RECOVERY
Our working group is primarily responsible for ensuring the safe landing of the rocket, guaranteeing the reusability of the rocket and its payload, and securing and analyzing the data stored in the flight computer.
Current Projects
ARCHER Parachutes
For our next major project, ARCHER, we plan to use a main parachute with a diameter of 2.6 meters, which we will sew ourselves using a sewing machine. The goal is to land 20 kg at a speed of less than 6 m/s.
To prevent the main parachute from opening at apogee (which would cause excessive wind drift), the rocket is initially stabilized using only a drogue parachute. This drogue parachute consists of six ripstop nylon panels and has a total radius of approximately 0.28 m to prevent excessive wind drift.
PIPE 2 Parachutes
The main parachute for the PIPE2 project has a total radius of 1.35 m, with the outer 12 cm consisting of a separate ring designed to create a more stable airflow. Both rings of the parachute are divided into twelve panels and are designed to safely land a total load of 10 kg at a speed of less than 6 m/s.
Pulling machine
In order to test our fabrics, ropes, and the connections between them, we have developed our own pulling machine and are currently assembling it. It is designed to generate and measure a force of up to 500 kg.
Release mechanism
Two e-machtes and 0.6 g of guncotton (cellulose nitrate) are located on the drogue mount to detach the nose cone and deploy the drogue parachute. The mount rests on the base of the landing system segment and is connected to the rest of the rocket above it.
Tender Descender
The tender descenders are responsible for deploying the main parachute. They are CNC-machined from aluminum and hold the main parachute to the rocket via a short rope. When the explosive charge mounted in the tender descender is detonated, the rope connection is severed, and the main parachute is ejected by the force of the drogue parachute.
Previous Projects
Landesysteme PIPE 1
For our first rocket, PIPE, we sewed a main parachute with a radius of 1.23 m and a drogue with a radius of 20 cm, using the same fabric, tape, and ropes as in our current projects. At that time, a rope cutter was used to deploy the main parachute instead of a Tender Descender, but based on our mixed experiences, we will not be continuing with this method.
