Team Rocket – CSE Senior Design

Team Rocket

Timeline

Summer 2019 – Fall 2019

Students

Alexander Pavlak
Rahasya Chandan
Nathan Reagan
Darion Adams
Brianca Washington

Background

Rocket Board is a system that collects flight data and provides tracking capabilities to model rockets. Rocket Board
will enable users to gather flight information about their rocket and provide GPS tracking capabilities
for rocket recovery.

Rocket Board is a sensor suite intended collect data on board a model rocket during flight. Rocket Board will be accompanied by a separate base receiver to receive flight data live. The receiver will then re-
transmit the data to a companion mobile app which will provide data visualization and GPS tracking
capabilities. The data collected from the sensor suite can be used to analyze flight performance and
inform future launch decisions.

Rocket Board is intended for use by hobby model rocketeers as well as in STEM classrooms. Model rocketeers will gain access to a wealth of information about the performance of their rocket previously unavailable to them. Educators in STEM classrooms will gain a fun and interactive tool to help teach
concepts of aerospace engineering and data science.

Project Requirements

1. The Rocket Board companion app shall provide visualization of all recorded data with respect to flight time.

2. Rocket Board shall communicate with a base receiver using FM radio transmissions.

3. Rocket Board shall provide its location via GPS module.

4. Rocket Board shall transmit flight data to to the companion app at least once per second.

5. Rocket Board shall have a companion application to provide tracking

6. Rocket Board shall record the altitude of the rocket at regular intervals.

7. Rocket Board shall not provide controlled ignition to the rocket motor. This will be provided by an external system.

8. Rocket Board shall detect and record the flight time at which the parachute was deployed.

9. The test vehicle shall weigh no more than 1 pound with Rocket Board installed.

10. The test vehicle shall fly on no more than 4 ounces of propellant.

System Overview

The Rocket Board will collect and send data at regular intervals from a model rocket while in flight.
The data will be collected from various sensors on the product and will be transmitted over FM radio.
A USB receiver connected to an Android smart phone will receive the data and will display it on the
accompanying application along with visualization of the flight path. A GPS module in the app will
allow the user to find the location of the rocket for easier retrieval. Rocket Board will not give constant
real time data, nor will it directly guide a user to their rocket. The whole system will involve three
primary parts: the physical board connected to the model rocket, the FM receiver, and the accompanying
application.