****
103 Sub three
****

2.b.II.2 Safety of the egg

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NASA Jr.
The stability and the operability of the rocket must be accompanied by an excellent
protection for the egg because an external damage done to the egg is disqualifying as stated in
the rules of the competition. Consequently, the eggs safety is kept under consideration from
design to choosing components and building the rocket. To aid us in the process of designing a
rocket which provides utmost safety for the egg, we designed and carried out three
experiments.

Egg Experiments
How can we maximize the eggs safety?
These are a set of two experiments that we are going to carry out to gather data to be
analyzed in attempt to maximize the safety of the egg. The first experiment will focus on the
force required to break an egg and the second experiment will focus on different methods to
protect the egg.
Experiment One
In this experiment the main question to be answered is: How much force does it take to
break an egg? We will not try to find best position through experimenting because it is a well
known fact that eggs are hardest to break from the end curves (north and south pole). Through
our research, we have gathered that it generally takes 2.5 Ns of force to break an egg. But it is
not clear as to areas of the egg this force is applied to since we are interested in the force
required to break an egg if applied at the top and bottom, we must confirm this data. We have
also found that an egg will break if released from from .35 meters. We will put this under
consideration, but it will be tested.

Hypothesis
By dropping the egg from a certain height and finding the time required to travel that
distance, we can find speed. From this we will find the change in momentum, which can lead to
finding force. By doing so we will prove or disprove that it takes 2.5Ns of force to break an egg.
Furthermore, we will set the parameters for the decent time of the parachute.

Materials
One egg (weight: 50-60 grams, and a diameter of 45 mm)
Ruler with meter scale
Stopwatch
Paper for recording

Procedure
We will first mark the ruler at 0.35 meters or 35 cm. We will release an egg from here
and see if it breaks. If it does, then we will lower the length and try again. If the egg doesnt
break when released from 35 cm, we will increase the length until the egg breaks. Once we find
the maximum length that will break the egg, we will put a meter stick straight and one person
will hold the egg at the mark on the ruler.Then we will have another person stand ready with a
stopwatch in hand. The person with the stopwatch will do a countdown from three, and start the
stopwatch at 0. At the same time the person holding the egg releases the egg. We will record

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NASA Jr.
the time taken to travel the distance, and repeat the same process three times. We will also
keep a video camera recording the process for later analysis.
Data
Distance

3 cm

Time taken
Trail 1

Trail 2

Trail 3

Average

<1 sec

<1 sec

<1 sec

<1 sec

Recorde the time taken to travel the identified distance and calculate average.

Conclusion/analysis
The first egg experiment turned out to be mostly inconclusive as to the target tests, but it
revealed other useful things to consider for the final design. The eggs are extremely sensitive!
At the same time one must keep the environment of the experiment in mind: no protection, no
chute and a hard floor. This environment represents the worst case scenario of the egg can
possibly go through: parachute not working, not landing on grass, and egg protection completely
failing. By assuming the worst case scenario, we can be prepared for the any other case, and
even better prepared better scenarios.
The egg released from 35 cm was completely destroyed so we started gradually
decreasing the height. The egg dropped from 5 cm had a small crack, so we lowered down to 3
cm and the egg didnt have any cracks on it. The time taken to travel this small distance was
about 2/10 of a second to of a second. Both this time and height quantity were unexpected so
some changes are required for the analysis of the outcomes.
One of the goals of the first experiment was to figure out how much force it takes to
break an egg. Given the mass and acceleration of the egg, force can simply be calculated in this
term:

Since the test was done from a height of 3 cm, the acceleration of the egg is not affected
by drag thus the terminal velocity will be of just gravity: 9.8 m/s2. The mass of the eggs was
calculated using the a digital scale and averaged to 61 grams.
But knowing how much force it takes for the egg to break is not enough, we have to
consider how much area is needed protecting the egg to keep it from breaking. This brings
pressure into the picture. Since pressure is force distributed over a given area, we can use this
to find the minimum protection area needed.
Pressure is force divided by area of force applied.

If we keep force constant and see how area affects pressure, we see a rational function taking
place. If we keep area as a constant and treat force as a variable, then we see a linear function.
A graph depicting this relationship is shown below:

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NASA Jr.

Increasing the impact area clearly gives more protection to the egg by decreasing the pressure
the egg experiences. Increasing force, intuitively, creates more pressure thus destroying the
egg. But, this only represents a two dimensional area over which force is applied; we can use
the third dimension (thickness) to our advantage. This brings density into the game.

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NASA Jr.

Experiment two
[deja, explain what you will be testing and how you will do it..you can look at mine if
you need some idea in organizing it. Here is a link that I used (it helps)]

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NASA Jr.

Experiment three
[we should work on this one together.I still need to think about it]

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NASA Jr.
2.b.III.1 Components
Explain each component with details, you can give them sub sections. Give as much details as
you can.
2.b.III.2 Recovery
Consider the three recovery methods and explain them in detail. Show relationship with area
and descending speed etc
101 Recovery 1
***
102 Recovery 2
****
103 Recovery 3
****

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NASA Jr.

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NASA Jr.
2.b.iv Weather
How do we work with weather?
The rockets performance is very well affected by weather as noted in the physics
research section. The design of the rocket must reflect this fact and always put this variable
under consideration. Unfortunately, the control we have over the weather of the environment is
not much nevertheless, some of our design concepts and data processing (test flights,
simulations.) can anticipate this change in the weather and carry out the actions in such a
manner that the change can be taken care with the best possible method.
Given that we can not have any sort of radio connection to the rocket once its in the air,
real time controlling becomes very challenging since on board pre programmed computer
systems must control the flight with the help of sensors. While this a method worth trying, we
decided, as a group, that the chances of success are very small due to the additional
complications of this new approach. Nevertheless, we will brainstorm and try to incorporate
some ideas into the final design that can add to the smooth flight of the rocket even when an
unexpected weather condition comes into play. Furthermore, if time allows, we will design and
build a rocket with computer systems and sensors on board.
Another side of this project that weather must be factored into is data processing. The
weather in Virginia in May is not going to be the same as the weather conditions in Colorado in
December. All our simulations will put this under consideration by noting change in performance
of the rocket in different weather conditions and creating parameters and estimations in relation
to the all the other data collected.
Our test flights will focus on meeting the target here in Colorado for the qualifying flights
instead of the flight at the national competition. Which means we test and fly in very similar
weather conditions to keep the weather variable as constant as possible between our tests and
the actual flight. Moreover, the design of the rocket will be designed in accord with the weather
here in Colorado. This creates the parameter for the wind expected while designing the rocket.
Once we successfully meet this goal then we will optimize the rocket/s for the national flight.
Methods for accounting for the weather difference will discussed in the next stage.
.
[I will continue working on this]

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NASA Jr.
2.b.v Launching methods
*describe how rockets launch here*
Launching method one
*****
Launching method two
****
Launching method two
****

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NASA Jr.

2.b.vi Design Challenges

This section will summarize the work done in this stage and outline the problems that we need
to account for while designing.
We have fully researched and reported the physics aspects of rocketry that makes
rockets work; we have familiarized ourselves with a simulating software and worked on multiple
designs on paper; we have explored all the component that come together to build the rocket.
We have analyzed multiple scenarios in an attempt to avoid all unexpected events.

40