Astrobee D Rocket Project
A Beginners Guide to Building the Aerotech Kit Modified for High Power Rocketry
Article, Construction and Photos by Randy Thomas (TRA #193, L-2/NAR #41301, L-2)
Copyright 1998 by Paratech Parachutes. Reprinted by Rocketry Online With Permission


INTRODUCTION:

Some rockets have a magical esthetic appeal, just as do some airplanes, cars, motorcycles and so on. The Astrobee D happens to be one of those rockets that just happens to look cool just sitting there doing nothing, and is also a very aerodyamically efficient rocket. Having actual Astrobee D fins, forward and aft launch lugs, the idea to fabricate a near or full scale version of this rocket for a level-3 Tripoli Rocketry Certification flight was born. To collect scale data to document such a project, the Aerotech Astrobee D Rocket Kit was purchased. The Aerotech scale plans, actual Astrobee D fins, lugs, and the book Rockets of the World by Peter Alway.

Having never built this rocket, the basic Aerotech kit would be used to gain experience for building a furture near or full scale version. The Aerotech kit is designed for flight with F and G motors. This project documents basic construction of the Aerotech kit, slightly modified to fly on 29mm diameter H motors, with 6 ft. cross chute recovery system, and an Emmanual Avionics IAX-96 integrating accelerometer payload board.

This is a fairly large scale model of an actual sounding rocket, which builds nicely, and is good choice for introduction to high power rocketry. This kit makes a good choice for a Tripoli Rocketry Level-1 certification flight. This project documents the constuction of a slightly modified Aerotech Astrobee D rocket kit designed to be flown on H motors. Randy used this rocket project for a successful Level-1 certification flight.

Figure 1: Thumbnail of Astrobee D (SN/002) ready for launch from White Sands on June 8, 1970. Scale data on this rocket is found in the Book Rockets of the World. 1st Edition, p. 198-199, by Peter Alway, Copyright 1993, and published by Saturn Press. Photo set of 4 color prints (4" x 6") available from Saturn Press. Thumbnail photo above is from this photo set.

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Part 1: Astrobee D Sounding Rocket Specifications
Part 2: Aerotech Astrobee D Sounding Rocket Kit
Part 3: Astrobee D Parachute Bridle Attachment
Part 4: Astrobee D Fin Attachment
Part 5: Astrobee D Payload Construction
Part 6: Astrobee D Parachute Specifications and Performance
Part 7: Astrobee D Parachute Construction
Part 8: Astrobee D Parachute Packing
Part 9: Installing Accelerometer Board
Part 10: Collecting Accelerometer Flight Data
Part 11: The Astrobee D Rocket Project Completed
Part 12 : The Astrobee D Rocket: Launching on "H" Motors
Part 13: Level-1 Certification Preparation
Part 14: Level-1 Certification Flight
Part 15: Additional Kit Modifications
Part 16: Astrobee D Rocket Parts
Part 17: Astrobee D NASA Flight Plans
Part 18: Astrobee D Rocket Performance Graphs