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2013-Oct-25 - On-board video

A project log for Rocketometer

Flight-proven Do-it-yourself Spacecraft

kwan3217kwan3217 04/05/2017 at 17:040 Comments

https://stkwans.blogspot.com/2013/10/rocket-flight-36290.html

This video shows the raw output of the two cameras on the rocket (the forward-looking camera footage is replaced by the more interesting exterior views during the launch) as well as three "instruments". The first one is a clock with a minute and second hand. The second is a velocity and acceleration gauge. The velocity is that reported by the radar data from the flight -- the rocket doesn't carry a GPS, as the range radar is more accurate. The acceleration is that reported by the Rocketometer. It shows 1G while sitting on the ground, even though the velocity is not changing at all, and it shows 0G in space, even though the velocity is changing by almost 1G as the rocket falls back towards the Earth. This is the same acceleration as would be felt by a hypothetical passenger on the rocket. The third instrument shows the flight track, and has an altitude readout. This altitude is again from the radar tracking data.

The highest acceleration during the boost was just over 12G, while the highest acceleration during the entire flight was during reentry, where the acceleration hit 21G and briefly saturated the low-acc sensor. The high-acc sensor recorded data the whole time, and caught the part of the flight that the low-acc sensor missed.

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