Update: April 9

We launched our rocket on Monday for its qualification flight for TARC. Unfortunately, the parachute failed to deploy and the rocket was lost. Therefore, we will not be entering into the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

We would like to extend out our thanks and gratitude to the KCAR members who have helped us out on our project. We wish that it could have gone better, but it was still an invaluable learning experience for all of us. Thank you again for you time and help on our project.

-Project Shockwave

Progress

We have started work on our final rocket. Other than having a mishap with the coupler in terms of its size, we are on track and we expect to have completed construction by the end of the week. There is the potential that we will launch as early as next week.

Target Launch Dates

Our target launch dates for testing our 5 prototypes are to start next week. We intend to launch on most of the following dates:

15 November, 2007
19 November
20 November

We are currently focusing on accomplishing tasks leading up to our Open House tomorrow (Thursday) at Olathe Northwest. If you wish to come and need details, feel free to e-mail me at 634jpknightly27@students.olatheschools.com

We expect to have built all of our prototypes by next Wednseday, 14 Novevmer 2007.

Brief Update

It's been a while since we posted last, here's a brief summary of what we have accomplished.

Currently, we are working on our Final Design Summary which is the last step before actual construction begins. We expect to start building in the next week or so once our body tubes get in and to have most of our building completed after about 2 weeks. Once construction has been completed, we will begin testing the rockets and narrow it down to the top 3 rockets based on, but not limited to, flight time, safe return of the cargo, and overall performance. Before Thanksgiving, we expect to have narrowed it down further to 2 rockets and we will know shortly after which one we will use as our TARC design. A more detailed schedule should be available in the next day or so.

That's where we stand, and we're making good progress.

Project Timeline (Tentative)

September 13 - Preliminary Design Review (with mentors)
We are currently in the process of locating mentors from a variety of locations, including the local NAR chapter and regional universities.

September 18 - Changes to Preliminary Design Review completed

September 25 - Prototype design and preparation complete

October 4 - Final Design Summary

October 8 - October 18 - Fabrication of prototype

October 22-25 (Tentatively) - Start first round of testing for TARC rocket
Testing depends on the completion of the rocket prototype and weather.