·· We're back from ARLISS, and it was absolutely incredible! We made two flights on an M-1419 motor: the first was nearly 13,000 feet and the second was just over 10,000 feet. The weather was perfect, the wind at Black Rock was nearly dead-calm (very unusual for the playa), and the launches were picture-perfect.
On the first launch there was a glitch with "their" GPS transmitter. It took over 30 minutes for it to get GPS satellite lock, and the ASP sat inside the rocket the whole time, fully operational. The rocket finally launched, but when we recovered the ASP on the desert floor the MAWD-BOE wasn't 'blinking.' It stopped data acquisition somewhere along the way. It had "timed out." We took it back to our base camp, a bit mystified, and we downloaded the data. There was no altitude data to correlate with the atmospheric data (all 0's), only flat-line temperature and humidity data (29 degrees, 27%., with variation.) We puzzled over this the whole way back to our hotel (97 miles!) and the team concluded that the ASP had, in fact, "timed out." So they opted to launch again the next day, at $400 per launch. The first launch drifted downrange over 2 miles...!
The next flight we decided that, if the rocket wasn't off the pad within 10 minutes of arming, we would take it off the pad, check the MAWD-BOE to be sure it was working, re-arm, and launch. No worries, because they allowed us to load the payload at the pad; and it was off the pad in less than 10 minutes.
The flight was soooooooooooooooooooooo sweet! It went straight up, arced over, and we saw three parachues almost instantly. We had "reefed" the parachute lines so it descended a bit quicker than the previous flight, and the descent rate was just perfect, around 2.5 m/sec. We watched the payload all they down, and we drove right out onto the playa underneath it to watch it lands. We got a really excellent photo about 2 seconds before touchdown, with the payload under full parachute. I'll post lots of photos when I get home,, and data and graphs.
When we recovered the ASP the MAWD-BOW was still blinking... data was still being written to the flash drive, and·IT HAD WORKED PERFECTLY! We took the perfunctory team photos-- huddled around the ASP, smiling-- then went back to base camp to download the flash drive. After a few tense moments we saw that we had DATA, and lots of it. SUCCESS, guys! (Y)our project worked, and the kids were beside themselves. It validated all their efforts and inspired more than a few of them.
There was a live Virtual Classroom link and our launch and the data (altitude, GPS location on Google Earth, etc.)·were shown real-time. Also, Professor Bob Twiggs held class with the kids at our base camp for well over an hour on Virtual Classroom. Students from all over the country watched and listened and, as they did, they heard both of you glorified-- by both me and my students-- for all your help and expertise.·
A high point of the expedition was connection with the school librarian in Gerlach, Nevada. She's originally from a small town here in New Hampshire just a few miles away. We made a presentation to their entire school; we were invited to a school Open House where we were feted with a Bar-B-Cue; we were given our own key to a private hot springs (which we used daily!); and we we taken for a field trip to a private geyser, Fly Geyser (check it out on Google images!)
It was an extraordinary event and a great success, thanks to you Paul, and to you, Tracy. Honestly, I could not have done this without your expertise. Personally I think we make a great team, and "the proof is in the pudding" (or on the flash drive!) There was some excellent collateral learning that simply can't be quantified. Thanks for being most excellent teachers!
I have team shirts and official NASA-designed mission patches for both of you. I already have your address so you can expect them in the next few weeks. My apologies for not getting them out sooner (I'm still a bit jet-lagged, and giddy.) I'll post the Excel data and graph to the forum soon, along with pictures of the "final product": the ASP-MAWD-BOE. It looks awesome.
After we celebrate and recuperate we'd like to continue·the project by expanding the MAWD-BOE; by adding the sensor·methane that Parallax donated; and by adding a GPS. But I doubt the Board of Education has enough room (or program space) though? Morehead State University has a high-altitude (100,000+) project we've been invited to participate in, and the expanded MAWD-BOE is just the ticket for "higher" learning! Tee-hee...!
··Attached is the data from flight #2 in 'Word' format .... the "good" flight data with altitude correlated with temperature and humidity: flight time, temperature, humidity, altitude, in that order from left to·right.·It graphs out beautifyully in Excel. I just got home and I couldn't get the·Excel file and graph to upload directly. More tomorrow; off to bed!
Thanks for the kudos. Yes, the kids-- and their project-- did awesome! What a great journey it was, all of the past year.
Attached is the flight data graph as a JPEG. Temperature is the blue line, humidity is the red line, and the altitude is on the 'X' axis. There was a visible (but statistically significant?) change in temperature and humidity with altitude so our null hypothesis·appears to be rejected (null hypothesis = "there was no difference.") Statistical analysis will tell more...! More photos to come.
Thanks for the kudos. What brilliant rocket science project can we do next with the gadget we've invented, and with Paralalx sensors? How can we "take it to the next level?" Our current BOE seems a bit crowded...! We're open to ideas and suggestions. Thanks again to everyone for·all your·help, encouragement, and support.
Mark
Well done, and thanks for the great T-shirt and patch. I feel right there with you!
If a crew member has time and inclination, the circuits on the BOE can be rebuilt and certain pin assignments changed to make the wiring more compact. For example, as it stands, there are quite a few crossing wires. There is nothing wrong with that. It works! And it is not good to tinker with something that works when you are facing a deadline. But if someone wants to take it on, it would be a good exercise to see if they really understand the circuit and the program.
The next level, literally, might be to add an expansion block to the BOE, which sits on a level above the BOE. Parallax used to make an breadboard appmod that plugged into the appmod connector. I took a quick look for it on the Parallax store, but couldn't find it. But that is the idea. More breadboard real estate!
Iif a crew member is interested, they can try out different sensors such as the CO2 sensor that you bought from Parallax, or others such as the Memsic accelerometer/tilt sensor. A light sensor. So many possibilities! If there is an issue with program space, they could move to a multislot BS2pe.
I learned to make PC boards using BatchPCB, and designed one to hold the XBee/MAWD telemetry thing. Here it is (below): the XM 1.2 telemetry board. It's a power supply for the XBee, and the connectors to the MAWD, to replace the rats-nest of wires I'd been flying. I flew the rats-nest version 7 times, getting good data every time. The two most recently flights were the weekend after Thanksgiving at Midwest Power 7. I'll fly the new XM 1.2 version as soon as we start flying again after New Years.
I tested it this morning, using 4 AA cells to power it. That won't be an appropriate supply for in-flight (spring terminals tend to lose contact under acceleration), but it should work with a 9v battery or a Lipo cell. I'll test those later. I also updated the software on the receiver side, adding a few bells and whistles (messages about when it's ready to receive, XBee addressing in software, etc.). I'm still trying to set up a Propeller-based receiver, and I think I'm getting close, but that's not working reliably yet.
Comments
Logo Design
·· We're back from ARLISS, and it was absolutely incredible! We made two flights on an M-1419 motor: the first was nearly 13,000 feet and the second was just over 10,000 feet. The weather was perfect, the wind at Black Rock was nearly dead-calm (very unusual for the playa), and the launches were picture-perfect.
On the first launch there was a glitch with "their" GPS transmitter. It took over 30 minutes for it to get GPS satellite lock, and the ASP sat inside the rocket the whole time, fully operational. The rocket finally launched, but when we recovered the ASP on the desert floor the MAWD-BOE wasn't 'blinking.' It stopped data acquisition somewhere along the way. It had "timed out." We took it back to our base camp, a bit mystified, and we downloaded the data. There was no altitude data to correlate with the atmospheric data (all 0's), only flat-line temperature and humidity data (29 degrees, 27%., with variation.) We puzzled over this the whole way back to our hotel (97 miles!) and the team concluded that the ASP had, in fact, "timed out." So they opted to launch again the next day, at $400 per launch. The first launch drifted downrange over 2 miles...!
The next flight we decided that, if the rocket wasn't off the pad within 10 minutes of arming, we would take it off the pad, check the MAWD-BOE to be sure it was working, re-arm, and launch. No worries, because they allowed us to load the payload at the pad; and it was off the pad in less than 10 minutes.
The flight was soooooooooooooooooooooo sweet! It went straight up, arced over, and we saw three parachues almost instantly. We had "reefed" the parachute lines so it descended a bit quicker than the previous flight, and the descent rate was just perfect, around 2.5 m/sec. We watched the payload all they down, and we drove right out onto the playa underneath it to watch it lands. We got a really excellent photo about 2 seconds before touchdown, with the payload under full parachute. I'll post lots of photos when I get home,, and data and graphs.
When we recovered the ASP the MAWD-BOW was still blinking... data was still being written to the flash drive, and·IT HAD WORKED PERFECTLY! We took the perfunctory team photos-- huddled around the ASP, smiling-- then went back to base camp to download the flash drive. After a few tense moments we saw that we had DATA, and lots of it. SUCCESS, guys! (Y)our project worked, and the kids were beside themselves. It validated all their efforts and inspired more than a few of them.
There was a live Virtual Classroom link and our launch and the data (altitude, GPS location on Google Earth, etc.)·were shown real-time. Also, Professor Bob Twiggs held class with the kids at our base camp for well over an hour on Virtual Classroom. Students from all over the country watched and listened and, as they did, they heard both of you glorified-- by both me and my students-- for all your help and expertise.·
A high point of the expedition was connection with the school librarian in Gerlach, Nevada. She's originally from a small town here in New Hampshire just a few miles away. We made a presentation to their entire school; we were invited to a school Open House where we were feted with a Bar-B-Cue; we were given our own key to a private hot springs (which we used daily!); and we we taken for a field trip to a private geyser, Fly Geyser (check it out on Google images!)
It was an extraordinary event and a great success, thanks to you Paul, and to you, Tracy. Honestly, I could not have done this without your expertise. Personally I think we make a great team, and "the proof is in the pudding" (or on the flash drive!) There was some excellent collateral learning that simply can't be quantified. Thanks for being most excellent teachers!
I have team shirts and official NASA-designed mission patches for both of you. I already have your address so you can expect them in the next few weeks. My apologies for not getting them out sooner (I'm still a bit jet-lagged, and giddy.) I'll post the Excel data and graph to the forum soon, along with pictures of the "final product": the ASP-MAWD-BOE. It looks awesome.
After we celebrate and recuperate we'd like to continue·the project by expanding the MAWD-BOE; by adding the sensor·methane that Parallax donated; and by adding a GPS. But I doubt the Board of Education has enough room (or program space) though? Morehead State University has a high-altitude (100,000+) project we've been invited to participate in, and the expanded MAWD-BOE is just the ticket for "higher" learning! Tee-hee...!
All the best,
Mark and the Rocketeers
Here's where we went for a field trip while we were in Nevada... after a successful launch!
··Attached is the data from flight #2 in 'Word' format .... the "good" flight data with altitude correlated with temperature and humidity: flight time, temperature, humidity, altitude, in that order from left to·right.·It graphs out beautifyully in Excel. I just got home and I couldn't get the·Excel file and graph to upload directly. More tomorrow; off to bed!
Mark
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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com
Attached is the flight data graph as a JPEG. Temperature is the blue line, humidity is the red line, and the altitude is on the 'X' axis. There was a visible (but statistically significant?) change in temperature and humidity with altitude so our null hypothesis·appears to be rejected (null hypothesis = "there was no difference.") Statistical analysis will tell more...! More photos to come.
Mark
brilliant!!!
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Corporate Liquidation
Mark
You knew I was going to say that, right?··
Add an accelerometer and/or gyro and/or baro board, and send that down as well.
·
If a crew member has time and inclination, the circuits on the BOE can be rebuilt and certain pin assignments changed to make the wiring more compact. For example, as it stands, there are quite a few crossing wires. There is nothing wrong with that. It works! And it is not good to tinker with something that works when you are facing a deadline. But if someone wants to take it on, it would be a good exercise to see if they really understand the circuit and the program.
The next level, literally, might be to add an expansion block to the BOE, which sits on a level above the BOE. Parallax used to make an breadboard appmod that plugged into the appmod connector. I took a quick look for it on the Parallax store, but couldn't find it. But that is the idea. More breadboard real estate!
Iif a crew member is interested, they can try out different sensors such as the CO2 sensor that you bought from Parallax, or others such as the Memsic accelerometer/tilt sensor. A light sensor. So many possibilities! If there is an issue with program space, they could move to a multislot BS2pe.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com
I learned to make PC boards using BatchPCB, and designed one to hold the XBee/MAWD telemetry thing. Here it is (below): the XM 1.2 telemetry board. It's a power supply for the XBee, and the connectors to the MAWD, to replace the rats-nest of wires I'd been flying. I flew the rats-nest version 7 times, getting good data every time. The two most recently flights were the weekend after Thanksgiving at Midwest Power 7. I'll fly the new XM 1.2 version as soon as we start flying again after New Years.
I tested it this morning, using 4 AA cells to power it. That won't be an appropriate supply for in-flight (spring terminals tend to lose contact under acceleration), but it should work with a 9v battery or a Lipo cell. I'll test those later. I also updated the software on the receiver side, adding a few bells and whistles (messages about when it's ready to receive, XBee addressing in software, etc.). I'm still trying to set up a Propeller-based receiver, and I think I'm getting close, but that's not working reliably yet.