Gyro Stabilized Rocket

[burnout]

...

 

[ckreef]

That's kewl done in a rocket.

But you do realize that flight stabilization is done every day in RC planes. Not just one axises but 3 axis's. And they have full GPS flight return with auto landing. The FPV crowd has been utilizing this technology for years.

I realize doing it in a rocket is somewhat more complicated but the technology has been out there.

 

[bill_s]

I think it would be more interesting to see them used for a truly realistic slow takeoff. More people seem fixated on liquid fuel than this other aspect of large rockets.

Clicked from there to another video, interesting but saw 2 technical errors even though only watched a little of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KToggTKa9Lk

 

[jadebox]

Very cool. Way beyond my skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnUfsLCa8h8

That is something that I've wanted to do since I first flew a video camera attached to a rocket. But, it's beyond me, too. I did find, though, that larger rockets tend to roll more slowly. So, building bigger has been my solution to the roll problem.

-- Roger

 

[AlexK]

I think it would be more interesting to see them used for a truly realistic slow takeoff. More people seem fixated on liquid fuel than this other aspect of large rockets.

Well as a propulsion-head I'll plead the fifth on exotic rocket engines (and liquids at the hobby level certainly count as exotic), but I think a proper slow takeoff would be AMAZING. You'd need a ludicrously long-burn motor to pull it off (Maybe even something on the level of an endburner like Aerotech does with Warp Nine propellant, except done with, say, White Lightning), and a really REALLY good way to stabilize. A spinning mass inside the rocket might do the job nicely, although it might need to be pretty heavy to counteract the rocket's desire to run off in some squirrely direction. Too bad that would (of necessity) be really heavy. "heavy" and "low-thrust, slow-burning motor" don't really go well together.

 

[boomtube]

Putting a Gyro into a rocket doesn’t strike me as a good idea; what with the sauce and the grilled meat and vegetables Gyro’s are pretty messy.
Then there’s the utterly bizarre concept that a sandwich of any kind can somehow be used to stabilize a rocket.
Finally; at every big launch I have attended any food, of any kind, is going to get eaten by somebody long before it can get stuffed into a rocket and launched.

 

[jadebox]

A spinning mass inside the rocket might do the job nicely ....

Unfortunately, no, it wouldn't.

For a while I was considering some way to make it more likely that our spider-like Akavish rocket would land on its feet and remain upright. So, I started looking into ways to stabilize it. One thing I considered was a passive "spinning mass" solution. But, I soon realized that it won't work. Once the rocket leaves the ground, no passive system inside the rocket will work. You need an active system that detects and reacts to changes in the rocket's attitude.

See: https://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/gcsfaq.html ("Can I use Gyroscopes to stablize my rocket without fins?")

-- Roger