Alas, the rocketry unit has come to a close. We launched our newly developed rocket into the air. On a terribly windy day and cold, we took our supplies and headed into the launch zone. After using trundle wheels to mark where we were going, assigned people put the launch pad down and attached everything to everything. Then we launched. 19 meters!!! 5 more meters than the last launch, we found our newly made nose cone helpful in developing a better rocket. Expedition mars has succeeded!!!
Rocketry has been a REALLY fun unit. From doing research to being on the field counting down, I loved it all! Even though our rocket didn’t go very far, we still had fun. I’d like to thank my wonderful group for being amazing teammates. I would also like to thank Mr. Casals for helping me with Rocketry videos and all of that. Mrs. Robert as the one actually setting up the launch. Last thank you, all of you!
I made a video documenting ALL the things my team and I did. Here it is!
This is created by all of our group before we launched! Hope you enjoy!
Expedition Mars – Claire, Ajene, Hunter, Issac
We the people of Expedition Mars, designed a special rocket called the Aquarius, to go as up in the sky as we can make it go. It is special because we designed it as skinny as possible. We also made it so it wouldn’t be too light to get caught in the wind, but not too heavy to not have the best propulsion as possible. when building a model rocket, you really want everything to be medium size, the nose cone, not too pointy, not to round. The body tube, not that heavy, not that light. The fins, just the middle length. We are planning to get the Aquarius as high as a model rocket can go!
When you launch a rocket that has a body tube that is way too heavy, drag and weight catch up with it very soon after it goes into the air, causing your rocket to fall just as it gets into the air. But if the body is too light it will get caught by the wind and will drift very far away, and you will be sad. So you need a body tube not to heavy, so it will go in the air, but not to light, so it won’t go sideways either. You need something just right.
We need a medium fin because the fins get caught in the wind and drift. But if we use a small fin it would n’t do anything or the air would get caught. Or if we use a big fin then it would catch the wind and go very far away. If we use a medium fin then it would push up to the sky.
If you make a rocket without a nose cone and try to launch it, it won’t work because if the nose cone isn’t there the top of the rocket would be flat. If the top rocket is flat and you launch the rocket, the rocket would only go so far and then wind resistance will come by and say hello and make your rocket go down down down. That’s why we are designing our rocket with a skinny nose cone
We want to make the best thrust and landing that we can muster. Our medium sized everything will hopefully get us up into the air. We hope the Aquarius comes back safely to the landing point. Making a rocket will be difficult but I think our design will work out just right!
We had been doing rocketry in class! We launched to today! 5 groups worked for (about) two weeks on rockets, made to go in the air. Our group, called Expedition Mars, worked together and created the Aquarius, a beautiful rocket with six fins, one pointy nose cone, and a long body tube. It is fueled on air pressure. (I wouldn’t call that fuel, but still) Using metallic tape, construction paper, hot glue and cardboard, we put together the rocket, piece by piece. It was the perfect design. But due to poor gluing and uneven fins, our rocket only got 14 meters in the air, the lowest of the class. It was devastating, but I think my fellow group mates and I will pull it together for the second launch!
To actually launch the rocket, we needed to do a few things. Before we even put out the launch pad, we needed to take a trundle wheel (look it up) to mark out where we should put everything. Then, in the middle of the field (where we were launching) we would place the launch pad down, and put a pipe in the launch pad. We put the rocket on top of the pipe. Then we would pup the pipe full of air with a bike pump. After putting on our safety goggles and counting down from ten, we would release the air pressure, and the rocket would go flying. 50 feet away from the launch, kids would be using clinometers (look that up too) to find out how far up the rocket went. We, Expedition mars, went first. As I said, we got 14 meters. Poor us. When a team launched a rocket, they would have to do some jobs. One person, would pump the rocket full of air. Another person, would count down from ten before they launched, (I did that job, I’m super loud). Then one person would record the whole thing, and the last person would release the air pressure. Group took turns doing the clinometer readings. I may post how we built our rocket, which was made by all of my group, but I may not. So, the launch was pretty good!