Ordering parts and planning the build (7)
After spending a couple of weeks strategizing about the build and the tech to go into it my friends invited me and my wife to come visit them in Michigan for the 4th of July. Since we live in a big city there aren’t a lot of open spaces where you can perform a launch … Continue reading Ordering parts and planning the build (7)
Achieving Stable Aerodynamic Flight (6)
Since I started working on this project I’ve had a lot of fun learning about aerodynamics. It’s something that only really matters once you put the parts together, but planning for an aerodynamically rocket is critical for success. There are a TON of great resources to help you learn about the science of aerodynamics. I’m … Continue reading Achieving Stable Aerodynamic Flight (6)
Radio Telemetry – Connecting it all together (5)
Now that we know we will be using the Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense and (for the sake of demonstration) the HC-12 RF module, let’s go ahead and put the software and hardware together. I’ll try to go into as much detail here as possible, and cover many of the issues I had, but there’s … Continue reading Radio Telemetry – Connecting it all together (5)
Radio Telemetry – Choosing the right wireless transceiver (4)
Enough about imaginary fuselages and prototyping boards with everything built in, LET’S BUILD SOMETHING! In my last post we proved that the Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense had all of the skills necessary to track attitude and some movement, but how do we get this information to the computer for analysis? There’s a great video … Continue reading Radio Telemetry – Choosing the right wireless transceiver (4)
Basic Telemetry – What is the rocket doing? (3)
One important goal for this project is to be able to make automated in-flight decisions and monitor flight progress. To accomplish this we need some kind of flight computer. Something you may not know about me – I love Arduinos. With just a tiny amount of programming and wiring knowledge you can build almost anything. … Continue reading Basic Telemetry – What is the rocket doing? (3)
Imaginary Rockets – Modeling, Mocking and Planning (2)
Most people who know me probably wouldn’t be surprised if I skipped the planning phase and just started building a rocket, blindly trusting it would work. Kerbal inspired me, though, and modeling and testing virtual prototypes had its own appeal. I downloaded OpenRocket, and found that on this modeling software, much like in KSP, I … Continue reading Imaginary Rockets – Modeling, Mocking and Planning (2)
Introduction – Space Frogs (1)
I think just about everyone has taken up a new hobby during the COVID pandemic. It just so happens that I spent a fair portion of our time in “quarantine” playing Kerbal Space Program, which inspired me to rediscover my love of rocketry. It wouldn’t be nearly as interesting, though, without a pile of convoluted … Continue reading Introduction – Space Frogs (1)
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The MarkDart 