MK III
OVERVIEW
3.1 m / 10.17 ft
HEIGHT
0.158 m / 6.22”
DIAMETER
31.2 kg / 68.8 lb
TOTAL MASS
2845 m / 9334 ft
APOGEE
240 m/s / Mach 0.7
MAXIMUM VELOCITY
190 s
FLIGHT TIME
Spaceport America Cup 2024 - 10k | COTS
Competitions:
Placed 18th out of 120 teams overall
Placed 9th out of 67 teams in our category
Launch Video
Payload
The payload consists of a 3-unit (U) form factor cube structure that has two missions, a primary and secondary.
The primary mission is to act as a testbed vehicle for STRATHcube, another team within StrathAIS, who are currently designing a CubeSat with the aim to put it in space for a mission in 3-5 years’ time
The secondary mission is to collect flight data through extra sensors and to record video for post flight analysis of the rocket’s flight. This will allow for the team to more closely analyse the flight and to allow for further improvements to be made down the line.
The 2U module, is made of aluminium and consists of a top and bottom mounting plate, 2 frame pieces and four side panels.
The STRATHcube team has spent considerable time designing this chassis to be as lightweight but strong as possible, with all non-essential material being removed.
Aero-Structures
The Aero-structures team are responsible for the design and manufacture of the nosecone, airframe, fins and internal components.
The team aim to manufacture as much of the rocket as possible, allowing students to get practical experience, on top of going through a design process similar to that which will be found in industry.
Through CAD and with the help of simulations, each component can be designed so that it is fit for purpose and integrates well with the rest of the rocket design.
The airframe is 3mm thick fibreglass which is made in the lab by the team.
The trapezoidal carbon fibre fins are also laid up by the team in-house through a flat layup.
This year’s nosecone was made of Kevlar reinforced Onyx which resulted in a stiff and strong part, with better impact resistance as well.
Recovery
The Recovery team is responsible for ensuring that the rocket returns back to the ground undamaged.
This was achieved with a dual-deployment system which consists of a drogue parachute which deploys at apogee and a main chute which deploys much closer to the ground to slow it such the rocket hits the ground with no damage.
Both parachutes are deployed by black powder charges which are triggered from the avionics bay.
The system is also designed such that the rocket lands and can be recovered in one piece.
On the Mk. III, the recovery system deployed perfectly at every stage, a first for our Level 3 flights.
This allowed for an easy and successful recovery of the rocket, with minimal damage.
Avionics
The Avionics sub-team tracks the flight of the rocket through flight computers.
These record flight data, track and transmit the rocket’s location as well as triggering the recovery events, allowing for a safe landing for the rocket and a clear idea of where the landing site is.
They utilise commercial flight computers and are working to manufacture a Student Research and Developed (SRAD) flight computer which allows us to design them exactly as we want them to be, with many features all in one flight computer.
Easymini flight computers were used in the launch of Strathosphere Mk. III.
The design of the SRAD flight computer took a massive step forward, with it nearly being ready for flight on a Level 3 flight.
It has been tested extensively and is just about ready to be utilised in next year’s launch.
Propulsion
The choice of motor has a massive impact on the design of the entire rocket, particularly when aiming for a target apogee such as 10,000ft.
Commercial, solid motors are what have been used by the team for each Strathosphere flight.
Once the selection of the motor is complete then there is the opportunity to research further motors for flights further down the line.
On the Mk. III, the chosen motor was a Cesaroni M3400 White Thunder.
This gave us a thrust to weight ratio of 12.7:1 and a rail departure velocity of 32.6 m/s (107 ft/s).