Launches
We have tested through three iterations of Ares, each time making improvements over the last. We launched in Anza Borrego desert all three times.
Launch #1
Our first launch represented our foray into advanced rocketry. We were welcomed by 30 mph wind. Amazingly, our rocket went pretty high, but it didn't seem to counteract the wind as much as we had hoped. Unfortunately, parachute charge delay was too long, and it deployed right before the rocket hit the ground - too late.
Launch #2
At our second launch, there was very little wind, and the rocket likely would have worked if it weren't so aerodynamically unstable. While this test may look like an abysmal failure, it served to show the function of the emergency parachute logic, which kept the rocket in largely one piece.
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Launch #3
At the third launch, the wind was so high we had to set up the launchpad behind a large bush to keep things from flying everywhere. Despite this, the rocket was able to stay upright because of its active stabilization. At the apogee of the flight, the motor runs out of fuel, and due to the subsequent lack of active stability, the rocket tips horizontally and triggers the emergency parachute. Overall, this flight demonstrated the usefulness of TVC at a model scale to fight wind and maintain a vertical angle.
