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Class | Pros | Cons |
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10K COTS | We've done it before so we know what to do as a baseline so we could better ourselves. It would be far cheaper. It would give us a chance to focus on other aspects of the rocket such as simulations and analysis or better manufacturing techniques. We aren't currently winning at the competition so it may be better to perfect a 10k then to move on and be a mediocre There's a lot more to a rocket besides going high that we can focus on (manufacturing techniques, avionics, simulations, presentations, etc.) We're far from the best 10k at IREC, it may be smart to first make better 10ks then move on to 30k.
| It would be just another 10k rocket. We've done it before so it's not expanding and making a higher goal it's instead staying at the same level. People might lose interestThere may not be enough substance in a 10k rocket to keep everyone engaged and interested. It wouldn't be as intense of a challenge. A lot more competition in this class as it's the most "basic" .
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30K COTS | It would test our skills in manufacturing because a higher apogee leads to less room for defects. A higher apogee would be interesting and a good talking point. People have already agreed on doing 30k. Fewer competitors in this category
| We haven't had a successful one before. More Much more expensive. Higher altitude and airspeed means less freedom of design - some things may need to be cut or shrunk, rocket can pretty much only be 1 shape.
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10K SRAD | Making our own motor would make the rocket more unique and it would bring in a different skill set to the team. There is less competition in SRAD than COTS. We've done it 10k before so we know what to do as a baseline so we could better ourselves. It would be far cheaper. It would give us a chance to focus on other aspects of the rocket such as simulations and analysis or better manufacturing techniques. We aren't currently winning at the competition for 10k COTS so it may be better to perfect a 10k then to move on and be a mediocre 30k. Less competition due to being SRAD. There's a lot more to a rocket besides going high that we can focus on (manufacturing techniques, avionics, simulations, presentations, etc.) - Working on propulsion development gives us more for people to do.
We're far from the best 10k at IREC, it may be smart to first make better 10ks then move on to 30k. If the SRAD part doesn't work we could always fall back to doing 10K COTS.
| We've never done SRAD motors so that would be a pretty huge unknown launched SRADs as a team., so it is an unknown Only one member is currently experienced in solids. Nobody on the team has the proper certs to launch an SRAD SRADs are harder to quantify, may make precise altitude targets tricky It's more work for the team.Getting people's interest and not burning them out.
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Vote Tally
Options | Vote Total |
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10K COTS |
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30K COTS |
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10K SRAD |
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Full Fiberglass vs Full Carbon Fiber vs Hybrid Mix
Options | Pros | Cons |
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Full Fiberglass | - Radio frequency can get through!
- We
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count - can use COTS tubes which would save on manpower.
- Easier to machine, (slightly) fewer safety concerns as well
- Fiberglass can be dyed, so no need for paint weight
| - Buying COTS tubes would be fairly basic
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, but learning winding fiberglass may be a hassle to do similar to how long it took for us to learn carbon fiber- Winding fiberglass may have unique challenges that we don't foresee.
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Full Carbon Fiber | It'd be made of uniform composition keeping to the theme of the name. We can manage carbon fiber manufacturing so it wouldn't be learning a new process from scratch. We still have the materials for doing carbon fiber.
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frequency transmission.The judges talked a lot against doing a black rocket so having one would not look good on us. |
Hybrid Mix | - We could allow for radio frequency to go through as well as still having the custom carbon fiber aspect.
- It would allow us to save money and use our previous resources.
| - Not having just one of the same type of material potentially creating fit issues in manufactured parts.
- Judges may see carbon fiber booster as a radio "dead spot" if rocket is overhead
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Vote Tally
Option | Vote Total |
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Full Fiberglass |
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Full Carbon Fiber |
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Hybrid Mix |
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Deployable vs Non Deployable
More complex therefore we could learn more.Options | Pros | Cons |
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Deployable |
It would allow for more elaborate payloads to be done.
Unique, judges like to see deployed payloads More complex, giving us more opportunities to learn
| We haven't successfully recovered one before. More complex, meaning it takes more man hours away from the rocket 1/2 - 2/3 of payload volume taken up by recovery systems - Likely more expensive due to redundant IREC-required tracking and deployment systems
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Non Deployable | Keep it simple which will potentially make it more successful. Ability to swap for a dead mass at any time and not worry about deployment issues. We don't have to deal with accidentally losing it in the desert.
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teamIt can be more restrictive for would be design wise Vote Tally
Options | Vote Total |
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Deployable |
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Non Deployable |
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Reaction Wheel:
Actual Science Payload:
Adding GPS Tracking to PayloadData Relay:
Adding Smoke System to Payload:
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Drone vs Rover vs "Black Box of Sensors" vs Deployable Mass vs Reaction Wheel vs Actual Science Payload vs Adding GPS Tracking to Payload vs Adding Smoke System to Payload
Options | Pros | Cons |
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Drone (Deployable) |
| - Very complex
- Licensing concerns
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Rover (Deployable) |
| - Very complex
- Rough Terrain
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Black Box of Sensors | Deployable Mass | Reaction Wheel | Actual Science Payload | and / or Vote Tally Electronics (Deployable or Non-Deployable) | - Simple and able to evolve based on team needs
- Inexpensive
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Deployable Mass (Deployable) |
| - Pretty much nothing learned from it
- Would likely not qualify for SDL (nonfunctional mass)
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Reaction Wheel (Deployable) | - Good way to add more mass to payload
| - May not be allowed under IREC rules
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Actual Science Payload (Deployable or Non-Deployable) | - Judges like to see real-world implications of what we do
| - Requires a lot of work and (probably) money
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GPS Tracking/Data Relay (Deployable) | - Judges like to see real-world implications of what we do
- Possible to do with COTS electronics
| - RF Black Magic Fuckery
- Populating more radio channels frowned upon
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Adding Smoke System to Payload (Deployable or Non-Deployable) | | - May be difficult to reach 9 pounds
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Vote Tally
Options | Vote Total |
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Drone |
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Rover |
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Black Box of Sensors |
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Deployable Mass |
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Reaction Wheel |
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Actual Science Payload |
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Adding GPS Tracking to Payload |
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Adding Smoke System to Payload |
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