SS1 Motor Mount

The motor mount in the SS1 is a very unique animal for high-powered rocketry. It is a pod that will be ejected out the rear end of the rocket sometime around apogee. This pod will not only contain the motor system, but also a parachute and recovery harness for the recovery of the pod. It is likely that the ejection events will be controlled by a two-event timer, one event programmed to eject the pod and the other event programmed to eject the parachute.

The forward section of the motor mount will include the balancing weight required to stabilize the boost. Calculations tell us that this will be a fairly significant mass. By ejecting the motor mount prior to the glide phase, we will significantly reduce the total weight by eliminating both the motor hardware and the required counterbalancing ballast.

Note that the design current has a parachute compartment located forward of the motor mount assembly. This is a back-up parachute for the airframe should the glide recovery systems fail.

This design is preliminary and is subject to change. One aspect of the design that is currently suboptimal is the distance of the balancing mass from the forward tip of the rocket. It may be necessary to move this weight as far forward as possible in order to bring the Center of Gravity to an acceptable location. If this is the case, the backup parachute compartment will have to be eliminated and the motor mount lengthened.

INDEX Introduction (narrative) First Flight Scale Dimensional Drawing Construction Package Fuselage Construction Nose and Engine Nozzle Airfoil Construction Vertical Stabilizers Horizontal Stabilizers Airframe Assembly Motor Mount Assembly Surface Finishing and Details Surface Prep Primer and Paint Field of Stars Decals and Markings Sponsor Recognition Glide and Recovery Package Recovery Operation Description RC Controls and Servos Avionics (Control Devices) Recovery Hardware and Components Ejection Testing Stability and Performance Parameters Motor Description Flight Simulations Launch Weight Launch Velocity Estimated Drag Coefficient Maximum Altitude and Velocity Glide Weight Wing Loading Center of Gravity and Center of Pressure RockSim Simulation Launch Pad Description Live Testing Reduced Scale Test Vehicles Design and Construction First Test Flight Second Test Flight Rick's SS1 Build and Flight Dave's SS1 Build and Flight 4" Test Glider 4" RC Boost Glider 'Wind Tunnel' Truck Test