District-Wide Spring Project The Rocket Project

Goal To apply Newton's Laws of Motion using engineering

Introduction to The Rocket Project Week

MondayLesson Day TuesdayBuild Day WednesdayBuild Day ThursdayLaunch Day FridayReflection Day

Website gpsrocketprogram/home Copy into science notebook!!

Safety Keep in mind that safety is very important. The following items are not allowed to be used in the construction of your rocket. Anything metal Anything heavy Anything explosive Anything dangerous

Paper You cannot lose Rocket Project Reflection Paper – Filled out every Friday

How You Will Be Graded Rocket Construction Performance Flight Aesthetics Flight Reflections Total = 315 Points

Materials You do not need ALL of these supplies, first decide on the design with your team, then decide which materials you will need 2-liter soda bottles Clear packaging tape/duct tape Poster board/tag board Tennis ball Paper towel tube Index card/ cardboard /cereal box/ plastic cardboard Tall kitchen bag/plastic grocery bag String/yarn/nylon cord Scotch tape

Time Frame Week 1 – The “Alpha” Launch – Goal is height and stability of rocket flight Week 2 – The “Beta” Launch – Goal is successful recovery (parachute) Week 3 – The “Gamma” Launch – Goal is successful recovery and handling of an “eggstronaut”

Materials by Week Week 1: Alpha Launch  Body of Rocket  2-L pop bottles (Coke products fit the PVC pipe best) duct tape, packing tape  Fins  Hard cardboard, tagboard, corrugated plastic etc.  Nose Cone  Another bottle, cardboard, weight (tennis ball), paper towel roll Week 2: Beta Launch  Parachute  Yarn, string, plastic tarp, garbage bags, plastic shopping bags Week 3: Gamma Launch  Eggstronaut  Raw egg, 6 inches of duct tape, toilet paper roll

ALPHA LAUNCH Objective: To build a high flying rocket

THE PRESSURE CHAMBER WHAT IS IT? The main body of your rocket, made up one 2-liter bottle. This is the part of the rocket that will be put on the launcher and put under 90 PSI of pressure

Pressure Chamber Get one 2- liter bottle and clean it very well, remove cap and label (Coca-Cola) Check to make sure your bottle will fit on the launcher: Measure the height of the nozzle – MUST be 1.5cm or less

Distance must be 1.8cm or less

Pressure Chamber Any puncture or cuts to the pressure chamber may results in an explosion and possible physical injury. Tape the chamber to prevent expansion and reinforce rocket. – (1-2 times should be good)

Main Body/ Pressure Chamber Don’t use the following to remove the label – Hot/boiling H2O – Knives/razors

Pressure Chamber Power Band (to reinforce rocket)

Tennis Ball Ballast : a heavy substance placed in such a way as to improve stability and control

Principles That Make Rockets Fly This is REALLY important. If you don't get the Center of Mass high enough, your rocket will NOT fly straight!

Nose Cones The Bullet – Ballast inside the cardboard – One bottle only

Nose Cones

Types of Nose Cones The Bertha One cut bottle on top of the pressure chamber. Remember – don’t cut the pressure chamber. Keep all the bottles in a straight line.

The Space Needle Tennis ball and paper towel roll

Fins Fins are the guidance system for your rocket. Minimum number of fins is 3-4 Do not make forward swept fins!

Do not place fins above the half way point of your pressure chamber. (Higher will cause the rocket to become less balanced).

Fins

The Launcher Apogee : the highest point of something

A rocket Launch

STEALING

BETA LAUNCH

Time Frame Week 1 – The “Alpha” Launch – Goal is height and stability of rocket flight Week 2 – The “Beta” Launch – Goal is successful recovery system (parachute) Week 3 – The “Gamma” Launch – Goal is successful recovery and handling of an “eggstronaut”

Materials by Week Week 1: Alpha Launch  Body of Rocket  2-L pop bottles (Coke products fit the PVC pipe best) duct tape, packing tape  Fins  Hard cardboard, tagboard, corrugated plastic etc.  Nose Cone  Another bottle, cardboard, weight (tennis ball, clay, etc.) Week 2: Beta Launch  Parachute  Yarn/string, plastic tarp/ garbage, scotch tape Week 3: Gamma Launch  Eggstronaut  Raw egg, 6 inches of duct tape, toilet paper roll

Parachute Size Can be as varied as your rocket. The chute should be double the size of the rocket. – For example, if your rocket is 12 inches tall, then your chute should be at least 24 inches across. – If you make the chute too small then the end result could be smashing. – Double and triple parachutes can work with much smaller sized parachutes. So instead of one big 24 inch parachute go with two 12 inch chutes.

Making the Chute Carefully cut the garbage bag along one side and the bottom seam. Open the bag along the fold and lay it flat. Prepare the edges, where you will connect the strings, with scotch tape grommets. First apply a piece of tape to both sides of the plastic. Then, with a HOLE PUNCH, punch a clean hole through the center of the tape and plastic tab. Repeat this procedure for each location where you are placing a string.

Types of Chutes Square Chute Measure two 24-inch lengths of string and tie each end to one of the grommet holes. Bring the centers of the string loops together and tie them off. Circle Chute Trace a circle on the plastic with a marker and cut. Finish the edges with tape grommets Tie separate 24 inch string leads to each grommet. Gather the leads together and finish the strings off with a good knot.

Strings Strings should be double the size of your rocket Add cut up pieces of straws to your parachute string to reduce tangling

Making a Sleeve If you find that the nose cone area is too small to hold your parachute, you can increase the size of container by adding another section to your rocket with a spare bottle. Remove the top and bottom of the 2nd 2-liter and tape the new cylinder into position. – This tends to make your rocket more stable by increasing the distance between the Center of Pressure and the Center of Gravity.

The "Wizard Cone Chute" Instead of taping the nose cone on, attach a safety cord to the weighted cone and apply a parachute to the top of the pressure cylinder. In theory, once the rocket reaches apogee (the highest point of travel), the weighted nose cone separates from the main body. The main body is creating enough drag to slow itself down. If everything works, the parachute deploys and the two pieces float gently back down to earth. – In practice, the nose cone can sometimes get jammed on the main body causing a failure. In addition, safety cord can be too short and the cone can't clear the body.

Nose Cone Tug Chute The "Tug Chute" uses the force of the lifting nose cone to pull the chute out of the sleeve or needle assembly. Attach a safety line to the nose cone or tennis ball. Attach a parachute close to the cone/ball assembly. The chute needs to be folded small enough to fit inside the needle yet not too tight to unravel. – Problems with this system include; not enough line and parachute packing jams. – Cone style noses with a sleeve have more success with this system.

Parachute Launch

GAMMA LAUNCH

Time Frame Week 1 – The “Alpha” Launch – Goal is height and stability of rocket flight Week 2 – The “Beta” Launch – Goal is successful recovery (parachute) Week 3 – The “Gamma” Launch – Goal is successful recovery and handling of an “eggstronaut”

Materials by Week Week 1: Alpha Launch  Body of Rocket  2-L pop bottles (Coke products fit the PVC pipe best) duct tape, packing tape  Fins  Hard cardboard, tagboard, corrugated plastic etc.  Nose Cone  Another bottle, cardboard, weight (tennis ball, clay, etc.) Week 2: Beta Launch  Parachute  Yarn, string, plastic tarp, garbage bags, plastic shopping bags Week 3: Gamma Launch  Eggstronaut  Raw egg, 6 inches of duct/masking tape, toilet paper roll, yarn/string, garbage bag, scotch tape

THE RULES DO DO use a RAW egg DO use 1 six-inch piece of masking/duct tape and a toilet paper roll DO tape the tube firmly to the inside of the capsule DO get any materials or design changes approved by teacher if different from designs shown DON’T DON’T tamper with the egg (hard-boil, cover in peanut butter) DON’T use Styrofoam/ bubble-wrap DON’T hide the egg, it must be visible from the outside of the rocket DON’T remove the egg once it’s loaded in the rocket

Parachute + Egg