For launch and onboard video of this flight, browse to the end of this page below.

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SM-2 Basic Launch Data:

Max Altitude:  7995 ft.

Max G force recorded:  11.433 Gs @ T+2.95s

Max Acceleration: 367.79 ft/s/s @ T+2.95s

Max Velocity: 915.18 ft/s @ T+4.65s  (624 mph) (Mach 0.8)

Apogee (~8000ft) at T+24s

ARTS Flight Computer fired the Main at T+78s @ 1900 ft  (Main did not appear to deploy from acceleration data)

Perfectflite Altimeter fired its Main at T+83s @ 1300ft (Main deployed)

Landing: T+155s

Launch Data (from Flight Computer reduced data):

Flight dynamics:  Rocket unexpectedly pitched over and rolled approx 2-3s into the flight (coincident with max acceleration).  Rocket then rolled 5 times before apogee.  Rocket was traveling at 135mph at apogee.  Apogee pyro charge imparted an additional 40 mph "push" to an already speeding Payload.  The drogue chute shredded.  At apogee, the booster separated from the Payload bay.  The Booster separated from the payload due to failure of both payload bay U-bolt and the Booster bulkhead.  The payload bay U-bolt was pulled through its 1/2" plywood.  Review of the ARTS accelerometer data shows a large spike in acceleration coincident with the Main Chute opening.  See the attached screen shot of the ARTS data.

If this is true, the Booster fell on its own from 8000ft.  Yet, the booster was found in relatively good condition.  From the impact area, the booster must have partially "flown" down.  Only one aft fin was sheared off.  The motor casing was unharmed.  The Booster airframe was intact except for two cracks from the forward tube section back about 24".  Damage is repairable.  Two of the stringer fins were sheared off on impact.  Both flight computers showed an anomaly at 1000 feet where the barometric data indicates a 65-100 foot drop in the altitude 2-5-3.5 sec into the flight.  This is likely due to an electronics bay pressure build up coincident with the maximum acceleration of the rocket.

The ARTS acceleration data superimposed on the barometric data also shows that the ARTS flight computer main pyro charge did not eject the parachute.  The backup charge at 1300 ft was the charge that deployed the main.  In this case, the PerfectFlite saved the flight!

Here are some frame grabs from my onboard video camera:

Launch Site.  Can you see the smoke?

Can you make out the aft fins of the booster?  But what is that "dot" following my rocket??

Clear picture of the booster after separation.  Shock cords and bulkheads still appear intact here.  Notice the seeming tangle of the tubular nylon around the rear of the booster.  The length of webbing did not seem to be needed in this case if it had the time to wrap itself around the rear of the rocket.

Booster pitches downward.  Shock cords are still paying out?

The shock cord is still in sight.  What is that white squiggly line behind it?

The red object is likely the drogue?  Not sure about the rest.

Here are the two successive frames from the onboard video that confirms booster separation:

Frame 1.

Frame 2.  You can just make out the booster and its trailing tangle of shock cord.

Click Here to Download the Launch Video  (5 Mb, 720x480x32bit 29.95 fps NTSC, 16kbps stereo file)

Click Here to Download the Onboard Camera Video (14 Mb, 320x240x24bit 13.33 fps NTSC, 11kbps audio file)

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