 We did it! Sunday April 11th at 3:30 pm our LV-1 rocket equipped with IMU sensor package and ATV transmitter was launched to an altitude slightly over 12,000 feet above ground level. The flight went well. All systems operated correctly and the rocket was retrieved completely intact and is ready to launch again. It was a near vertical flight. The Amateur Television transmitter gave us a live view of the entire flight, from motor ignition to payload touchdown (8 min 1 second). The flight computer streamed down real time data from the on board pressure sensor, 3 dimensional accelerometers, and 3 dimensional gyroscopes. The graphed data closely matches simulation data. Our altitude was a little higher than we expected according to the pressure and accelerometer data but we are not complaining. The recovery system worked nearly as planned and everything came down safe.The images we got back from the rocket are amazing! We had a great team out there and managed to set up the site, integrate the systems, launch, and recover the rocket and completely tear down in less than 24 hours. We really operated well as a team. We are now going through the process of analyzing our data and reviewing our flight and procedures looking for places to improve. We should also be updating the site on all our LV-1 data and schematics. Overall we consider LV-1 a success and are taking what we have learned from this and applying it to LV-2. |
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Data : |
Photo Gallery :
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The AESS / PSAS Team. |  |
Base camp for maiden flight of LV-1. |
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People start showing up Sunday morning. |  |
Launch Control Module and payload integration area. |
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Radio check. |  |
Glenn brings ATV equipment online in the LCM. |
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Matt gets range with laser transit. |  |
A little prelaunch coordination. |
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Running over the pre-launch script. |  |
Walk out to pad. |
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LV-1 loaded onto tower. |  |
Final launch rail adjustment. |
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Steve, Matt, Brian, and Jim pose with rocket. |  |
Lift-off !!!!! |
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Another view. |  |
Look up in the sky....... |
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Tracking the three recovery systems. |  |
Still up there, T+ 7 minutes. |
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Main body on 8ft hemisphere. |  |
Payload on 3 circular chutes. |
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This is how it landed......honest. |  |
Woooooo....Whhooooo!! |
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The crowd watches video replay. |
A big "Thank You" to all those family members and friends who made the long drive out to see the launch. Thanks for all the help and the moral support. It made a big difference.