Terpulence II
Spaceport America Cup 2022
Embedded Files
Our rocket for the 2022 Spaceport America Cup (10K COTS) is called Terpulence II. It is 6” in diameter and over 13ft tall! It features a new air brake system that precisely targets a predetermined apogee.
Prior to the competition, Terpulence II completed 4 test flights. At the Spaceport America Cup, a commercial flight computer malfunctioned leading to early deployment of the rockets drogue parachutes.
FEATURES
FEATURES
AIRBRAKE
PAYLOAD
The Air Brake is built similar to an electronics bay, with a longer body tube section containing 4 flaps. A single stepper motor controls all flaps and uses a mechanical lock so that each flap is deployed to the same angle, which ensures continual stability.
An Arduino Zero is used to process the data from the sensors, estimate the state using an Extended Kalman Filter, and calculate the required angle based on a P.I. controller. This angle desired is sent to a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller that delivers the steps required to the stepper motor. The state is determined using a barometer, IMU, and GPS. The electronics package is wired using a SRAD PCB board.
Below: Flap Deployment on a subscale test rocket
The payload will be testing a specific geometry’s ability to use capillary action under micro-gravity conditions to “pump” a liquid (water in this case) in a certain direction. The application of such a system would be to control the movement of fuel in a rocket tank.
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