Redesigning our Rocket

This is our revised rocket

After the first launch my group had to redesign our rocket. Our first step was to analyze the problem. Our problem was that our wings were unbalanced. This was because we only had 2 wings. We also thought it was a little top heavy so we had a lot of debates of if we should keep the extension we had before or take off. We decided we would cut it shorter and put it on the rocket. But we also didn’t know if we should 3D print our nose cone or keep the one we had before. At the end we decided we would add more wings, take away the extension, and 3D print our nosecone. Redesigning was actually very fun and I cannot wait to launch our revised rocket.

 

 

Rocketry Launch No.1

In school we have been doing rocketry. Yesterday we had our first launch and everyone was excited. We have recorded data and made graphs to see which groups rocket went the highest, and which groups went the lowest.

Based on the data, Blasting Rockets (My Group) launched lowest yesterday in the field with ≈ 20 m, and J.E.X.L launched the highest with 57.5 m.

Our rocket didn’t go that high compared to other rockets. Why didn’t our rocket go high? The reason is that, the rocket had a 2nd bottle extension.* The extension was to attach the nose cone. We thought it wouldn’t add that much weight because it was hollow. Our hypothesis was incorrect. The extension made the rocket top heavy which made it go in a U shape*. We also only had 2 wings, which made it unbalanced. The mix of those was bad. The reason it was bad is, when we only had 2 wings it leaned a little towards the right. The extension made it fall even more towards the right and eventually it turned completely over and fell at a very low height.

In the second launch, I think we should take away the extension and add more wings. Adding wings will add stability, and taking away the extension will take away that extra weight.

I learned there are different ways to launch water rockets. At first I only knew about the liquid nitrogen and the cork and base. I learned there is also a launch pad with a bike pump. The launch pad is the one we used.

I only have one question now; Will our rocket go the highest after the revisions?

 

Rocketry

In class we are doing a rocketry project. We build and design our own rockets. We work in groups of four. This is a little frustrating for me sometimes, because, I am used to building alone. So far, we have done/made, Inspiration boards, brainstormed ideas for our designs and made prototypes. I am surprised with all the freedom we have with this project. I have heard from different classes that say they have to use specific materials.

I’m proud of the ways we thought of materials and how we thought of ways to make the rocket fly higher. I’m also proud of how we included these ways when we were thinking about materials and shapes. I’m looking forward to putting everything together and building our rocket that we are determined to get high.

I already had an interest in rocketry and the fact that we got to do it in school made me ecstatic. At first I thought it was going to be sort of competitive but after watching the old rocketry video, I realized groups actually help other groups to make their rockets great. This rocketry unit has been super fun and I can’t wait to launch our rockets.