A Word from The Execs
Hello everyone and welcome to the April edition of our ANU Rocketry Newsletter! The month of April has been very busy for the team. We have held three launch events: two Low and Medium Power Rocket launches and one High Power Rocket launch, all of which were very successful. More than half the team launched rockets to various altitudes of up to 3000ft. It was a great start to the 2022 launch season with the Canberra Rocketry Group (CRG)!
April also saw the continuation of the Rocketry Roadmap Program. The recruits’ designs are well underway with each team having begun manufacturing their medium power rockets. We look forward to watching their designs take to the skies during our June LPR launch hosted by the CRG.
Our Propulsion team is cooler than ever, with the liquid fuel test stand undergoing cryogenic testing using liquid nitrogen at the Holcim Quarry in Queanbeyan. This was a massive achievement for the team which will bring us one step closer to a hot fire test for our liquid engine in the near months.
Looking onwards, in May we will be finishing off our Roadmap Program as well as integrating the recruits into the larger team and beginning work on our Spaceport Vehicle.
We are keen to see what our new recruits can do as part of the wider team and how we can further deliver the ANU student experience.
Saakshi, Luan and Harry
Structures
Over the last month, Aerostructures and Recovery have made progress towards our L1 Composite Rocket Project that is set to launch in June. We have made a collection of fibreglass tubes and a carbon fibre sheet, completed several lathe and mill inductions, and a little bit of sanding. We have learnt so much from these processes including little tips and tricks to perfect each technique.
Over the next couple weeks, we are looking to finish off the L1 Project by manufacturing a fibreglass nosecone and a plethora of machined bulkheads and centring rings. Additionally, we are looking forwards to some of the new recruits joining us soon and doing an explosive blend of inductions, layups, and sanding!
Propulsion
Propulsion team had a huge month, after months of build up and work we successfully completed our cryogenic flow test. This involved all elements of the team members to contribute so much excellent work on our hardware, software, and electronics. All that work came to ahead when we successfully filled and fired our Liquid Oxygen Test Stand using Liquid Nitrogen at 600 PSI. This proved the system can operate at cryogenic temperatures and at the pressure capabilities of the test stand.
We also completed construction of our engine stand, allowing us to begin construction on engine fitting to the stand.
Both the stand’s construction and the successful cryogenic test are huge steps for the team. Completion of these tasks means we can move into engine testing and eventually into a hot fire test.
Thank you to the whole propulsion team; your time, passion, and effort for this project has shown throughout its duration. We would not be at this stage without you.
Simulations
We are well into designing our Spaceport 2023 rocket! The design steadily evolved from a tiny but mighty minimum diameter rocket that hugged the motor, to a thicker, more controlled design incorporating some inspiration from our previous rockets, Aurora and Halo. We’re extremely proud of our documentation which every member has made their mark on. Split into stages, we have detail requirements, design analyses, comparisons, and conclusions, in one neat, organised place. We extend our thanks across ANU Rocketry for the expertise and support we’ve received, and I of course congratulate our amazing members for their hard work!
Safety and Legal
This month we’ve begun our researching the laws we will need to follow in order to launch a liquid fuelled high power rocket to 10,000 feet! This research will lead to our hopefully launch of our future Space Rocket, as the legislation overlaps for both types of launches. Huge shout out to Adina Darbyshire for her consistency and drive even throughout exams!
Partnerships and budget
April saw our team members getting more hands on in the workshop and trying something new. Shoutout to Luke Bennett for attending multiple launches in the past month; rest in peace to his low-power rocket Betty who had one too many flights.
In terms of finances, we have steadily continued our efforts in maintaining a tidy budget, cross-checking our references with the universities to ensure everything is accounted for. Finlay has been working hard at reaching out to potential sponsors, and is currently drafting a press release in collaboration with the Marketing & Outreach members to promote our team. We are currently looking for more sponsors, so if you are interested, please send us an email. Thank you!
Marketing and Outreach
Over the course of this month the Marketing and Outreach Team has been hard at work keeping up with all of the goings on across our sub-teams. Our social media has been showcasing our roadmap, workshop sessions, LPR launches, HPR launch and cryo test. We have been boosting our Linkedin and have also started an ANU Rocketry TikTok, follow us at anurocketry!
Our members have been attending and launching at both our LPR and HPR launches with many looking to complete certification at future HPRs. We look forward to seeing our business team members get more involved with the technical side of rocketry as our team continues to push for interdisciplinary excellence!
