LithosphereRocketry
Pining for the Fjords
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2017
- Messages
- 882
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- 93
This is an idea I've had kicking around for a while now. My plan is to start with the LOC 3" Black Brant X and build a custom Terrier booster for it. My approach will involve a lot of wood glue and laser cutting, and should hopefully be able to take just about anything I can throw at it.
Since the Black Brant isn't intended for staging, it's less than forgiving in terms of stage couplers. My plan is described in a thread that I can't find at the moment- basically, four 1/4" aluminum rods that mate with launch lugs embedded in the sustainer motor mount. Extra support will be provided by a stepped ply "thrust plate".
The entire interstage structure is going to be based on stepped CRs and bulkheads so all of the load is mechanical rather than on the glue. This is one of the advantages/reasons I'm spoiled for having access to laser cutting- I can make a million centering rings with 0.1" diameter differences without a lot of hassle. In any case, the booster will look something like this:
The upper stage will be a pretty much stock LOC BBX with a couple exceptions: First of all, the aforementioned embedded launch lugs. I'll be using rail buttons instead of launch lugs (this thing is 9ft tall with the booster, a 6ft rod won't help it much) and adding an avbay of some kind. I'm also ditching the tailcone- it's not to scale, and the part it was meant to represent is taken care of by the interstage.
I haven't drawn the paint scheme in OR, but here's an "unfinished" render:
You know that thing people keep talking about, whatever it is, "incremental development" or something? Yeah, I can't figure out what that is either. Meh, it probably isn't important. (backstory: I got my L1 less than a month ago.)
Parts have arrived, and I'll be starting the build this weekend assuming nothing explodes. In the meantime, suggestions are welcome!
Since the Black Brant isn't intended for staging, it's less than forgiving in terms of stage couplers. My plan is described in a thread that I can't find at the moment- basically, four 1/4" aluminum rods that mate with launch lugs embedded in the sustainer motor mount. Extra support will be provided by a stepped ply "thrust plate".
The entire interstage structure is going to be based on stepped CRs and bulkheads so all of the load is mechanical rather than on the glue. This is one of the advantages/reasons I'm spoiled for having access to laser cutting- I can make a million centering rings with 0.1" diameter differences without a lot of hassle. In any case, the booster will look something like this:
The upper stage will be a pretty much stock LOC BBX with a couple exceptions: First of all, the aforementioned embedded launch lugs. I'll be using rail buttons instead of launch lugs (this thing is 9ft tall with the booster, a 6ft rod won't help it much) and adding an avbay of some kind. I'm also ditching the tailcone- it's not to scale, and the part it was meant to represent is taken care of by the interstage.
I haven't drawn the paint scheme in OR, but here's an "unfinished" render:
You know that thing people keep talking about, whatever it is, "incremental development" or something? Yeah, I can't figure out what that is either. Meh, it probably isn't important. (backstory: I got my L1 less than a month ago.)
Parts have arrived, and I'll be starting the build this weekend assuming nothing explodes. In the meantime, suggestions are welcome!