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Radio Testing

Following a 1am finish the balloon team were back on hand Monday afternoon for some radio distance tests.

The transmission team went up to the Knockagh Moument which gives a commanding view over Belfast Lough while the receiving team travelled out on the other side. This was a test of both our payload radio systems and our ground two-way PMR radios.

First trial was to Cultra, about five miles.

Following a successful test here the receiver team moves to Helen’s Bay (six miles from the monument).

And following success there into Bangor (10 miles) which is about as far as we could get line of sight for.

Tests were hugely successful if not a bit cold.

Thanks to someone flying a drone nearby we also got some great aerial footage of our testing in progress!

All in all a very successful day, proving the wiring done the night before and some useful learning points using the software.

 

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Radio Assembly

For the balloon project we’ve been busy assembling all the parts together and testing. This led to a frenetic late night session at the marvellous Farset Labs where we were soldering and wiring until 2am.

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Hybrid Rocket Engine design version 1

Over the past week the engine team have been preparing designs for the hybrid rocket engine, the aim is to see if we can produce a net thrust from the engine. Different engine designs have been researched to find the most simple and most effective design.

We settled upon a cylindrical aluminium core to house the solid fuel with a chamber to allow the liquid fuel to flow. Attached to either end of the core is an end cap with an injector assembly and a nozzle to direct the expelled gases, both of which are interchangeable to allow for the test of various designs.

Initial engine deisgn

We also decided on materials for the nozzle and end cap, due to the higher temperatures they will be exposed to, they have to be made from a material with a higher melting point. Steel has been proposed for initial testing as it is cheaper than other materials and SHOULD withstand the heat and stresses subjected on it. For the actual engine, it would have a layer of graphite on the inside of the nozzle to withstand the stresses for a longer period of time.