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The main aim of this course is to learn the processes required to design, build, launch and control a subsonic, solid fuel powered rocket. The methodologies developed will also have application to sub-orbital and orbital rockets including liquid fuel propulsion. The control part will focus on canard actuation and will utilize an existing vertical wind tunnel platform on campus for testing the control methodologies before flight. Students will work in pairs in their fields of expertise to contribute to the main group goal of a launch ready rocket. The individual tasks assigned for each pair of students will include rocket airframe design, propulsion, actuation hardware/software, aerodynamics, launch safety protocols, sensors/instrumentation including hardware-in-the loop, telemetry, control algorithms, trajectory simulation and parachute recovery. Students will decide what areas they’d like to work on, but everyone will gain a general knowledge of rocketry through the labs, tutorials, lectures and assignment.
COURSE OUTLINEThe main aim of this course is to learn the processes of orbital rocket and satellite control and to design and manufacture a 1U cubesat, suitable for launch from a 100 mm diameter atmospheric sounding rocket. This payload will set the foundation for a future launch into low-earth orbit on Rocket Lab’s orbital vehicle Electron. The control part will focus on canard actuation and velocity control using a desktop vertical wind tunnel. Students will work in pairs in their fields of interest to contribute to the main group goal of a launch ready 1U cubesat payload with accelerometer and rate gyro sensors. Ground communication systems will be developed so that this sensor data can be transferred to a ground station in real-time. The individual tasks assigned for each pair of students will include cubesat enclosure design, actuation hardware/software, launch safety protocols, sensors/instrumentation including hardware-in-the loop, telemetry, control algorithms and trajectory simulation. Students will decide what areas they’d like to work on, but everyone will gain a general knowledge of rocket and satellite control and cubesat payload design through the labs, tutorials, lectures and assignment.
At the end of this course, the student will:1. Gain an understanding of practical engineering principles applicable to many fields of engineering.2. Learn the basic design principles, mission design and manufacturing process of a 1U cubesat for launch on an atmospheric sub-orbital sounding rocket and an orbital rocket to low-earth orbit.3. Obtain insight into some Maori navigation concepts relevant to a future cubesat mission with Rocket Lab.4. Gain an understanding of the various sensors and instrumentation used on the rocket, the cubesat payload and on ground systems, including wind sensors, wireless transmission of data, accelerometers, rate gyros and GPS.5. Learn about filtering, data logging and electronic control hardware.6. Understand some non-linear control methods like PID gain scheduling for orbital rocket and satellite attitude control including the impact of wind loads and spectral analysis of turbulence.7. Operate 3DOF (pitch, roll, yaw) and 6DOF (pitch, roll, yaw, x, y, z accelerations) modeling software in Matlab for trajectory design and satellite pointing maneuvers.8. Obtain insight into the space industry in both NZ and the US with potential opportunities to work in this field after their degree.
Subject to approval of the Head of Department
Christopher Hann
Tim Atkins (TriVector Services, US)
CURRICULUM Four week lecture series – Tim Atkins (TriVector Services, US) – not assessedLectures 1-2 – Introduction to the rocket industry and future plans for manned space missionsLectures 3-5 – Principles of rocket forces, drag, centre of mass, centre of pressure, stability for sub-sonic rocketsLectures 6-7 – Spacecraft and launch vehiclesLecture 8 – Avionics and software overview and testing for SLS vehicleLectures 9-10 – Systems engineering approach to a successful rocket launch including health and safety design and requirements/specificationsLectures 11-12 – Deep-space conceptsGuest Lectures – There will be a number of guest lectures from Rocket Lab, Kea Aerospace, Argo-Navis aerospace and Asteria, covering aerodynamics, propulsion and engine design, rocket avionics and control as well as opportunities for entering the NZ space industry. Informal cubesat mission lecture – One lecture on the planned cubesat mission involving SpaceOpsNZ via zoom to discuss the onboard and ground communication requirements and a discussion on the motivation behind the mission which includes some Polynesian navigation concepts.Industry in-kind funding and collaboration – SpaceOps NZ has agreed to provide support for the communications part of this course. Laboratory work• Lab 1/assignment – design of a mount for the electronics that will be used in the 1U cubesat. Part 1 is the development of a list of specifications in addition to some provided specifications and part 2 is the SolidWorks design of an Electronics Mount to meet the specifications, which will be 3D printed. The top designs will be implemented in ground testing and if these tests are successful the best design will be implemented in the final rocket launch.• Lab 2 write-up for the requirements for launching a 1U cubesat into low-earth orbit.• Informal labs and assistance as required.Assessment (learning outcomes in brackets)• Lab 1 is worth 25% (individual assessment)- assesses design and manufacture of cubesat enclosure including development of specifications (1-2,4)- A list of sensor and communication requirements for the payload will be provided and the students develop the specifications to meet these requirements.- Sensors to be included in the cubesat are an altimeter, accelerometer and rate gyro. - Students will be required to include space for an antenna in their mechanical design which will be placed below the cubesat enclosure and is designed for the rocket launch so must be pointed down to the ground.• Lab 2 is worth 5% (individual assessment)- A literature survey and summary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) requirements and attitude determination and control requirements for launching a 1U payload into low-earth orbit that can point at the moon using magnetorquers, take a picture and send back down to earth (2,3,8)- This lab is independent of the atmospheric sounding rocket launch and is intended to develop some initial research and ideas for the future cubesat mission with Rocket Lab.• Inspections of Practical work (not including field work) 35% (individual assessment)- Each group of 2 students will present their work separately and will be individually assessed on their contribution to the group task. Group tasks will be chosen at the start of the course based on the students field of interest and will include interfacing off-the-shelf sensors to an onboard computer, storing measured data, transmitting measured data, testing communications on the ground, testing mechanical connections, vibration testing of electronics, improvements to mechanical design as required, calibrating sensors, simulating rocket trajectory and modelling wind speeds for trajectory planning (1-2,4, 8)- Assessment is by formal inspection and involves a presentation of each student’s work and their developed hardware• Launch preparation write-up for student pairs – 15% (group assessment)- This assessment is related to the atmospheric rocket launch at the end of the course and is mainly focused on the cubesat payload- covers hardware/software testing of cubesat payload, testing communications and data logging, mechanical vibration and drop tests, health and safety and launch-day procedures (1-2,4-8)• Small vertical wind tunnel air speed and pitch control – 15% (individual assessment)- A desktop vertical wind tunnel, < 1 m high and with a 110 mm diameter test section will be provided as well as a small rocket that can rotate in the pitch axis - Teams of 2-3 will develop a PID gain scheduled control for air speed and pitch angle with the goal of following a reference velocity and pitch profile representing the first stage of an orbital rocket (4-8).- The air speed and pitch angle will be logged over time and compared with a given model of the system.- Wind speed will be measured off-line and calibrated with respect to the fan duty cycle.- Assessment is by an individually written report.• Final rocket launch of 1U cubesat (weather permitting) – treated as final exam so it can be done in exam period – 5% (group assessment)- Learning outcomes 1-2,4-8- if the rocket launch is cancelled, the small vertical wind tunnel assignment will be worth 20%.• The course coordinator (Chris Hann) will oversee all the assessmentLectorials (fortnightly or as required).• An informal lecture/tutorial to answer questions will follow each lab. The work covered in the tutorial is flexible and can include advice on the various tasks assigned to the overall course deliverable, which is launch-ready rocket with avionics and control.Field Work (related to final rocket launch).• If the 1U cubesat ground testing is successful and the payload is approved for launch there will be a launch from the Rakaia Island launch site. UC rocketry will supervise the launch planning and safety protocols on launch day – assessment is a whole class grade worth 5%.• The goal of the rocket launch will be to receive transmitted data of the altitude, acceleration and attitude rates from the 1U cubesat and to successfully recover the payload.• All personnel must follow UC Rocketry health and safety protocols which have been developed and successfully used over more than a decade of rocket launches.• A final report including analyzing the launch data will be produced following the launch – related to whole class assessment (5%).Ground testing and launch areas:The ground testing will be in the lab and using the desktop vertical wind tunnel. If the 1U cubesat is approved for launch, the rocket will be launched from Rakaia Island Dairy farm.
Ashish Tewari; Atmospheric and Space Flight Dynamics ; Birkhauser Boston, 2007.
Hull, David G; Fundamentals of airplane flight mechanics ; Springer, 2007.
Sutton, George Paul. , Biblarz, Oscar; Rocket propulsion elements ; 8th ed; Wiley, 2010.
Further course reading available at:• www.aerotech-rocketry.com/resources
Domestic fee $1,164.00
International fee $5,750.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
Maximum enrolment is 20
For further information see Electrical and Computer Engineering .