boatgeek
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- Dec 27, 2014
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I think Nate here is on the right path. You will almost certainly not be the first high school students to reach space. On the other hand, you may be the people who paved the way for high school students to reach space (although that too is unlikely). The way I see it, you have two major points that prevent rockoon flights: unpredictable flight of the balloon and unpredictable launch conditions for the rocket. You can do research and potentially prove success for #2.
If you really want to do a rockoon, do one that launches the rocket from somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 feet altitude. That's plenty of altitude to work out the kinks of going higher while also being close enough to the ground that you aren't going to bust out of the 19-mile circle at a large Black Rock launch. Go ahead and build your K flying motor case so that you break mach 1 and maybe even 2. If you can successfully prove launch and recovery in a reasonably predictable manner from that altitude, you are a long way toward proving launch at high altitude. The other issue is certainly real and major, but knocking down one barrier is the road to success on the other.
Also, while I see the desire to have a 360-degree video for VR purposes, I don't think that a spin-stabilized rocket is a good vehicle for that unless you equip people watching with puke buckets. And finally, you can't be shy about giving away your secrets. You're never going to make money off of this, so you are probably best off in terms of actually making something happen to share information. People on this forum will gladly share years of expertise as long as you are willing to listen, accept advice, and share your projects.
If you really want to do a rockoon, do one that launches the rocket from somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 feet altitude. That's plenty of altitude to work out the kinks of going higher while also being close enough to the ground that you aren't going to bust out of the 19-mile circle at a large Black Rock launch. Go ahead and build your K flying motor case so that you break mach 1 and maybe even 2. If you can successfully prove launch and recovery in a reasonably predictable manner from that altitude, you are a long way toward proving launch at high altitude. The other issue is certainly real and major, but knocking down one barrier is the road to success on the other.
Also, while I see the desire to have a 360-degree video for VR purposes, I don't think that a spin-stabilized rocket is a good vehicle for that unless you equip people watching with puke buckets. And finally, you can't be shy about giving away your secrets. You're never going to make money off of this, so you are probably best off in terms of actually making something happen to share information. People on this forum will gladly share years of expertise as long as you are willing to listen, accept advice, and share your projects.