Suppliers List

• Bay Area Rocketry

  • Buy motors here. BAR is an on-site supplier at almost every NorCal launch.

  • Call beforehand to make sure your item is actually in stock (do not trust website), then order online for pickup at launch.

    • Increase your chances of getting your order by picking it up before launch, and ordering two weeks in advance.

  • Carries almost exclusively Aerotech motors.

  • Also carries motor hardware (casings, closures), although stock may be limited for closures and seal discs.

• Animal Motor Works

  • The on-site motor supplier for IREC. Sometimes comes up to TCC, but rarely as they are based in Arizona. Can order online, but careful with shipping fees.

  • Carries almost exclusively Cesaroni motors, although can source large Aerotech orders given enough lead time.

• Apogee Components

  • Like a Walmart of rocketry. They’ve got pretty much anything you need!

  • Nice rail buttons.

• Always Ready Rocketry

  • Original manufacturer of Blue Tube and potentially the cheapest source.

  • Offers custom cuts/slots in tubes (usually for fins).

• Madcow Rocketry

  • Our best (only) source for fiberglass tubes and filament-wound nosecones.

  • Also sells quality fiberglass kits, albiet at a premium.

• Public Missiles Ltd.

  • Their website sucks (seriously, was it built in the 50’s?).

  • We primarily buy: phenolic motor mounts, fiberglass nose cones

  • Also sell custom fiberglass fins (email for quote) and quite a bit more.

  • 10% Discount Code: Email them, they give universities a discount

• Fruity Chutes

  • High quality parachutes (will pack lighter and smaller), but pricey.

  • 15% Discount Code: BERKELEY-WS-2017-15

• Rocketman Parachutes

  • Less-expensive parachutes, but with lower Cd and fewer shroud lines

  • Good option for L1/L2 projects where personal costs incurred are a factor

• Giant Leap Rocketry

  • Great source for Kevlar shock cord and flame protectors.

  • Also sells a variety of other recovery components and hardware.

• MJG Technologies, Inc.

  • These are the same electric matches available from BAR, but without the markup. Used for recovery.

• Missile Works Corporation

  • Altimeters and GPS trackers for recovery/flight events, original manufacturer.

• PerfectFlite

  • Altimeters and flight electronics, original manufacturer. More info on products at http://www.perfectflite.com/, separate from the online store.

• Non-Rocketry suppliers:

  • Common hardware items like quick-links, swivels, and screws can often be found for cheaper at https://www.mcmaster.com/ or https://www.amazon.com/--don't pay more if you can find them for less!

First, learn about HPR from the comprehensive NASA SL reference and associated videos:

Then, get started on your L1 journey by checking out our resources on design and sourcing components:

When you've successfully completed a cert, add yourself to our list of certified members here!

Some of the members listed below may no longer be with the team, but they are often available to help out in the #rocket-design channel!

Videos

These videos cover the basics of high power rocketry as it related to hobbyists and college teams. Feel free to skip or fast-forward through the slow parts, but on the whole these are relevant and useful to what we do. The target audience is NASA Student Launch teams--a competition STAR has competed in!

Written Reference

NASA has also nicely compiled all the information needed for L1- and L2-level HPR projects into a ~100-page written document! Check it out here if you're not a fan of watching videos, or if you want a more detailed guide to accompany the videos:

Level 1

• Minimize complexity to maximize your chances of success. In practice, this means:

  • Consider buying a kit. While you may have experience in HPR, designing a rocket from scratch can introduce more work and more risk. Most club members who have successfully completed an L1 have done so with a kit.

  • Use motor ejection for parachute deployment. While it may be tempting to try electronics, motor ejection is far more common in the hobby and introduces far less complexity into your system. Motor ejection is generally considered simple and effective. Furthermore, you won't have to worry about obtaining and preparing e-matches, black powder charges, etc.

  • Don't use shear pins. If using motor ejection, you will not have an (easy) way to ground test your recovery system. As such, using shear pins introduces a failure mode that is not easy to mitigate (shear pins don't shear). A simple friction fit with masking tape to hold together the two halves of your rocket is more than sufficient for an L1.

  • Consider using an Aerotech DMS or Cesaroni motor. Cesaroni RMS motors reasonably easy to use, but are in limited supply from our usual vendor. Aerotech RMS motors are significantly more complicated and require the purchase and assembly of several additional components. DMS motors require no casing, no assembly--simply adjust the delay, pack the ejection charge, and slide the motor in.

  • Get a threaded motor retainer. All you have to do is epoxy it to the end of the motor mount tube, slide in your motor, then screw on the cap.

• Ask questions! #rocket-design is our designated channel for rocket- and certification-related questions, but feel free to contact anyone you know who has gone through the process before. It's better to ask a question than make a mistake and waste $100+ of materials and countless hours of your time!

• Communicate with those in charge of certification, at least one week in advance. The closest launch for STAR members is at LUNAR's Snow Ranch site; to get certified there you will have to contact David Raimondi (see LUNAR website). For those looking to get a Tripoli certification, the closest Tripoli club is TCC. Note that a NAR cert will be honored at a Tripoli launch, and vice-versa.

Level 2

• The L2 flight test is the same as the L1 but with at least a J motor. The recommendations to minimize complexity also apply here. Get a kit capable of flying J motors to get this cert on a budget.

• Other than the flight test, you also have to take a written test beforehand:

  • NAR question pool: https://www.nar.org/pdf/HP-question-pool.pdf

  • TRA practice test with all questions: http://liars.org/Level2/Index.html

HPR Kits

LOC Precision

LOC kits can be found at https://locprecision.com/ and from resellers like Apogee.

Materials

LOC kits are are sold exclusively with cardboard/paper body tubes (although you can separately replace the tubes with phenolic). This is true of all diameters offered by LOC.

LOC offers standard laser-cut plywood fins and bulkheads/centering rings.

LOC kits come with plastic nose cones.

Price and Extras

LOC kits tend to be cheaper than many competitors; this is partially a result of their somewhat less-robust materials. However, LOC kits also often include more "extras" at the same price point.

Many LOC kits include a parachute and flame protector (~$30+), which can simplify the buying process as they do not have to be bought separately (+ shipping!). Like other manufacturers, quick-links and swivels (optional) for recovery are not included.

As is the case with most kits, you will likely have to buy a motor retainer separately. You will also have to buy any motors you plan to fly and motor hardware (casing, closures) if applicable. Also factor in the cost of adhesives (epoxy or wood glue) into your planning.

Madcow Rocketry

In addition to selling individual components, Madcow offers a number of Madcow-designed-and-sold kits at https://www.madcowrocketry.com/kits/.

Materials

While Madcow carries kits in cardboard, fiberglass, and carbon fiber, the majority of L1-range Madcow kits use fiberglass body tubes, with a number of cardboard options as well. Larger kits in the L2 and L3 range tend to be made from composite (fiberglass or carbon fiber) body tubes, but Madcow does offer some cardboard 5.5" kits.

Madcow offers standard laser-cut plywood fins and bulkheads/centering rings with cardboard kits, and fiberglass fins and bulkheads/centering rings for fiberglass kits.

Fiberglass kits come with fiberglass nose cones, while cardboard kits come with plastic nose cones.

Price and Extras

Madcow kits tend to be on the more expensive side, but this perception can be inflated by the greater number of fiberglass and carbon fiber products. Even at standard cardboard kit price points though, Madcow tends to include fewer (but often higher-quality) components. For example, Madcow kits usually ship with nylon shock cord while many competitors offer elastic shock cord on smaller rockets.

Madcow kits do not commonly include the cost of parachutes and flame protectors in the list price, which can make them seem deceptively cheaper (~$30+) than the actual cost of buying and flying the kit. Like other manufacturers, quick-links and swivels (optional) for recovery are not included.

As is the case with most kits, you will likely have to buy a motor retainer separately. You will also have to buy any motors you plan to fly and motor hardware (casing, closures) if applicable. Also factor in the cost of adhesives (epoxy or wood glue) into your planning.

Public Missiles

Public Missiles has several categories of kits, but the most applicable for L1 and L2 fliers are the Sport Kits: https://publicmissiles.com/kits/sportfliers.

Materials

Public Missiles (PML) kits are almost exclusively offered with proprietary Quantum Tube (QT) airframes. PML markets QT as a more durable option than cardboard, but less brittle than phenolic. QT is not the same thing as Blue Tube (from Always Ready Rocketry).

PML kits come standard with G-10 fiberglass fins, although these are also much thinner than the common laser-cut plywood fins found on cardboard kits.

QT kits come with plastic nose cones.

Price and Extras

[analysis needed]

Articles to Read:

Search [topic] + "apogee newsletter" and you can often find great results

• Specific articles coming soon

Design Check:

• Make sure you allocated enough space for your parachutes. Too much space is better than not enough space!

  • TODO: how to determine/estimate packing size

• Do you have rail buttons? (Most likely you should have 1010 rail buttons)

• Does your motor mount fit the motors you plan on using?

  • The motor can be longer than the motor mount, but then the motor may take up parachute space!

  • A lot of H motors are 38mm.

  • A lot of J motors are 54mm (but the BAR L2 special [the J350W] is 38mm).

• Ground hit speed should be <20ft/s. Is your main parachute big enough?

• (For dual deployment) Speed at main deployment should be <70-80ft/s. Is your drogue big enough? (TODO: should I say <50 ft/s instead?)

• Velocity off the rail (our rails are at least 6 ft) should be >50 ft/s.

Design

• Stability = (CG - CP) / rocket diameter, with CG and CP measured from the bottom of the rocket. It is unitless, but usually written as a number of “cal”s.

  • Stability should be between 1.5 cal to 2.0 cal. Stability of 1.8 cal is good.

  • Consider adding a mass to the nosecone-payload tube region if the rocket is under-stable for a large motor

• Tubing:

  • Fiberglass is expensive (?).

  • Carbon fiber is more expensive (?).

  • Blue tube is strong and relatively cheap.

  • Don’t use cardboard for HPR.

• Shoulders:

  • Recommended shoulder length (i.e. extent of coupler tube) is about tube diameter (i.e. 1 cal).

• Nose cones:

  • 4:1 tangent ogive is nearly optimal. (?)

• Fins:

  • Plywood is good up to around 330 ft/s. Above this, there is significant risk of fin flutter, which can break your fins right off the rocket.

  • G-10 fiberglass has flutter speeds of over 1 Km/s (~3330 ft/s), so for L1/L2 it should be fine.

• Tube size:

  • Hands tend to be less than 4” across -- so if you want to be able to reach all the way inside your rocket, 4” should be big enough.

• Fin mounting:

  • Sandwich between bulkheads.

  • Epoxy the shit out of the fins.

• Bulkheads:

  • 0.25” plywood is a good choice.

• Motor mount:

  • Usually a phenolic tube; may be fiberglass.

  • Design around the length of the motor(s) you plan on using.

  • If using a threaded motor retainer, allocate enough room for this by having enough of the motor mount tube extended beyond the aft centering ring