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Rocket Launch Project

Modified from: Victoria Harbour Science and Technology Innovation Team "Campus Panoramic Aerial Rocket" Project Proposal

Rocket

Project Background and Significance

Under the national advocacy for technological innovation and emphasis on cultivating students' practical abilities, there remains a gap in campus teams with complete innovation cycle capabilities. The Victoria Harbour Science and Technology Innovation Team focuses on the aerospace engineering field, planning to develop a controllable small rocket using the OP-25 engine as the core power source, aiming to fill the gap in campus innovation and demonstrate the team's interdisciplinary integration and engineering practice capabilities.

The project's core objective is to launch the rocket to an altitude of 100-200 meters and capture campus panoramic images through a mounted panoramic camera. Compared to high-altitude drones, this solution offers better cost-effectiveness in terms of equipment costs, endurance limitations, and high-altitude stability, while accumulating technical experience for subsequent campus high-altitude monitoring and remote sensing applications. This lays the foundation for the team to gain official school recognition, establish a specialized innovation team, and contribute to the construction of campus technological innovation culture.

Project Core

1. Core Power and Control System: The "Heart" and "Brain" of Precise Flight

As the core control center for stable rocket operation, this system uses the OP-25 engine as the dedicated power source, providing continuous and stable thrust output for the rocket, ensuring sufficient and controllable power supply from the source, akin to equipping the rocket with a powerful "heart."

Matching this is the independently developed and debugged flight control system. After multiple rounds of testing and optimization, this system can capture real-time data on the rocket's position, speed, and attitude during flight, precisely calculating and adjusting engine thrust and rocket body attitude to effectively counteract external influences such as airflow interference and gravity deviations, ensuring the rocket always follows the preset trajectory with stable attitude, serving as the "intelligent brain" controlling rocket flight.

2. Key Mission Objectives: Dual Breakthroughs in High Precision and High Practicality

Mission objectives focus on two core aspects: "precision" and "practicality":

  • Precise Altitude Flight: Clearly requires achieving precise altitude flight at 100-200 meters, imposing extremely high demands on the rocket's power control and altitude detection accuracy - requiring real-time calibration of altitude errors during flight to ensure the final hovering or landing altitude deviation from the target altitude is controlled within a minimal range, reflecting the project's strict standards in control precision.
  • Panoramic Imaging: Relying on the panoramic camera mounted on the rocket body, complete the full capture of campus panoramic images. This camera features wide-angle and high-resolution capabilities, covering entire campus scenes including buildings, greenery, and sports fields, not only preserving high-definition, complete spatial image data for the campus but also extending rocket technology from "flight testing" to "practical application," giving the project stronger practical value.

3. Phase Key Work: The "Critical Roadmap" for Orderly Advancement

Project advancement follows a clear phase planning. The current key milestone of flight control program development and debugging has been successfully completed, meaning the rocket's "brain" now possesses complete functionality, laying the software foundation for subsequent hardware integration and flight testing, representing an important milestone in project advancement.

Subsequent work will proceed logically from "design to implementation":

  1. Rocket Body Structure 3D Modeling: Precisely plan the dimensions, materials, and assembly relationships of rocket body components through digital design, ensuring structural strength and aerodynamic performance meet standards.
  2. Component Production: Process core components such as engine mounts, rocket body shells, and camera mounting devices according to modeling standards.
  3. System Integration: Integrate power, control, camera, and other systems into a complete rocket body.
  4. Launch Testing: Verify the synergy of all systems through launch testing, achieving project objective closure.

Project Timeline

Part 1: Design and Material Preparation Phase (Weeks 1-2)

Required Personnel: Lin Zhiyang, Zhang Yingfa, Xiao Ziyang

  • Hold project kickoff meeting, clarify member roles, collect key data such as engine parameters and camera dimensions, determine rocket body design specifications.
  • Complete preliminary rocket body structure design, divide components including camera bay, engine bay, flight control bay, and fins, determine dimensions and connection methods.
  • Use CAD software to complete rocket body 3D modeling, optimize model and check component compatibility, export 3D printing files and determine printing parameters.
  • Start 3D printing equipment, test printing sample accuracy and strength, adjust parameters for batch printing, simultaneously purchase engine mounts, connecting wires, parachutes, and other accessories.
  • Complete post-processing of printed components, verify procurement list and supplement missing accessories, establish material ledger, review issues and clarify subsequent assembly priorities.
  • Write all programs required for the complete rocket system.

Part 2: Assembly and Functional Testing Phase (Weeks 3-4)

Required Personnel: Lin Zhiyang, Zhang Yingfa, Yue Yunlang, Xiao Ziyang

  • Set up assembly workbench, install main rocket body framework, fix engine bay base, ensure stable and centered engine installation.
  • Embed flight control module and connect control wires, signal wires; test circuit continuity and signal stability; install camera bay and fix camera, connect power supply lines and test camera startup function.
  • Install and reinforce fins, check rocket body verticality, conduct first system power-on test, verify flight control, engine, and camera collaborative operation status.
  • Conduct rocket body static strength testing, reinforce weak areas; optimize flight control program, adjust altitude control algorithm parameters.
  • Conduct ground simulated flight testing, verify engine response speed and camera shooting trigger function, analyze test data and develop optimization solutions.

Part 3: System Integration and Launch Execution Phase (Weeks 5-7)

Required Personnel: All five members

  • Design parachute bay structure, install release mechanism and test its function, integrate parachute bay into rocket body, conduct second system integration test.
  • Conduct outdoor small-scale recovery testing, observe parachute deployment and rocket body integrity, adjust mechanism sensitivity, compile test report confirming core systems meet standards.
  • Survey launch site, determine launch point, observation points, and safety zones, develop launch procedure plan and emergency measures, prepare launch equipment.
  • Conduct full-system rehearsal at the site, simulate pre-launch inspection procedures, review equipment wear conditions, hold pre-launch mobilization meeting to clarify responsibilities.
  • Conduct final comprehensive inspection and debugging of rocket body, report launch information and coordinate security, transport equipment to site and complete final calibration before launch.
  • Conduct formal launch according to plan, monitor flight and shooting status in real-time, recover rocket body and camera and export images, hold summary meeting to organize achievement materials.

Expected Outcomes

  1. Physical Outcome: 1 set of controllable small rocket capable of stable operation (including power, flight control, camera, and recovery systems).
  2. Imaging Outcome: 1 set of campus panoramic photos/videos captured from 100-200 meters altitude.
  3. Technical Outcome: Technical documents including design drawings, program code, and test reports generated during project implementation, providing reference for subsequent projects.
  4. Team Outcome: Formation of a team prototype with interdisciplinary innovation capabilities, providing practical basis for gaining official school recognition as a specialized team.