MIN DIAMETER ROCKET TO 40K - NESSY II - CTI M2245

Nessy II is my second attempt at taming the CTI M2245. Nessy II was flown at BALLS 30, in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. It flew to 40,073 feet, at a top speed of Mach 2.5. Huge thanks to Tony ( @tfish38 ) for helping me recover the rocket! The featherweight tracker disconnected at takeoff, and failed to reconnect that weekend. After looking at the data from the tracker after recovery, it seems someone also powered on another Featherweight Tracker on the same frequency, which disrupted the connection between my onboard tracker and ground station. Unfortunately, the RunCam did not survive the flight, so the onboard flight video isn't recoverable. The rocket was projected to hit Mach 3 and fly to 54K, however; the motor seems to have underperformed. Using the acceleration data, I was able to work back the thrust curve, as well as an estimate of the total impulse. From that analysis, it was shown the motor underperformed by around ~1500Ns.

Project Lessons/Notes:
- Redundant trackers are not a bad idea.
- As best as possible, use tracker frequencies that other users are unlikely to use. A better solution might be to fly when less people are flying to avoid someone powering on their tracker on the same frequency.
- Using aluminum tape on the leading edges, as a sacrificial material, can prevent delamination for speeds up to Mach 2.5 (maybe higher).
- The Tip to Tip method of laminating the fin can with a composite fabric, without vacuum bagging, can survive speeds up to Mach 2.5 (maybe higher).
- The RunCam Split series cameras are not very reliable. Thus far, 2/4 have worked.
- Avoid using hot glue in the avionics bay, for high speed flights. Some of the hot glue I used inside of the avionics bay melted onto the electronics, due to aerodynamic heating, since my avionics were in the nosecone.


Electronics -
Flight Computer: Featherweight Raven4
Tracker: Featherweight Tracker
Camera: RunCam Split 4

Song -
Kisnou - Invictus