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In   February   2018,   Space   X   launched   their   rocket   Falcon   Heavy   for   the   first   time   and   it‘s   now   the   biggest   rocket   in operation.   But   besides   being   very   powerful   the   most   interesting   part   of   this   rocket   is   it‘s   reusability   -   the   first   stage   and the   boosters   can   land   back   on   earth   using   their   engines.   To   test   this   new   rocket,   Space   X   decided   to   not   launch   a   satellite but   a   Tesla   Roadster.   The   live   stream   of   the   launched   was   watched   by   millions   of   space   enthusiasts   around   the   world.   The most   exciting   moment   was   -   besides   the   return   of   the   boosters   -   the   separation   of   the   fairings   (you   can   see   the   fairing separation   in   the   video   at   1:02).      The   amazing   footage   of   the   Tesla   Roadster   in   front   of   the   earth   made   us   wonder   if   we were   able   to   achieve   a   similar   moment   with   a   water   rocket.   And   so   we   decided   to   try   our   best   to   build   a   mechanism   which would allow us to separate the fairing and to launch a mini Tesla.
THE INSPIRATION - FALCON HEAVY & STARMAN
EARLY CONCEPTS
The   technical   most   challenging   part   of   the   project   was   to   make   a   fairing   which   would   act   the   same   way   the   fairing   on Falcon   Heavy   and   most   other   rockets   does:   The   fairing   consists   of   two   parts   which   are   separated   and   fall   back   to   earth.     Thus, it should be possible to recreate the footage of the separation a with our mini tesla.
From     the     very     beginning     it     was     clear     that     the     mechanism     would     be manufactured    using    3D    printing    because    this    project    is    difficult    to    realize otherwise,   as   the   fairing   halves   have   to   fit   very   closely   together.   We   already   had experience   in   developing   3D-printed   parachute   systems   at   that   time,   so   we knew   roughly   what   to   do.   During   the   design   process   we   found   out   that   the separation   of   the   fairing   can   be   combined   very   well   with   the   ejection   of   a   probe or    a    CanSat.    With    the    Earth    Observation    Water    Rocket,    we    have    already successfully   ejected   a   small   CanSat   in   2017,   which   collected   separated   from   the rocket   various   environmental   data.   At   that   time,   however,   the   mechanism   was vulnerable   and   required   a   lot   of   preparation   time   before   the   probe   could   be started.   Our   experience   with   the   3D   printer   has   enabled   us   to   make   such   a mechanism   much   safer,   more   flexible   and   easier.   So   we   decided   to   launch   our mini-car   with   a   detachable   probe   -   this   means   that   the   Tesla   returns   separately from   the   actual   rocket   on   the   parachute.   The   advantage   of   this   system   is   a longer   flight   of   the   Tesla,   better   possibilities   for   the   camera   placement   at   the rocket   and   of   course   that   our   newly   developed   system   can   also   be   used   for other purposes than the launch of a toy car.
Earth Observation Water Rocket (2017) LEARN MORE  ABOUT PROJECT EOWR
LAUNCHING A MINI TESLA WITH OUR PAYLOAD FAIRING MECHANISM FOR WATER ROCKETS
19th June 2018
COMPONENTS
Rocket adapter
Probe with Tesla
Fairings
Is   mounted   on   the   rocket   and holds      the      probe      and      the fairings   in   position.   The   Tommy Timer   or   Servo   is   attached   to this part.
In   this   case,   the   probe   consists of   the   Tesla   and   a   casing   for the   parachute   and   an   onboard camera.
The      fairings      are      hold      in position    with    a    rubber    band, which      is      wrapped      around them.   There   are   little   hooks   on the     outside     to     prevent     the band from slipping.
FIRST FLIGHT ON 17TH JUNE 2018
Four   months   after   the   launch   of   the   Falcon   Heavy,   on   17th   June   2018,   we   were   finally   ready:   On   our   72nd   launch   day   we launched   the   Payload   Fairing   Mechanism   together   with   the   Tesla   onboard   the   modified   Arrow   2   rocket.   This   modified version   of   the   rocket   weighs   more   than   900g   at   launch,   as   it   has   two   onboard   cameras   in   addition   to   the   mechanism   and two   parachutes.   Besides   slight   wind   heights,   the   location   of   the   launch   site   in   Lampoldshausen,   which   was   surrounded   by high   corn   fields,   made   launch   conditions   difficult.   For   this   reason   we   decided   to   tie   the   Tesla   to   the   rocket   with   a   10m   long cord so that it would not get lost together with the onboard camera. We   launched   at   14   bar   /   200   psi   and   the   rocket   flew   straight   up,   where   the   fairing   mechanism   ejected   the   Tesla   as planned. Both the rocket and the Tesla landed at a shorter distance than expected from the launch pad.
DOWNLOAD THE MECHANISM
If   you   would   like   to   launch   a   payload   yourself   using   a   water   rocket,   you   can   download   the   payload   fairing   mechanism   files in our 3D printing area and adapt the mechanism to your own needs.
In   February   2018,   Space   X   launched   their   rocket Falcon    Heavy    for    the    first    time    and    it‘s    now    the biggest   rocket   in   operation.   But   besides   being   very powerful   the   most   interesting   part   of   this   rocket   is it‘s   reusability   -   the   first   stage   and   the   boosters   can land   back   on   earth   using   their   engines.   To   test   this new    rocket,    Space    X    decided    to    not    launch    a satellite   but   a   Tesla   Roadster.   The   live   stream   of the    launched    was    watched    by    millions    of    space enthusiasts   around   the   world.   The   most   exciting moment   was   -   besides   the   return   of   the   boosters   - the    separation    of    the    fairings    (you    can    see    the fairing    separation    in    the    video    at    1:02).        The amazing   footage   of   the   Tesla   Roadster   in   front   of the    earth    made    us    wonder    if    we    were    able    to achieve   a   similar   moment   with   a   water   rocket.   And so   we   decided   to   try   our   best   to   build   a   mechanism which   would   allow   us   to   separate   the   fairing   and   to launch a mini Tesla.
THE INSPIRATION
EARLY CONCEPTS
The   technical   most   challenging   part   of   the   project was   to   make   a   fairing   which   would   act   the   same way   the   fairing   on   Falcon   Heavy   and   most   other rockets    does:    The    fairing    consists    of    two    parts which   are   separated   and   fall   back   to   earth.      Thus,   it should   be   possible   to   recreate   the   footage   of   the separation a with our mini tesla. From    the    very    beginning    it    was    clear    that    the mechanism     would     be     manufactured     using     3D printing   because   this   project   is   difficult   to   realize otherwise,    as    the    fairing    halves    have    to    fit    very closely    together.    We    already    had    experience    in developing   3D-printed   parachute   systems   at   that time,   so   we   knew   roughly   what   to   do.   During   the design   process   we   found   out   that   the   separation   of the    fairing    can    be    combined    very    well    with    the ejection   of   a   probe   or   a   CanSat.   With   the   Earth Observation    Water    Rocket,    we    have    already successfully   ejected   a   small   CanSat   in   2017,   which collected     separated     from     the     rocket     various environmental data.
At     that     time,     however,     the     mechanism     was vulnerable   and   required   a   lot   of   preparation   time before   the   probe   could   be   started.   Our   experience with   the   3D   printer   has   enabled   us   to   make   such   a mechanism   much   safer,   more   flexible   and   easier. So    we    decided    to    launch    our    mini-car    with    a detachable    probe    -    this    means    that    the    Tesla returns   separately   from   the   actual   rocket   on   the parachute.    The    advantage    of    this    system    is    a longer   flight   of   the   Tesla,   better   possibilities   for   the camera   placement   at   the   rocket   and   of   course   that our   newly   developed   system   can   also   be   used   for other purposes than the launch of a toy car.
Earth Observation Water Rocket (2017) LEARN MORE  ABOUT PROJECT EOWR
LAUNCHING A TESLA WITH OUR PAYLOAD FAIRING MECHANISM
19th June 2018
COMPONENTS
Rocket adapter
Probe with Tesla
Fairings
Is   mounted   on   the   rocket   and holds      the      probe      and      the fairings   in   position.   The   Tommy Timer   or   Servo   is   attached   to this part.
In   this   case,   the   probe   consists of   the   Tesla   and   a   casing   for the   parachute   and   an   onboard camera.
The      fairings      are      hold      in position    with    a    rubber    band, which      is      wrapped      around them.   There   are   little   hooks   on the     outside     to     prevent     the band from slipping.
FIRST FLIGHT ON 17TH JUNE 2018
Four   months   after   the   launch   of   the   Falcon   Heavy, on   17th   June   2018,   we   were   finally   ready:   On   our 72nd   launch   day   we   launched   the   Payload   Fairing Mechanism   together   with   the   Tesla   onboard   the modified   Arrow   2   rocket.   This   modified   version   of the   rocket   weighs   more   than   900g   at   launch,   as   it has    two    onboard    cameras    in    addition    to    the mechanism    and    two    parachutes.    Besides    slight wind    heights,    the    location    of    the    launch    site    in Lampoldshausen,   which   was   surrounded   by   high corn   fields,   made   launch   conditions   difficult.   For this    reason    we    decided    to    tie    the    Tesla    to    the rocket   with   a   10m   long   cord   so   that   it   would   not get lost together with the onboard camera. We   launched   at   14   bar   /   200   psi   and   the   rocket flew    straight    up,    where    the    fairing    mechanism ejected   the   Tesla   as   planned.   Both   the   rocket   and the     Tesla     landed     at     a     shorter     distance     than expected from the launch pad.
DOWNLOAD THE MECHANISM
If   you   would   like   to   launch   a   payload   yourself   using a    water    rocket,    you    can    download    the    payload fairing   mechanism   files   in   our   3D   printing   area   and adapt the mechanism to your own needs.
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