Students Conduct Successful Launch & Recovery of Prospector-2 Rocket, Feb. 2, 2002
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) achieved yet another
major milestone on Feb. 2, 2002 when a team of students, in partnership
with Garvey Spacecraft Corporation (GSC), successfully launched their
Prospector-2 (P-2) rocket at the Mojave Test Area (MTA). This vehicle
followed the footsteps of Prospector-1 (P-1) launched in June of last
year and incorporated several improvements from the P-1 vehicle:
- A new 1000 lbf thrust engine using pintle injector technology,
which was successfully tested on Dec. 1, 2001, developed by Seth Quitoriano,
Benjamin Gwynn, Kelly Thomas, and Edwin Realce
- A digital flight telemetry package (a proof-of-concept version was
flown on Dec. 1, 2001 onboard the GSC Kimbo IX-EC rocket) developed by
Eduardo Torres and other Electrical Engineering students under guidance
from Dave McCue
- A filament-wound composite aeroshell manufactured by ACPT
(Advanced Composite Products & Technology)
- A new recovery system where a mechanical system replaces
pyrotechnics for parachute release, developed by Geoff Elson and
Mark Holthaus
- A 1-ft payload bay to accommodate experimental payloads
developed by Stanford University students
At around 1 pm, the launch area was cleared and the vehicle lifted
under ideal atmospheric conditions (clear skies, no wind, mild
temperatures). The engine burn lasted about 8 seconds and lifted
P-2 to about 6000 ft. The nose cone was released followed by the
main parachute deployment and the rocket drifted slowly to the ground.
The most challenging task of the day turned out to be finding the vehicle
and recovery system components on the desert floor. After a couple hours
of search, all vehicle parts had been recovered and could have been
flown the same day. As a results of the successful vehicle recovery,
CSULB now has at its disposal another vehicle that it can use for
further developments.
P-2 in flight - Photo by Kim Garvey
One notable enhancement aspect of the P-2 project was the participation
of students from the Stanford's Space Systems Development Laboratory to
the project. They developed a payload deployment mechanism which was
integrated into P-2 and provided CSULB with a controller for
drogue/parachute deployment. The Stanford university students will be
reviewing the trajectory data they collected and retrieved from one of
their flight controllers that flew on the vehicle to provide insights
on its performance. It is expected that this participation will be the
first in a long lasting collaboration between CSULB and
Prof. Twigg's laboratory at Stanford.
Preparing the vehicle for launch - Photo by Kim Garvey
The team of CSULB students developed Prospector-2 during the Fall
2001 semester as part of the state-funded California Launch Vehicle
Education Initiative (CALVEIN). Members of the teams included several
students who participated in the P-1 development and who were able to
help new students gain valuable hands-on experience on flight hardware.
Additional help and mentoring was provided by professionals from the
aerospace industry including Garvey Spacecraft Corporation.
The Prospector-2 used a propellant combination of liquid
Oxygen and ethanol - the same mixture employed on the V-2 rocket of World
War II. The new student-developed engine was tested on Dec. 1, 2001 at
the MTA's new Vertical Test Stand -2 (VTS-2). The MTA is owned and
operated by the non-profit Reaction Research Society (the RRS is one
of the oldest rocket clubs in existence, with a history tracing back
over five decades).
The student-industry team before launch - Photo by Kim Garvey
P-2 coasting along after main chute deployment - Photo by Kelly Thomas
CALVEIN is funded by the California Technology Trade and Commerce Agency
, Garvey Spacecraft Corp., and CSULB. This project is helping to
educate future engineers who are key to a healthy aerospace industry
in California, while also promoting low-cost launch systems. "This
launch would not have been successful without the active participation
of many current aerospace professionals who dedicate a significant amount
of time in mentoring tomorrow's engineers" says Eric Besnard,
CALVEIN Project Director. "We, the university and the students,
are truly indebted to them and particularly to Dave McCue,
Chris Thompson, Mike Novratil, Mark Holthaus, John Enberg and others
such as Kevin Baxter for providing the launch rail, Tom Mueller and
Dave Crisalli of the RRS, without forgetting John Garvey himself."
The team is now going to focus on the development of P-3,
scheduled to fly in May 2002 with a thrust vectoring system being
developed at CSULB. In addition, students are also completing
the development of an aerospike engine which will be static fire
tested -and flown- on one of the Prospector rockets in the next
few months.
After vehicle recovery... - Photo by Kim Garvey
For additional information about
either the CALVEIN project and/or the cooperative program between
CSULB and Garvey Spacecraft Corporation, please contact the following
project representatives:
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