BIG RED 2

Big Red 2 is a 4-inch diameter dual-stages rockets designed to test high altitude recovery system for future mission. The vehicle was successfully launched and recovered at Friend of Amateur Rocketry on December 14th, 2024. The rocket reached 12,800ft and safely recovered.

Structure

The project also aims to help students learn how to use heavy machine like band saw to cut body tube and avionics bay rod.

Students also learned how to design rocket in OpenRocket as well as generating g-code from 3D model on Fusion360. Students then used the g-code file to cut G10 fiberglass fin on ShopSabre CNC router.

After attaching fins, the team performed a carbon fiber layup for booster to help secure fin better. We started with cutting out carbon fiber cloth and mixed epoxy, then spreaded the epoxy evenly on the cut out to ensure entire cloth was soaked in epoxy. We then laid the cloth onto the fin, pressed it down firmly and used a popsicle stick to remove any bubble. This helps ensure a good and strong layup.

Avionics

The highlight of this vehicle is recovery system where the team switched from black powder to CO2. While black power is convenient and easy to use, it gets unreliable above 30,000ft when pressure is low. With that, the team opted to use a CO2 system and machine alumni bulkhead to adapt to the system. The bulkhead was machined from stocked aluminum on Tormach CNC Mill. Once the system is fully integrated, the team would perform continuity check and ground testing to test wiring and CO2 systems.

Gallery