Preliminary Design Review “Analysis of Atmospheric Cosmic Radiation Distribution as a Function of Altitude” Steven Schroeder-Program Manager Damon Emerson-Rocket design Thomas Loughlin-Payload Andy Holm-Construction Gregory Katsaros- Audio Visual Nick Yuan- Safety Robert Forzano- Outreach/Publicity Chris Jardine-Communications Navin Kalluri-Communications Mr. Lynch- Head Mentor Mr. D. Laney,mentor Mr. M. Loughlinmentor St. Thomas High School, Houston, TX sli.sths.org

Agenda Mission Statement and Goals Launch Vehicle and Payload Summary Vehicle Body System Propulsion System Recovery System Payload System Payload Experiment Planning of System Tests Safety Budget and Outreach

Mission Statement and Goals Mission Statement Our mission is to supply accurate data about cosmic radiation by building a safe and functioning rocket that can provide ample time for data collection. Goals Reach an altitude of one mile. Payload records data on ionizing radiation. Both parachutes deploy at predetermined altitudes. Land within one square mile. Rocket retrievable with payload intact. Shed light on radiation variation with altitude.

Launch Vehicle, Payload Summary Vehicle: Length – ” Gross liftoff Weight: lb. Diameter ” Stability Margin – 1.97 Motor – K560W Launch System - 1.5”x1.5” (10’) Recovery: Drogue – 28” at Apogee Main – 120” at 1500 ft. Payload Experiment Summary: Measure levels of cosmic radiation with altitude through the use of a plastic scintillator probe whose data will be correlated with time and altitude.

SYSTEMS Vehicle Body PropulsionRecoveryPayload

(1)Vehicle Body System Modified LOC Precision Magnum 3e Three Body Tubes (5.40”- size needed for payload ) Lower (31”) – K560W, Main, G10 Fins, Camera Middle (28”) – Payload Bay Upper (11”) – Drogue Chute, Canards Nose Cone (21”) GPS Transmitter

(2) Propulsion System Motor: Aerotech K560W Thrust / Weight: N/lb Velocity off Launch Rod: ft/s Rail Length:120 in. Burn Time:4.97 s

(3) Recovery System Drogue Chute 28” LOC Precision Deployed at apogee (18.51 s) Perfectflite Dual Deployment Altimeter Main Chute 120” LOC Precision Deployment at 1500 ft (69.97 s) Perfectflite Dual Deployment Altimeter Landing Landing at s Landing Velocity: ft/s(V); ft/s(H); ft/s(M)

(4) Payload System Within Middle Body Tube Bay #1 - Circuit Board, Scintillator Probe Bay #2 - Two Altimeters – Linked to ejection charges at either end of Payload Bay. Within Nose Cone GPS Transmitter Outside of Lower Body Tube Video camera

Payload Experiment Hypothesis After consideration of the effects due to terrestrial radiation, we expect the altitude of minimum radiation to be approximately 700 ft. Of particular interest is the non- monotonic region in the graph of the data from our previous experiment. We expect terrestrial radiation may be scattered or reflected by the atmosphere

Payload Experiment Significance (1) Radiation will be measured using scintillator probes which are much more sensitive to gamma radiation than Geiger Mueller tubes and can give as a more accurate picture of how radiation is distributed with altitude. (2) Radiation levels are suggested to be associated with changes in atmospheric conditions (such as cloud formation and global warming; chlorine production and ozone depletion) (3) Radiation levels are linked to the breakdown of DNA in organic tissue and so merit further study.

Planning of System Tests Payload – Scintillator probe: (a) consistency of data collection, (b) background counts, (c) isolation of ray sources. GPS – Locality tracking. Recovery – Ejection charges and chute deployment. Safety and RF Signals. Propulsion – (a) Inspection of parts (b) assembly supervision. Vehicle – Scale model launch. Camera – Video testing.

Safety Plans Prior to each project phase: Review system risks and mitigations. Review Safety Codes. Pass test on Safety Procedures. Sign Safety Statement.

Budget and Outreach Budget Current major purchases LOC Precision Magnum 3-E kit with plastic fins $291 Payload materials (scintillator, photomultiplier tube, casing, and accessories) $400 Subtotal $691 Imminent Purchases Recovery System and motor $500 Remaining payload components $500 Subtotal $1000 Outreach Continued exploration of fund raising strategies. We helped boy scouts earn their space exploration merit badges by providing information on space exploration and by helping the boys build and successfully launch the rockets on our baseball field.