Chris LaPanse

I believe I have one that you can borrow (though I don't want to sell it). I'll check before I leave. I'd imagine Joe will have one too.

I'll be there 😀

I'm going, but I'm still figuring out the details of my accomodations for the trip, so I can't guarantee anything yet. I'll let you know if I have room though.

X? Based on some rough calculations, I get that it's an AE class motor (7 categories above X). This motor is to an X motor what a P motor is to an I. 😀

Glad to hear it was found, and in perfect condition too 😀 (Steve's right - the visibility was fantastic that day. I can't believe I kept sight of it all the way up to 25k and back)

Heh - it's a great example to use, and it does perfectly illustrate how often, the problem isn't what you think could go wrong, but it is instead what you didn't ever think could be a problem. I know ...

... unknown cause, appears nose cone may have come apart at Mach 2.5. Hmmm.... I wonder who that could be 😯

It's a neat rocket, that's for sure. I was part of a student team that had a payload on a Terrier-orion last year, and I went out to Wallops to watch the launch. It's amazing to see that kind of a roc...

More brainstorming: Have you calculated the differential pressure that your nosecone shear pins would have to withstand? Was the nosecone shoulder seated firmly against the airframe, to prevent your...

Definitely not. I looked at it fairly closely before flight, and it definitely wasn't ready to fall apart.

Fiberglass, yes, but no reinforcement. It was just a glass nosecone stock from PR. It's been up to ~M1.5 3 times before, and M1.8 once, and never had any issues. Apparently, 2.2 was too much though.

Did you get data? I wouldn't have thought it possible for a nosecone to fail before a tube or coupler, but I guess anything is possible. Maybe we could see what altitude it was at, and look for wind...

Did you get data? I wouldn't have thought it possible for a nosecone to fail before a tube or coupler, but I guess anything is possible. Maybe we could see what altitude it was at, and look for wind...

Warren: it shredded on the way up. Apparently, a PR 5 inch nosecone isn't terribly happy at mach 2.2. (My fins stayed on though :D)

Oh, I don't think there's any question whose will be more efficient 😀 Mine really couldn't be considered efficient in any sense of the word...