Today in class we designed and built our second rocket design, in this design we were allowed to change only one thing from our last design (See Building and Designing Rocket 1).

In our second design the part that we are choosing to change is the fins, we are making it so that the fins are bigger and now there is only three of them. We chose to make this change because we thought that three would be balanced like 4, except lighter because there is one less. We decided to make them bigger because the group that made them big got higher than we did.

For our design we decided to go with a sleek body, and a thin long nosecone, we thought that this will help so the air can flow smoothly. The design process was easier this time than last time, because we already knew what to do.

During the building we decided to put hot glue in the edges on the fins, to keep them on, we also noticed from last launch, that the inside crumpled from the air pressure, so this time we put tape on the inside. Just like the design we did this much more efficiently and fast than last time.

Collaboration during the building and designing of rocket 2 had its highs and lows. For example, during the choosing of what we were going to choose, we collaborated very well, but in the start of the building process we did not. But for the most part, our group collaborated well.

Our Rocket Design

In class we are doing a rocketry unit. Today was the launch and graph phase. When we launched our rocket we had to measure the distance from the launching platform to the clinometer station, we did this using a trundle wheel. I think that our launch stood out from all the others, because at first our nosecone popped off and then we went inside to repair it and then launched again, coming 3rd. Our launch also stood out because we had four fins instead of three. We all had jobs to help with the launches, for example I was the count down master, one person in my group was the pumper, and the other was the person who pressed the button to launch the rocket. I liked being the countdown master because it was my job to release all the anticipation with only one word, “Release!”

After launching the rocket we had to start graphing our rockets data, using a graphing sheet, our rocket went 146ft! Wow! After graphing and examining the pros and cons of our rocket we decided to to make the amount of fins three instead of four. We thought that this might be a good idea because the group that came first used three. Also three might weigh less then four, but be just as balanced.

Our team’s collaboration during the launch was phenomenal, we were perfect, and when we had to rebuild we were all in sync with each other and collaborated perfectly, same goes for the graphing stage. For example we had to hot glue on a really tight time zone but we did it on time.

Us launching the rocket

In class we are doing rocketry. Before we could design we had to do some research on what type of model will give us the best design, so we got to researching. Some things that I learned during our research are the forces acting on a rocket when it flies, and what kind of design has the best chance of withstanding the air pressure that we will be applying. 

After the research was finished we had to do a Google Drawing, where we had to carefully plan out how we were going to build it, whether we wanted a thin or thick design, or a long or short nosecone. We decided to go with a sharp long nosecone and a sleek body for a more aerodynamic design. We had to do a lot of research to get the design right, but in the end it turned out pretty good. We argued a lot for what design to do, but eventually we agreed on a pretty good design, and I hope the results are good.

During the building process we had to first create the body. To create the body we took a thin pipe and wrapped thick construction paper around it that we taped. After that was done, we had to make our nosecone and then put it on the rocket all while doing what we had planned before. After we made the nosecone we made a template for our fins and then cut, and glued the cardboard. While we were building the rocket, we had to compromise and stray from our design a little bit. One example of this is that in the design we had put a really long and really thin cone, but we ended up just doing a medium size cone.

Collaboration. Being a group project, this project requires a lot of collaboration. During this project’s designing stage we argued a lot, but during research we did not. While building our group argued but not very much, and we actually got a lot done, My thought is that we argued because we all have very strong opinions, but when we do work together we do well. Overall, our group was pretty good but in the future I think we could work more pleasantly.

Us hot gluing the fins

Rocketry has been really fun so far, between doing our inspiration board and our first design, and even researching. Our inspiration board was really fun because we got to make diagrams and learn more about rockets. Our first design was also pretty fun because we got to learn about how rockets actually operate and how the pressure builds up and then eventually lets the pressure out so it blasts very high.

For our inspiration board we went with a design that has our group name at the top and then a few quotes, facts and pictures on the bottom our group name is Blast Off!!!  it was kind of hard at the start because our group couldn’t agree on anything, but after a while we started doing pretty well and we agreed on adding more stuff like, quotes, diagrams and pictures.

On our first design we decided to go with a sharp nosecone and a sleek body for a more aerodynamic design. We had to do a lot of research to get the design right but in the end it turned out pretty good. We argued a lot for what design to do, but eventually we agreed on a pretty good design. I look forward to the launch and the rest of this unit.