1. Photo courtesy of NASA Virginia Tech Sounding Rocket Project Joe Barretta Lauren Bendig Becky Buxton Cari Faszewski Mohamed Khalil Brian Leginus Tiffany Murray Christopher Ramiro Jeremy Davis Cathy Herman Aswad Hinton-Lee Kenny Kawahara John Mills Jesse Panneton Brian Squires Michael Weronski Emily Woodward David Ziegler

2. Overview General sounding rocket information NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) Improved Orion launch vehicle Science mission Payload overview Detailed payload description Alternative payload designs Future plans

3. What is a Sounding Rocket? “To Sound” Suborbital trajectory Altitude higher than weather balloons, lower than conventional rockets Cost effective Allows for relatively simple payloads Test platform for future spacecraft components Photo courtesy of NASA

4. NASA Sounding Rocket Program 14 different rockets Up to four stages 30-1500 km altitude range 7-65 feet in height Most rocket motors are military surplus Photo courtesy of NASA

5. NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract Will provide Improved Orion launch vehicle Will cover launch costs Will provide consultation and support NSROC

6. Will provide support to Virginia Tech, such as machining and instrument development Will rigorously test payload before launch Launch scheduled for May 2004 Photo courtesy of NASA NASA Wallops Flight Facility

7. Payload Motor The Improved Orion Length overall:~18 ft Diameter:14 inches Motor length:9 ft Payload length:~9 ft Payload includes: Nose cone Experiment Recovery Firing/Telemetry Throw weight:100 to 400 lbs Altitude range:55 to 105 km Impact range:20 to 110 km Launch elevations:78 to 84 degrees

8. Photos courtesy of NASA Payload Length Comparison

9. Improved Orion Performance

10. General Flight Sequence

11. Science Mission Measure aerosols in the upper atmosphere Aerosols are tiny particles in the atmosphere Act as "seeds" to start the formation of cloud droplets Instruments will be provided by Naval Research Laboratories (NRL) and the University of Colorado at Boulder

12. MAGIC Mesospheric Aerosol-Genesis, Interaction and Composition (MAGIC) The VT payload will fly two MAGIC canisters Particle counters: pins extend to collect aerosols for approximately 5 km of altitude each Each canister is self contained Requirements: Must be the first aerodynamic disturbance 95 km apogee Protection of the instruments upon landing MAGIC instrument can get wet Photo courtesy of NRL

13. Charged Aerosol Probes Measure dust or heavy ion currents in the meteoritic layers below 110 km Small detectors, 2.2” x 2.5” x 1.3” and 0.5 lb each The VT payload will fly two detectors and one circuit box on a full aluminum plate. Total system weight: 6 lb Requirements: 95 km apogee 150 Hz to 1500 Hz sample rate Attitude knowledge <5° Instruments may get wet Photo courtesy of the University of Colorado

14. Scope Includes: Jump-start a continuous sounding rocket program at Virginia Tech Design, build, test, launch, recover, and collect data for a sounding rocket payload Provide community interaction Does Not Include: Launch vehicle selection

15. Needs, Alterables, and Constraints Alterables Payload orientation Structural subsystem Materials selection Constraints Payload launch elevation Science instruments Nose-down landing Launch vehicle Launch facility, Wallops Island Manufacturing capabilities Must survive mission, be recovered Cost Launch must comply with WFF regulations Needs Conduct an atmospheric science mission at 95 km Establish a continuing sounding rocket program at VT

16. Payload Apogee Both groups supplying the science instruments would like an apogee of 95 km Payload should cover the region between 85 km and 95 km Total payload weight required: 140 lbs Current weight estimate: 190 lbs Current apogee is at approximately 80 km Both instrument suppliers will fly at this lower altitude Main goal is to achieve as close to 95 km as possible

17. Payload Overview Orion Adapter Wet Section IRMA Experiment Section Aerosol probes MAGIC Deployable Nose Tip MAGIC mounting Bulkhead Main payload components: Nose cone and MAGIC mounting Forward and aft bulkheads Aerosol probes and mounting plate TM components: transmitter, PCM, batteries, AD Wet section: umbilical, switches, antenna Ignition Recovery Module Assembly (IRMA)

18. Payload Joints Radax Joint Fixed joint, 32 screws inserted at an angle Can be vacuum sealed using a ¼” o-ring Male radax connection Female radax connection

19. Payload Joints V-Band Joint V-Band Firing Gun Positions V-Band Shear Pins Payload Section V-Band Joints V-Band V-band Joint Deployable joint, 2 bands held together by shear pins At desired altitude, the pins are sheared by a firing gun and the bands detach, allowing the payload sections to separate.

20. Nose Cone Deployable Nose Tip Nose cone: 19° total angle cone (TAC) Total length: 42 in. Deployable nose tip length: 12 in. Base is attached to payload using radax joint Deployable nose tip system will be designed by NSROC

21. Bulkheads Forward and Aft Bulkheads Used to seal a section from water/air Acts as a base for components Weight: 8 lbs (each) Photo courtesy of UVA Forward Bulkhead Aft Bulkhead

22. Experiment Section Skin Material: Aluminum Length: 24 in. Thickness: ¼ in. Weight: 23 lbs Radax joint at each end Experiment section includes: Two Charged Aerosol Probes with circuit box and mounting plate Transmitter PCM encoder NSROC “a” attitude determination system Standard pyrotechnic controllers

23. Charged Aerosol Probes - Mounting Mounting Method on Previous Flight Aluminum mounting plate: 180° semicircle, ¼” thick Bolted directly to skin

24. MAGIC - Mounting Considerations When Mounting MAGIC Collection pin positioning Free movement of revolvers Protection from impact Structurally sound

25. MAGIC - Mounting MAGIC Mounted on Platforms Secured to Interior of Nose Cone Easily integrated Lightweight Nose cone heating may damage the mounting plate and MAGIC

26. MAGIC - Mounting MAGIC Mounted on Deck Plate Elevated by Four Vertical Beams Structurally separate from nose cone Additional support from beams Additional weight from beams

27. Telemetry (TM) Total weight: 30 lbs AD system provided by NSROC, integrated by VT PCM encoder and transmitter provided and integrated by NSROC NSROC systems typically are integrated by NSROC with their own power source Experimental power requirements are low - VT will piggyback power from NSROC systems TM system includes: Attitude Determination (AD) Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) encoder Transmitter Batteries TM will go at the bottom of the experimental section Photo courtesy of UVA

28. Attitude Determination Photo courtesy of WFF NSROC “a” system: Three axis accelerometer Three axis magnetometer Spin rate sensor Solar sensor Properties Less than 1 lb Requires 50 mA System will be acquired from NSROC

29. PCM Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) takes parallel data and serializes it for telemetry Digital, rather than Frequency Modulation (FM), an analog form of transmission Photo courtesy of WFF Lightweight, compared to FM In-house low cost PCM encoder developed by NSROC PCM encoders typically cost $5,000 to $25,000. The low cost PCM encoder is about $1500 Low power: 48 mA Ideal for low data rate requirements of aerosol probes and AD system Weight: under 1 lb

30. Transmitter Vector T-700S/L transmitter 28 V 3.0 Amp max Weight: 11 ounces max VTSRP payload will transmit on S-Band: 2200 to 2300 MHz Images courtesy of Aydin Vector

31. Power WFF supplies only Nickel Cadmium batteries: Cell typeManufacturerWeight (lb)Capacity, (AH) 2/3 AFSanyo1.590.475 APanasonic2.461.4 CGates5.942.4 CsGEN/A1.2 DGE114.5 FSanyo16.737 MSanyo28.3410 Nickel Cadmium: Cheap Reusable, lifetime of up to 10 years Output approximately 28 V

32. Wet Section NSROC supplied section Umbilical: for monitoring payload before launch Switches: mechanical and electronic timers for in-flight events The switching system is proprietary; specifications unavailable Antenna: NSROC will supply an appropriate antenna for telemetry Radar transponder: WFF will track the payload from a ground station Weight: 23 lbs

33. IRMA (Ignition Recovery Module Assembly) IRMA: Recovery NSROC-supplied recovery system Parachute automatically deploys at 30,000 feet Aft parachute: nose-down landing Recovery requirements: Payload must float MAGIC instrument must be protected from damage Tracked by WFF Coast Guard will recover the payload with a student

34. Orion Adapter NSROC supplied section Connects payload to motor Firing: Separates payload from motor Provides necessary despin for parachute deployment Photo courtesy of NASA

35. Performance Required weights: 95 km apogee: 140 lb 85 km apogee: 185 lb Weight saving concessions: No flight computer/housekeeping No additional instruments Integrated power with NSROC section Photo courtesy of WFF

36. Performance: Current Design Current design weight estimate: 190 lb Deployable nose tip pros: Lightweight: 8lb Deployable nose tip cons: Has never been done before Sufficient protection of MAGIC?

37. ComponentWeight (lbs) Nose cone (no components)9 MAGIC  2 6.6 MAGIC structural support10 Forward bulkhead8 Experimental section skin23 Aerosol probes (2) and control box3 Experimental section deck plate3.5 TM30 Aft Bulkhead8 Wet section23 IRMA47 Orion adapter16 Wiring5 Total192 Payload Weight Breakdown

38. Performance: Alternate Designs Push-off or Clamshell nose cone These nose cones are pre-made for our payload size Weight: 60 lbs – immediately pushes total weight from 190 lb to 242 lb Would require a retraction system for MAGIC, increasing weight further Apogee of approximately 70 km Mount aerosol probes directly to forward bulkhead

39. Performance: Weight Saving Replacement of bulkheads with plates: Saves approximately 5 lb each Plates may not retain a water-tight seal The NSROC TM estimate of 30 lb may be an overestimate Mount MAGIC directly to the nose cone – remove MAGIC support connected to the forward bulkhead Decrease skin thickness from 1/4” to 1/8” – saves about 10 lb (NSROC believes this most likely is not possible)

40. Future Plans Continue to recruit new team members Integrate science instruments into payload structure Optimization of design concepts Decision making on final design Manufacture and test components Send prototype to Wallops for testing (December 2003) Launch (May 2004)

41. Questions? Wallops Main Base photo courtesy of NASA