u/Parking_Rate_759

Hey all,

I'm part of a rocketry team and we've recently had a few successful launches of some smaller rockets (roughly 16" long by 2" wide), getting to about 200 feet. Now these rockets have gone absolutely fine (aside from one centering ring and shock cord separation), but we're planning on building some bigger and heavier power rockets.

My question is, how do you guys go about doing full structural and drag analyses to make sure your rockets don't snap and or separate mid flight? We've been using OpenRocket and some FEA on Soldiworks, but I'm curious about your opinions

Hey all, the rocketry team that I'm part of has a few launches coming up in the next couple of weeks, and it got me thinking about heat shielding now that the rockets are assembled. We're using ~F class motors, and for insulation between the ejection charge and the rest of the shock cording we've been using small amounts of attic insulation (not fiberglass or anything harmful to handle).

It's been working great so far, but it's not exactly reusable or too convenient/easy to install. It's just generally not ideal. What have all of you been using?

We're launching relatively small rockets, so we don't have too much space for a fully folded up one of those orange squares of heat shielding.