Construction of the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket, the final of three flight vehicle designs built by our team for the BALLS 10 experimental launch held at Black Rock Desert in Nevada, in 2000. All three rockets were designed by the project's initiator, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Professor Eugene Trubowitz, who subsequently invited me to be a main partner in logistics, financing, construction, and launch.
Powered by an Aerotech N2000 motor held in a Dr. Rocket 98 mm aluminium N motor case, this 4" rocket was to comprise glass fibre lower and upper airframe sections, three carbon fibre fins, and a custom-made carbon fibre and steel nose cone. The rocket's design resulted in a length of 2336 mm and a diameter of 101 mm.
Top photo shows the very early stages of the rocket's construction at Professor Trubowitz' home, in July of 2000. The carbon fibre fins have been aligned and attached to the lower airframe section with epoxy adhesive.
The next step, undertaken at the machine shop of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, involved preparing a mould for the manufacture of laminated fillet strips. Centre photo shows these laminated fillets after attachment to the fin/airframe joint, in August 2000. One such laminated, formed fillet can be seen bottom left.
Lower photo shows Professor Trubowitz inspecting the provisional placement of the custom-made aluminium rail guide stand-off. The unfinished rocket in the foreground is the 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor vehicle previously detailed on this blog.
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