Holiday Updates/2019 Plans (Patreon)

Happy Holidays! I'm here with a few updates, and some plans for 2019. First, the updates.

Another batch of Signal R2 kits shipped out a week or so ago! Right now, the kits are all still hand built and assembled. BPS is out of stock and not taking new orders. I'd like to give things a few weeks to settle down before orders come back online. There's a small chance I'll push some updates to the flight software as well, mostly just routine improvements. Better user-error protection, production streamlining, etc.

After shipping those out, I set my sights back on propulsive landing! I've performed a few tests since "Landing Test 1" , but none have had major improvements. In fact, all three were performed out of 'necessity' since there were film crews in town to shoot material on BPS.space. I have a lot of feelings about this, and am turning down media opportunities like that for a few months. The decision to test only for show ended up with compromises all over the place, needless financial costs, and a departure from what I want this program to be, which is mostly self-documented.

That said, the most recent landing test was AWESOME. I'm stoked about it. Coupled with frustration about the last few drop tests, I got super meticulous with the preflight simulations and checks on this drop test, and it payed off. Echo hovered roughly a meter off the ground before dropping down and almost sticking the landing. Horizontal velocity was probably the main issue here, though ignition should have happened just slightly later during descent.

The test in question: https://youtu.be/lXy-x6lkQvQ

As for next steps, no more testing until I get that horizontal translation code worked out! I mention in the above video that "the simulation works" - I built a fairly accurate plant model of the vehicle in Simulink and played around with a few ideas on dealing with drift. I ended up liking the results I got from a PID controller(largely just I term), so the next step is to port that approach into C++ for the flight software. That should be all set around late January, then we'll go for another drop test.

In the meantime, I'm doing my best to film Ep 4 of Landing Model Rockets tomorrow, but it's going to be tight! I head home for a holiday break the day after. Ep 4 may end up being pretty long, I'm trying to bridge the gap between a super detailed tutorial on PCB design, and something fairly entertaining. If I can get it filmed tomorrow, the episode should be out next week. Otherwise, it'll be out the week after!

This post is going on for a while, but let's end it by looking forward a bit. 2019 is going to be fantastic. First, I'm convinced we'll stick the landing sometime next year, it has to happen! Once we get a few more drops dialed in, I'll move on to full launch/landing tests. Those are gonna be really hard to get right, but that's the obvious next step.

Does anyone remember Thrust McThrustFace? I do, and he's comin back. I'd like to certify up to NAR/Tripoli Level 2 next year, which that rocket should be capable of. The recent influx in support for the project allows for some larger rockets, and larger control systems like a high power reaction control/cold gas thruster system :) That means a brand new flight computer, lots of new hardware, and some fun control theory problems to solve.

I also have a set of pretty serious valves and hoses coming in the mail. I've been working with solid motors and avoiding liquids/hybrids for a while, but like I said, 2019 is gonna be crazy... 🔥

That's all for now, thanks for reading, and thanks as always for your support! Please let me know if you have any questions!

Joe