RUNNING HEADER: ROCKET CONTEST

Team America Rocketry Challenge

Progress Report
By Sidney Boakye and Amy Nguyen
1/23/2017
Objectives:
To finish rocket designs in rocket sim and use that to finish the construction of our rocket

Materials and Methods

ROCKET CONTEST
2

In the past two weeks we have finished all of our adjustments to our new project and are
now fully focused on it.
We made a decision to enter the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). The Team
America Rocketry Challenge is a competition where teams of students from 6th-12th grade build
a rocket that will fly to the optimal scoring parameters of TARC. The rocket must pass height
and diameter requirements, carry an egg as a payload, and all parts of the launched rocket must
return back to Earth safely. To obtain the highest possible score a rocket must fly to the target
height of 775 feet (236 meters) in 41 to 43 seconds. Then the rocket must return back to the
ground safely, without any harm done to the egg.

We have received all of our materials currently necessary to build our rocket. We are
currently in the process of computer designing our rocket. Once we have multiple appropriate
designs we will test them against each other. Then we shall select the best design and construct
the rocket.

Materials
Balsa wood (Fins)
Plastic nose cone or balsa wood nose cone depends on preference. Needs to be
sized to the size of the body tube.
Model Rocket Motor (Grade depending on weight of the rocket)
Electric Igniter
Launch Pad
Parachute
Cardboard wrapped in sulfane
Paper body tube
Fins can be either swept back or elliptical shaped
Fins can either be made of balsa wood, basswood, or plywood
-Balsa Wood is very lightweight and easy to work with but needs thicker balsa
wood than other fins
-Bass Wood and Plywood are about the same user friendliness and are heavier.
Haloid sections

ROCKET CONTEST
3
Paloid Section is the same diameter as the body tube and has to be sealed
tightly
Connection section between the payload section and recovery system. Connect
into balsa wood.
Another Paloid can be egg capsule
Put foam into the egg capsule to hold egg
Use bubble wrap and plastic insulation from pipes to pad the paloid
Compartments from an egg carton
Altimeter
Elastic material (sharkor), kevlar cord to use motor and ejection because kevlar
cord is heat resistant. Need elastic to make kevlar more elastic
Cloth parachute is heavier in weight. Plastic is lighter in weight but wont be good
for heavier rockets
Streamer
Art Crede paper
Launch lob. Attaches rocket to launch pad. Made out of cardboard. Easy to
install. Make sure that they are aligned. May need more than one.
Engine mounts specifically to a rocket motor that is basically smaller than the
diameter of the rocket. Fills up the gap.

Method:
Using our knowledge of Aerodynamics, Calculus, Physics, and a Computer Simulation
system we will test out multiple variations and situations in order to better get an idea of how our
rocket will perform under flight conditions. We will then construct our rocket to emulate the
plan we put in place for our flight tests. Once we run through the trials of our flight test we will
collect the data and analyze it to see how we can improve our design. We will then take the
necessary steps to improve our design and do more test flights until we are satisfied with out
results. At this point, we will correct any errors discovered and proceed to the finals flights which
will be used for our final presentation.
Data/Results:

ROCKET CONTEST
4

References

ROCKET CONTEST
5

A. (2016). TARC 2016 Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=TZZMcnH-WA8&t=7s

A. (2008). Rocketry How-to Part 1: How Model Rockets Work. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYh1pWHoQXE&t=2s

A. (2008). Rocketry How-to Part 2:Components for a Rocket. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kAkitKKKlA

A. (2008). Rocketry How-to Part 3: Construction Techniques and Supplies. Retrieved

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxQ7vGgXx5Y

A. (2008). Rocketry How-to Part 4: Finishing the Rocket's Fins. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS021hCT3LU

A. (2015). Team America Rocketry Challenge. Retrieved from

http://rocketcontest.org/