Racoon Rocket Team

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In the Racoon Rocket project, students design, build and test a rocket that is propelled by the recoil of compressed liquids - commonly known as a water rocket. In this way, they deepen their theoretical knowledge and develop practical skills in the fields of aerospace engineering, aerodynamics and fluid mechanics as well as dynamics and mechanics.

In a series of sub-projects, students work in competitive teams on various aspects relevant to the flight of a water rocket. The long-term goal of the project is to bring the world record for the most powerful water rocket to Kassel.

The project is supported by the Fluid Mechanics (StM) and Technical Dynamics (TD) departments of the Institute of Mechanics. This cooperation between the two departments gives participants an insight into the different fields of work and research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and introduces them to interdisciplinary work.

What our project participants can expect

  • Calculation and design: Knowledge of mechanics is applied to define performance parameters of the rocket, formulate them mathematically and check them as part of experiments.

  • Design and construction: When designing and optimizing the components of the water rocket, students can get creative and apply their knowledge of CAD and construction technology to a real development project.

  • Digitization and electronics:  A powerful on-board computer is integrated into the water rockets by the students and control software is programmed.

  • Modeling and simulation: By using suitable models, the flight path of the rocket is calculated and simulated numerically.

  • Test flights: The performance and stability of the rocket are checked during test flights and the data obtained is used in an iterative process to further develop the rocket.

  • Data management: The findings of the various sub-projects are saved and systematically processed so that they can be used by project partners and future students to further develop the system.

  • Competition: Compete against other teams and show your skills in competitions where speed, precision and creativity are required.

The following milestones in the development of a water rocket are realized in project 1:

  1. Conception of different variants of rockets.
  2. Design and construction of a first missile
  3. Construction of a test to determine and optimize the thrust (TD)
  4. Investigations in the wind tunnel (StM)
  5. Rocket launch (FG + StM)
  6. Presentation (FG + StM)

In sub-project 2, the on-board computers of the rockets are to be implemented and telemetry data collected. Important sub-functions include parachute ejection for an accident-free return, orbit stabilization control, measurement data acquisition and transmission, etc. In addition, tasks in the areas of simulation / path planning, data processing, image processing, etc. are conceivable.

The main milestones of project 2 are therefore

  1. Development of a microcontroller-based on-board computer (TD/StM)
  2. Development and production of a parachute system (TD/StM)
  3. Rocket launch (rocket from project 1 available)
  4. Presentation and data management

An offer for project 3 is currently being developed.