Overview

Odin's Spear was an attempt to break 100,000 ft in altitude on a 3 stage solid rocket. It flew in October of 2013. The flight was made in an attempt to win the Carmac Prize

Flight

The MIT 3 stage rocket flew at around 10:40 a.m. on Oct. 1. Stage separation appeared to occur on time. Second stage ignition occurred after coasting for approximately 13 seconds, instead of the intended 10. The third stage ignited after a 17 seconds coast, instead of the intended 10 seconds. By this time, the third stage was nearly horizontal and the rocket was headed downrange fast. The first stage was recovered four miles downrange and achieved an altitude of 13,200 feet. The parachute on the first stage mostly stripped; impact was at 194fps. The second stage parachute lines were severed on deployment, and the parachute with attached tracker was recovered six miles downrange. The second stage was never to be seen again. The third stage is estimated to be 20-35 miles downrange; a signal could not be acquired before the tracker batteries died. It is unknown if the section attempted to deploy the streamer or main parachute, or what would happen if it did at the velocities it was flying at (more than Mach 3 at the peak). Even if we had been close enough to get a signal, it was unlikely that the rocket was still above ground or that the transmitters were intact enough to locate it.

Rocket Team members (from left) Julian Lemus, Andrew Wimmer, and Christian Valledor with TYR/Odin's Spear, the rocket they hoped would climb to 100,000 feet or more.

We believe the excess staging delay was caused by a number of factors. The igniters had been tested in an identical motor, however, this time likely increased with altitude and velocity. It is also possible that the altimeters did not fire them on time due to off vertical trajectory of the lower stages of the flight compounding with our allowance given for motors not lighting on time. Despite the flight not working as intended, the rocket held together during an extreme flight and the group learned a lot from the experience.