Launch News MSC Tycho Brahe on Copenhagen Suborbitals HAET1X, Baltic Sea launch - Attempt 2

[agentgonzo]

Previous launch thread:
http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=17758

LAUNCH SOMETIME JUNE 1st-5th

Launch countdown and more info on http://www.copenhagensuborbitals.com/index.php

Live streams:
LIVE TV, TV2: www.tv2.dk
LIVE Internet coverage: www.ing.dk/live
COMBINED INTERNET ACTIVITY http://raketvenner.dk/launch/
LIVE UPDATED TV2 BORNHOLM www.tv2bornholm.dk

 

[ky]

I lost track of it I kept track if it one time,Good to see they finally might attempt another launch.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

This launch occurred today. :thumbup:

 

[N_Molson]

Is it just me or the main chutes went down without the payload ? :uhh:

Edit : or maybe the payload got tangled inside the main chutes ?

 

[C3PO]

Is it just me or the main chutes went down without the payload ? :uhh:

Edit : or maybe the payload got tangled inside the main chutes ?

That was an empty chute that had torn away. It's not clear if it was the capsule or booster chute.
If separation failed, the booster chute can't deploy, and the capsule chute would have to carry both modules. That could be the reason it tore off. The on-board shows the drogue chute had deployed.

---------- Post added at 01:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 AM ----------

Initial reports estimate the apogee at 2.8 km (target was 15-16 km) The intended profile was vertical, but the craft moved 8.5 km "downrange. This meant that the speed was too high when the chutes deployed, and they probably were torn off.
The "capsule" has been recovered and is reported to to have sustained major damage, but the dummy "astronaut" still looks ok. :lol: The booster stage is still MIA.

This is the largest amateur rocket ever launched.
Well done!!!

---------- Post added at 01:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 AM ----------

The capsule is more or less in one piece, so the damage wasn't as bad as first expected.
http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-40453698:raketbygger-vi-har-skrevet-historie.html

The commentary is in danish, but you can see the capsule floating on the surface. The booster chute was torn off, and the splashdown was observed at a large distance.

 

[Krikkit]

11 seconds from liftoff to supersonic!

Too much acceleration. You will have to throttle it greatly to get me to stand in it.

 

[thegrogen]

11 seconds from liftoff to supersonic!

Too much acceleration. You will have to throttle it greatly to get me to stand in it.

According to WolframAlpha, that's only about 3gs of acceleration on average. You'd still need to be pretty strong, though. Lots of squats.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=speed+of+sound+/+11+seconds

 

[N_Molson]

Initial reports estimate the apogee at 2.8 km (target was 15-16 km) The intended profile was vertical, but the craft moved 8.5 km "downrange.

It means that the rocket performed pretty well, and it seems that guidance is what they have to improve first. Also, the floating launch platform somehow lacks of stability, this is obvious when you see how the rocket oscillates right after launch. It seems that with a 2.8 x 8.5 km trajectory, it was more like a missle launch ; the rocket did not maintain the required vertical pitch.

 

[Ghostrider]

3g in the upright position doesn't seem a good idea to me. However, good to see the rocketry zoomy woomy thing going well.

 

[Urwumpe]

The range data does also not sound too well. The rocket was underperforming, it didn't achieve the dV that was needed for 15-16 km altitude.

 

[N_Molson]

A picture of the rocket during the 11 seconds burn :

 

[RisingFury]

Is it just the camera rocking left and right or is the rocket unstable in the initial seconds after launch?

 

[C3PO]

It means that the rocket performed pretty well, and it seems that guidance is what they have to improve first. Also, the floating launch platform somehow lacks of stability, this is obvious when you see how the rocket oscillates right after launch. It seems that with a 2.8 x 8.5 km trajectory, it was more like a missle launch ; the rocket did not maintain the required vertical pitch.

The team plans to add guidance to the rocket for future tests. This one was unguided.

The range data does also not sound too well. The rocket was underperforming, it didn't achieve the dV that was needed for 15-16 km altitude.

The drag is higher at lower altitudes, and ambient pressure lowers ISP. I don't think you should expect better performance given the actual flight profile. For a first flight the performance is good compared to some rockets I can think of.
Remember this thing is built by a "two man space agency" using voluntary work force. I think they did very well. :thumbup:

Is it just the camera rocking left and right or is the rocket unstable in the initial seconds after launch?

The camera is mounted inside the dummy astronaut's head, so the shaking could be some involuntary head-banging. :lol:
The launch platform is built like a catamaran with the tower in the middle. The tower has cable stays, but the force of the launch bent the whole structure making the stays go completely slack. You can see the flapping like spaghetti's in the launch photos. This may have contributed to the low flight path.

 

[Nerull]

Engine was shut down early at T+20s due to trajectory deviations.

I put this together, the sync isn't perfect but the deviation in when each video gets loaded and starts is too great for me to fight with it any more:

http://youtubedoubler.com/Nhw

Looks like they've got some nasty pogo going on as well as stability problems. I'd also be interested to see the G-force data, that liftoff looked spine-crushing - especially in a standing position. It seems clear from the onboard camera that their launch platform is rocking in the water pretty badly and the rocket went non-vertical almost immediately after it left the tower.

I wasn't sure about the pogo at first, but when you compare the closely videos the rocket plume visibly changes in sync with the hard 'thump' vibrations inside.

I'm not sure on what basis they are terming the launch "successful", but I suppose that at least it didn't explode.

 

[C3PO]

I'm not sure on what basis they are terming the launch "successful", but I suppose that at least it didn't explode.

Before the flight Peter Madsen stated in an interview that he would be happy with 1 meter of stable flight. :lol:
I imagine they base their success criteria on the fact that they got a lift-off, and that the data has been recovered.

The sound also indicates that it had some pogo'ing during the burn. Ares I anyone?
They have given themselves 10 years to get to 100 km, so it's not like they don't know it will be hard to get there.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

This is a cool video - launch as seen from the dummy pilot's point of view, from behind the "dome"!

A lot of thrust oscillation. :blink:

 

[agentgonzo]

According to WolframAlpha, that's only about 3gs of acceleration on average.http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=speed+of+sound+/+11+seconds

From just looking at the video you can tell the initial acceleration was quite a bit more than just 3g. I certainly wouldn't want to be the guy on top of that when it launched. Good to see it go up though, even if it did veer wildly off course and have to be cut short. Well done all involved!

 

[C3PO]

From just looking at the video you can tell the initial acceleration was quite a bit more than just 3g. I certainly wouldn't want to be the guy on top of that when it launched. Good to see it go up though, even if it did veer wildly off course and have to be cut short. Well done all involved!

You are probably correct about the g-loads. It only had enough fuel to reach a ~16 km apogee, so the final model will probably be quite a bit heavier.

It looks like the two main chutes tangled. If the drogue failed because of the high speed, that could be the reason why the capsule wasn't stable enough for the mains to inflate properly.

 

[C3PO]

Pictures of the recovered craft available now.
http://www.copenhagensuborbitals.com/campaignjune2011_data.php

There's a shot of the heat shield.

Not exactly reusable, but I like it. :lol:

 

[ky]

The dummies head was banging around alot :headbang: .Is there a doctor here because I think this astronaut would be injured in some way, maybe a concussion?