SpaceX Water Rocket Recovery

Discussions about rockets, construction materials, adhesives, nozzles, nosecones and fin design.
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Alien Space Agency
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SpaceX Water Rocket Recovery

Post by Alien Space Agency »

Been a while since I have posted a topic.


So I've been thinking "What if I build a booster like the F9R?"

The main point of this topic is to build a first stage similar (in recovery) to the Falcon 9. Just ignore spot landings, we only want the rocket to fall nozzle first.

The two main parts of this recovery system is the airbrake and the rubberband.

Airbrake- shifts the CP up, and aids the rocket's descent. (Still thinking on how to keep it open/deploy it)
Rubberband- Keeps the airbrakes from deploying


The airbrakes should be rigid enough to flip the whole stage around and to decelerate the booster to acceptable WRA2 speeds.

However, how do I deploy these?

Reply on this topic for ideas.

Here is a preliminary design of my Positron IV.
spacex.png
spacex.png (40.55 KiB) Viewed 36 times
I might also include landing legs in the future :)

Kudos
Maru
Nothing can stop a curious mind from inventing- Anonymous
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Alien Space Agency
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Re: SpaceX Water Rocket Recovery

Post by Alien Space Agency »

Oh yeah, the booster will have a fullbore nozzle and 9mm for the sustainer ;)

And I might use flat fins instead of the ring fin illustrated above.
Nothing can stop a curious mind from inventing- Anonymous
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RaketfuedRockets
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Re: SpaceX Water Rocket Recovery

Post by RaketfuedRockets »

That's a great idea! :)
I hope you'll succeed.
Cheers
Julian
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Alien Space Agency
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Re: SpaceX Water Rocket Recovery

Post by Alien Space Agency »

Reviving this topic...

Instead of the faulty S2 (Syringe Stager), I might use a crushing sleeve instead. This way, the fore section of the booster can easily be made lighter, and the tail heavier. For easier aerodynamics, I will use ring fins for both stages, only that the sustainer has finlets that makes it spin. Now my questions arise: How do I make grid fins? Can you recommend a nonmetal that is cheap yet strong? What material should I use to absorb the crash shock? Don't mention how to deploy the landing legs?
Nothing can stop a curious mind from inventing- Anonymous