Union College Rocket Team 2021

The Union College Rocket Team annually designs, builds and tests a solid propellant rocket capable of launching to 10,000 ft and deploying a payload at altitude. Historically, the team has taken the rocket to competition at the Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico, competing against other collegiate teams in the 10,000 feet commercial off the shelf category. The 2021 UC Rocket comprises five critical mission groups: structures, propulsion, flight controls, simulation and payload. The 2021 rocket utilizes two 4in diameter phenolic tube sections for the main body and one 6in diameter section for the payload bay connected via a reducing coupler. These three sections of the rocket are connected via bulkheads and shear pins. At various trigger points during the flight, explosive pyro chargers in the bulkheads detonate to separate the sections. The rocket engine is a commercial off-the-shelf Aerotech L-class 1365M solid-fuel engine producing 1365N of peak thrust. Flight control comprises dual independent Altus TeleMetrum flight computers, each with dedicated pyro circuity, battery backup and communications. The flight computers also log flight data and relay real time telemetry information to the ground station via 70cm HAM band radio frequency communication. A third computer, the Altus Metrum EasyMini, activates the payload bay charge at a predetermined altitude for payload release. The payload is a fully independent module with its own recovery system and computer hardware. The payload uses a Raspberry Pi micro-computer that interfaces with various environmental sensors and a digital HD camera to record valuable environmental data as the payload descends through the atmosphere. In addition to experimental testing, theoretical simulations of the rocket’s flight characteristics and performance were conducted using RockSim. Additionally, RockSim was used to determine the optimal fin size, shape and placement. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union College Rocket Team will be presenting the results of this year's work at the Virtual Spaceport America Competition in early summer 2021.