Rocket Stability and Performance

The Rocket-Mounted Video Camera project is nearing completion. Prior to the flight test phase, however, prudence demands that we run a few simulations to ensure that the rocket will have a safe and stable flight. Initial Evaluation Before beginning construction, we made a few ballpark calculations using (a free trial version of) RockSim, a Windows-based model rocket design tool, to verify that the addition of the camera wouldn't adversely affect the model's flight characteristics. To increase performance, we also swapped the specified D12 engine for a higher-impulse E9. The images below show the results of this evaluation. You can see from the flight profile graph on the left that the predicted maximum altitude with the E9 motor is nearly 1000 feet. The stability diagram on the right shows the center of gravity (CG) position with the E9 engine, but without the addition of the video camera in the nose. Although the CG was a little further aft than is desirable, we determi ...