Started work on "Not a Guided Missile".
this rocket is a silo-launched rocket with servo actuated fins and a set of canards (smaller fins at the top of the rocket). the canards are used to control roll so the rocket isn't constantly spinning. the fins are used to steer the rocket.
the rocket is launched from the silo using a short burn rocket motor mounted in a mount with a mechanism at the top that makes it so the motor locks in place, then when the thrust pushes it up, the lock partially disengages, so when the motor burns out the "silo booster" is ejected out the back with built-in springs.
using the fins and canards, the rocket can control itself with or without thrust (assuming it has enough airspeed) and the trajectory is set using time only. Guided rockets are illegal because they could potentially be used as guided weapons, but actively stabilized rockets are fine. this rocket stabilizes itself given a hard-coded trajectory.
for maximum speed tests, the rocket would take a hard turn right out of the silo so that at ~30-50 ft it could do horizontal powered flight. it may look like a cruise missile during these tests but there is no guidance, and the rocket is made of lightweight, biodegradable materials (mostly cardboard with some PLA which is biodegradable-ish). if it hits something, I am liable but the chances of that are low given where the tests will be held. even if it did hit something, being made of lightweight materials with a thin walled carboard tube it probably wouldn't cause any significant damage.
also for anyone curious about the propellant used in my rockets, the latest recipe is made of ammonium perchlorate, aluminum powder, hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), paraffin, iron oxide, and sometimes a little castor oil. I won't specify the exact ratios for obvious safety reasons but those are the chemicals.
this rocket is a silo-launched rocket with servo actuated fins and a set of canards (smaller fins at the top of the rocket). the canards are used to control roll so the rocket isn't constantly spinning. the fins are used to steer the rocket.
the rocket is launched from the silo using a short burn rocket motor mounted in a mount with a mechanism at the top that makes it so the motor locks in place, then when the thrust pushes it up, the lock partially disengages, so when the motor burns out the "silo booster" is ejected out the back with built-in springs.
using the fins and canards, the rocket can control itself with or without thrust (assuming it has enough airspeed) and the trajectory is set using time only. Guided rockets are illegal because they could potentially be used as guided weapons, but actively stabilized rockets are fine. this rocket stabilizes itself given a hard-coded trajectory.
for maximum speed tests, the rocket would take a hard turn right out of the silo so that at ~30-50 ft it could do horizontal powered flight. it may look like a cruise missile during these tests but there is no guidance, and the rocket is made of lightweight, biodegradable materials (mostly cardboard with some PLA which is biodegradable-ish). if it hits something, I am liable but the chances of that are low given where the tests will be held. even if it did hit something, being made of lightweight materials with a thin walled carboard tube it probably wouldn't cause any significant damage.
also for anyone curious about the propellant used in my rockets, the latest recipe is made of ammonium perchlorate, aluminum powder, hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), paraffin, iron oxide, and sometimes a little castor oil. I won't specify the exact ratios for obvious safety reasons but those are the chemicals.
Local rocket man