Things to be improved

Design heat transfer-optimized aeroshells with thermal fins (heatsink)

Cover cameras with foil or foam or something that can stay on the launch rod and shed once the rocket launches

Avionics should save and load GPS ephemeris data to speed up the time to lock. This will allow us to vastly improve the minimum time to launch after avionics power up, which is important when all your cameras overheat :(

Might be a good idea to remove some of the material of the plastic case around the SD card slot of the keychain camera

Or remove the case completely and replace it with something sturdy, e.g. aluminum shell

Replace “springy” SD card slots with “locked” SD card slots

If we switch to only split cameras (like the Runcam split 4), it might be a good idea to put the main part of the camera inside of the rocket body and just have the lens sticking out. This would provide better protection from crashes, the sun, and would reduce the need for large aeroshells. Possible downside is increased integration complexity.

Longer deployment delay?

Drogue on booster?

Reinforce the loop at the bottom of the parachute, and maybe do some repetitive stress tests on that

Buy parachute from a different supplier

Multiple chute deploy for redundancy?

Data review shows the acceleration from the booster main deployment occurred ~10 seconds after the piston fired. A possible explanation for this is the main chute did not exit the deployment bag right away. Maybe the main parachute was packed too tightly. Then for 10 seconds, the booster picked up speed and possible twisting of the lines before the parachute deployed and snapped.

Check to make sure wires aren’t shorted

Double check firebolts being used are not being reused and passed all testing

Only use cots TDs

Make sure battery voltage is high enough to fire

Double check that right amount of black powder is used

Make sure black powder doesn’t get wet.

Use armored wires/more shielded wires for e-matches to prevent shorting

make new forward closure such that it can be properly integrated with hei in later? maybe a thread in hei section

find high temp gasket that doesn’t take 48 hrs to dry

more o rings on hei so full motor pressure isn’t held by 1 o ring

new hei design that means we rtv put in the nozzle and liner and add the grain and igniter later without risk of cracking

Shunt and diode cable harness worked really well, however we should’ve characterized the voltage drop better

The combination of the depleted sustainer battery and voltage drop across the diode meant that we launched with the telemega in the “red” state for the HEI channel. There was still plenty of power to ignite the HEI though.

To integrate the sustainer with the HEI, we simply wrapped the wire around the HEI bolts. A better way would be to use “ring terminals” to securely mount the cable harness to those bolts.

put hei on booster and then ignition sequence turns on all cameras (would somehow be hooked up to avionics) just before lighting the booster hei

Make cameras not independent (turn on with avionics)

Properly secure mission package. We forgot to screw in the avtower before the day of the launch. Had we not caught this at FAR, it would have led to catastrophic failure.

Drive rocket to FAR without a “complete” complete integration so theres no risk of ignition

Redundant screw switches (an “and” gate maybe)

One idea is to transport the screw switches without the screws. If the switch is positioned close enough to the rocket wall, we can go to the pad with the necessary screws to turn the rocket on. This would make an accidental power-on almost impossible

Backup avionics battery? Future designs could possibly consider an easier hot swap of batteries, but I think we should focus on ensuring batteries are charged prior to launch and double ensure that nothing turns on before we want it to. Current avionics power architecture supports “on-the-pad charging” should we need to top up the batteries.

properly countersink bolts including going into nozzle carrier so they don’t poke out at all

Switch to 82 degree countersink bolts that are more common and can be used with torx heads

Put bolts through fin can maybe?

actually use the ones linked in solidworks

drill holes a little deeper in nozzle carrier

use the correct countersink 

Could cut a relief on the bolt head to allow them to pull closer

switch to torx 

get folding key sets so we don’t spend forever trying to find the one key that works

Do accurate bolt calculations

Use a more heat resistant material

Sanding tubes is a pain in the ass and doesnt have to be

Find a way to machine the inside and outside of the cases (just the interference ends, doesnt need to be the whole thing)

Talk to todd about how to machine inside long hollow tubes

Buy a proper tube sander kit

Proper tolerancing

More rigorous fit checks before launch rehearsal

Perhaps little remote triggers, should also make sure the pad cameras don’t overheat either (little umbrellas?) -> we had the that idea after a thermal shutdown in 2019 (Pixel TW-283 Remote Trigger on Amazon, Hot Shoe Umbrella on Amazon)

Turn them on as late as possible and do a final check before go/no go

Result of pressure spike of errosive burning

Try to use less fynocyl in designs because it 

make launch day packing list that is packed morning of and reviewed by the packing lead

Teams who arent integrating should help pack

⅛” dowel would be better (needs flex to put inside motor and not block a large portion of the nozzle throat

Give both away teams cameras or consolidate them into one group

Food options for away teams in case launches get delayed

Livestream from Away site?

All avionics members using the groundstation should practice telemetry callouts. We never know exactly what to say and FAR people really care about current altitude and deployment status.

Coordinate with FAR and other people that launch in regard to their used channels (we can change the channel only if the TeleMega is not in Padmode aka vertical)

Practice Radio coms during launch rehearsals, and how to switch channels