N Project: 4" Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 3

Top photo: Professor Eugene Trubowitz is examining one of the fresh arrived Rocketman parachutes at the machine shop of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in late summer of 2000. All three rockets of the N project used Rocketman main und drogue parachutes.

Second photo from top: the two custom threaded forward closures of the Dr. Rocket 98 mm aluminium motor cases used for the two 4" rockets of the project. We were very fortunate to be granted to use the tool machines of the Institute for any such special modifications required in the course of our project.

Lower two photos: first trail assembly of the electronics compartment for the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket. The design of the electronics compartments for both 4" rockets was identical. The mounting base for the electronics thus consisted of an aluminium ring/shoulder, screwed to the modified forward closure. This arrangement further provided a mounting point for the glass upper airframe section.

The circular white insulation foam disc was intended to shield the electronics from the head emitted by the subjacent N2000 composite motor. Again, four threaded steel rods served to hold four custom- made aluminium mounting bridges, to which the two BlackSky AltAcc dual deployment recording accelerometers would subsequently be attached.

N Project: 4" Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 2

Further images depicting the construction of the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket built for the BALLS 10 experimental launch held at Black Rock Desert in Nevada, in 2000. Top photo shows the custom made carbon fibre 4" nose cone with glass shoulder and steel tip. This beautifully immaculate cone was manufactured by Swiss Composite, based on calculations by Professor Eugene Trubowitz.

Centre photo shows Professor Trubowitz working on the rocket while we were performing a first trial assembly of the full (but still incomplete and unpainted) vehicle at the machine shop of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. Components of the other two rockets of the N project can be seen to the right: the red and silver 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket with its welded aluminium fins and, at lower right, a section of the carbon fibre fin can of the 6" glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket.

Lower photo shows the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket erected vertically for the first time, in mid-September of 2000. The red Dr. Rocket N2000 98 mm aluminium motor case can be faintly seen through the lower glass fibre airframe section. The steel tip of the nose cone is provisionally held in place by masking tape; it would later be secured internally by means of threaded steel rod.

N Project: 4" Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 1

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.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 8

The final instalment in the series of photos depicting the various stages of the construction and launch of our 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket in autumn of 2000.

Top photo shows the smoke trail after launch on Saturday afternoon, September 30, 2000, photographed from the LCO's position. Propelled by the Aerotech N2000 motor, the vehicle literally leaped off the launch pad with astounding speed. The rocket ascended perfectly straight and stable, and the scattered smoke trail was thus caused by the range of winds at various altitudes over the Black Rock desert. Our team had previously calculated an approximate peak speed or Mach 2.2 and an approximate peak altitude of 10 kilometres.

A few moments after launch, however, two bangs could be heard from above, and observers further away saw the motor case fly through a cloud of debris and continue upward, still under power. At around two kilometres of altitude, as the rocket accelerated within the supersonic speed range, the glass fibre section of the airframe failed where it was connected to the motor case and electronics bay. The motor case with its welded aluminium fins subsequently continued a fairly stable flight to apogee.

The lower four photos show the recovered remnants of months of design, work, and financing. Almost all parts of the rocket were found, and we were thus able to reconstruct and confirm the sequence of events. As previously noted in this series, the electronics bay assembly was likely too delicate for the aerodynamic loads to be encountered.

The high-speed break-up shredded parts of the glass fibre airframe section and even sheared off a large section of the carbon fibre nose cone. It was difficult to determine how much of the damage at the top of the motor case was caused by the break-up and how much by the motor case's subsequent impact on the hard surface dry lake.

All electronics as well as the Rocketman drogue and main parachutes were damaged beyond repair. At least two of the aerodynamic fillets covering the aluminium welds were devoid of paint, indicating strong movement and stress, likely caused by the impact on the ground.

In spite of this dramatic result of the flight, I felt the entire effort was well worth it. Not only did it amount to a significant gain of theoretical and practical knowledge, it also was an experience to last a lifetime.

The next day, Sunday, October 1, 2000, would see our team launching the sister ship, the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 7

Top and second from top: in order to access and activate the BlackSky AltAcc recording accelerometers in the electronics bay on the erected rocket, we had to resort to driving one of our rental cars as closely as possible to the launch pad. This makeshift platform enabled Marco Schenker to turn on the electronics and confirm their operation. Dave Triano of Shadow Composites can be seen preparing the igniter (top photo, right).

Centre: with the rocket thus ready for launch, Dave inserts the igniter into the Aerotech N2000 motor.

The final photo shows a look back at the rocket waiting for the launch command on the pad, as our team receded to safety.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 6

Top photo shows team members Eugene Trubowitz, Dejan Romancuk, and Marco Schenker weighing the fully flight-ready 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket at the BALLS launch director's position. The rocket and its N2000 motor came in at 17.1 kilograms. This weight also included the ejection charges, recovery system, and altimeter batteries.

After the weight check, the submission of the required papers, and a visual inspection, we were cleared to take the rocket out to the launch pads. The bottom photo shows Dave Triano of Shadow Composites (second from right) assisting us in inserting the rocket into guide rail of the launch pad.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 5

Top: final pre-launch work at our BALLS X launch preparation area out on Black Rock dry lake, on Saturday, September 30, 2000. Marco Schenker (left), a friend from our teenage model rocket days, is holding the N2000 motor before insertion into the Dr. Rocket motor case which doubled as the lower airframe of the 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket.

Second photo from top: the author of this blog, inserting the greased N2000 motor while Marco Schenker is holding the motor case. Team member Erol Ünala (left) is filming the procedure.

Third photo from top: our esteemed friend and US partner Dave Triano of Shadow Composites (left) and project initiator Professor Eugene Trubowitz (second from left) are seen preparing to seal the motor case with the forward closure. Team members Marco Schenker and Erol Ünala are looking on.

Bottom: Eugene Trubowitz securing the upper airframe to the loaded lower airframe section. Team members Marcel Busse (left), Marco Schenker (right) and Dejan Romancuk (far right) are standing by to assist.

Second photo from the top by Zane Reed Johnson; all other photos by the author of this blog.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 4

Top: the near completed 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket, photographed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in late September of 2000, the week of the launch. The rocket was then placed and secured in a flight case, together with its 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre sister ship, and flown to Reno, Nevada. After spending a couple of day purchasing additional tools and supplies in Reno, we transferred the rockets and support equipment into cars and, on September 29, 2000, proceeded to Gerlach, Nevada, at the edge of the Black Rock desert/dry lake.

Centre: securing the attachments of the recovery system before installing the BlackSky AltAcc recording accelerometers at one of our rooms at the generously named Bruno's Country Club in Gerlach, September 29, 2000.

Bottom: the Aerotech N2000 motor before installation in the motor case, photographed at our BALLS X launch preparation area out on the dry lake, on Saturday, September 30, 2000.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 3

Detail work on the 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket, at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in September of 2000. Following the application of black and red paint to the rocket at an automotive paint shop, we began assembling the electronics compartment. The main mounting base for the electronics consisted of an aluminium centering ring and shoulder, screwed to the modified and threaded forward closure of the aluminium N2000 motor case. This construction also served at the mounting point for the glass upper airframe section.

The second photo from the top shows Professor Eugene Trubowitz during a test assembly of the upper airframe section to the lower half of the rocket with the still empty electronics compartment. A piece of white insulation foam can be seen on the aluminium centering ring; this was designed to shield the electronics from the head emitted by the motor.

Threaded steel rods then served to hold four custom-made aluminium mounting bridges, to which we attached the two BlackSky AltAcc dual deployment recording accelerometers. The AltAccs were intended to trigger the release of the Rocketman main und drogue parachutes.

Moreover, the threaded steel rods also provided the mounting points for the sealable aluminium top bulkhead/shoulder, which, in turn, held the two pyrotechnic release modules and the aluminium recovery system strap retainer bars. The entire assembly was beautiful and tidy, but, in hindsight, perhaps a bit too delicate for the loads it would encounter.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 2

Further images documenting the construction of the 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket for the BALLS 10 experimental launch at Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The photos were taken at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology's machine shop in Zurich, in September of 2000.

Top photo shows the rear half of the rocket, essentially a Dr. Rocket 98 mm aluminium N motor case with welded aluminium fins. Aerodynamic fillets, consisting of a black epoxy mixture, have been applied over the weld lines.

Second photo from the top shows the project's initiator, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Professor Eugene Trubowitz, concurrently preparing the two 4" rockets of the project for the installation of the rail guides and their aluminum stand-offs. The epoxy fillets on the 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket in the foreground have in the meantime been sanded to the final configuration.

Third image depicts the custom-made aluminium centering ring and shoulder, mounting point for the glass fibre upper airframe section, screwed to the modified and threaded forward closure of the motor case.

Bottom image was taken during the first tentative assembly of the still unfinished and unpainted rocket at the Federal Institute of Technology, in mid-September 2000. The glass fibre upper airframe section has been crowned with the custom-made carbon fibre/steel nose cone. The rocket stood 2336 mm tall.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 1

Construction of the 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket, one of three flight vehicle designs built by our team for the BALLS 10 experimental launch held at Black Rock Desert in Nevada, in 2000. The 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.

The 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket consisted of a Dr. Rocket 98 mm aluminium N motor case doubling as a load bearing airframe structure, and an upper airframe section of the same diameter, made from glass fibre. The custom-made nose cone was manufactured from carbon fibre and steel.

The rocket's three Anticorodal-110 T6 aluminium fins were welded directly to the motor case. They measured 317.5 mm by 114.3 mm, at a strength of 4 mm. We initially contracted the welding to the renown Pilatus aircraft factory in central Switzerland. The results were startlingly disappointing, however. While the welds were of a clean external appearance (top photo), Pilatus had actually welded right through the motor case, thus rendering the entire component unusable. We were suitably surprised; this was a reputed aircraft factory, and they had promised us an expert job.

As we were working on three different rockets at the same time and thus were subjected to a tight schedule until the launch date at the end of September 2000, we purchased another motor case and had Dr. Rocket courier it immediately across the Atlantic. This time, we contracted the welding of a new set of fins to E. Nussbaumer AG, an aluminium welding shop in Bremgarten, a small town in the Swiss countryside. The second photo from the top shows Professor Trubowitz (far right) explaining the work to be done to an employee of E. Nussbaumer AG, using the damaged motor case as an example. Nussbaumer's welding was fantastic, and we were finally able to proceed with the remaining construction of the rocket.

The lower two photos show the thus completed tail section of the rocket at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology's machine shop. Fins and motor case have been masked, leaving only the welds exposed, in anticipation of the application of an aerodynamic fillet consisting of an epoxy mixture. The second photo from the bottom shows the tail section of another one of the project's three rockets in the background, the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre vehicle.

Black Rock Desert Impressions, Part 2

The UK's exceptional seven-member MARS team during final launch preparations at the BALLS 2000 experimental high power rocketry launch on October 1, 2000, at Black Rock Desert, Nevada. The team arrived at the event with the goal of setting a new UK amateur rocket altitude record. For that purpose, they had designed the Phobos EAV rocket, powered by a Kosdon O10000 motor.

Phobos EAV was a two-part vehicle, consisting of the powered lower section containing the motor and an unpowered boosted dart upper section. The vehicle measured 3960 mm in length and 104 mm in diameter. Both parts were to be recovered by parachutes. The top two photos show the lower section being readied for insertion into the launch tower.

Third photo from top depicts the electronics bay of the boosted dart upper section before closing. The electronics consisted of three altimeters/accelerometers, a backup timer, as well as tracking equipment. The dart upper section was constructed from fibreglass and kevlar, with carbon fibre fins and steel nose and tail cones.

Lowermost photo shows the MARS team placing the powered lower section of Phobos EAV in the launch tower; the dart upper section was added later. The lower section was also fitted with a separate altimeter/accelerometer and a backup timer, in order to trigger the booster recovery system.

Both parts of the Phobos EAV rocket performed flawlessly, achieving what was later confirmed to be a new UK amateur rocket altitude record of 34,579 feet.

N Project: 6" Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 4

Final construction activities on the 6" glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket at what was then the machine shop of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in September 2000.

Top photo shows the author of this blog (left) and Professor Eugene Trubowitz after the first full assembly of the still unpainted 6" (152 mm) rocket. The length of the rocket was 3000 mm. The design of the rocket provided for the integration of the Dr. Rocket N2000 98 mm aluminium motor case as a load-bearing structure. The release of the Rocketman drogue and main parachutes was to be guided by a BlackSky AltAcc recording accelerometer with dual deployment. The rocket was expected to exceed a speed of Mach 1.

Centre photo: the three rockets of the Balls 2000 N project assembled and displayed together for the first time. They were subsequently transported to an automotive paint shop we had contracted. Far left is the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre/aluminium rocket, second is the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket, and far right is 6" glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket.

Bottom photo depicts concluding work on the freshly painted 6" rocket. Only the main body of the rocket was painted, the carbon fibre fins and carbon fibre/steel nose cone were deliberately left unpainted. In order to precisely drill the necessary mounting holes and access ports for the internal altimeter bay (to be installed last), the rocket has been temporarily wrapped with a large-scale, custom printed template.

All three rockets were shipped to the Black Rock Desert in late September of 2000. A number of circumstances during the preparation for the launch resulted in time constraints, however, limiting our team to only launching the two 4" vehicles of the project, while the 6" rocket remained unlaunched at the time.