Dakota, Author at Castle Point Rocketry

News

Testing: Days 0 – 2

July 12, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

These last three days were dominated by the minutiae associated with launching a rocket. Sure, we did as much setup as possible beforehand. But there’s much more to do once the rocket actually gets here.

Day Zero: Packing Up

Tuesday, July 9, was particularly chaotic. Myriad administrative snafus demanded quick action from the whole team. Dakota grabbed a truck so we could transport our rocket. And, most pressingly, we needed to move everything out of our Griffith work space and go mobile.

Monica, Nathan, Ben, Dan, Will, and Dakota (behind camera) take a breather after lifting our rocket onto the dolly. More straps and plastic wrap were added to further reduce movement.

Due to everything else going on, we didn’t even get around to packing until 6:00pm. By that point, we knew we would be leaving late, but we hoped 1:00am would be the limit. Yet 1:00am came and went.

At 2:30am, we gently loaded the rocket into the truck. (Lift gates are a blessing.) It took all of the remaining six of us, but it happened without a snag. Come 4:00am, we were practically finished.

Our lab and rocket, all crammed into one 26′ box truck.

The lab looked lived in, but at least it was devoid of much our mess. And what better time than 4:00am to start 2.5 hours of highway truck driving?

Day One: Tying It All Together

Dakota scrambled into the driver’s seat. Ben and Rodrigo piled in and kept him company to Salem County. (And kept him awake.) After all, there’s that old saying: “Six eyes are better than two with a $500,000 rocket and boxed-up laboratory in tow.”

They arrived okay — and just in time to volley off the first round of calls to gas/cryogenic companies to confirm our delivery schedule. Starting at 8:00am on the dot, Dakota, Will, and Nathan were on the phone until noon. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for the team to assemble.

The shed at left will store our chemicals. Ground control is barely off-screen to the right. The test site is 2,000 feet behind the camera.

A brief team meeting preceded driving to the test site and setting up ground control. The remaining daylight hours were swallowed up by running 2,000 feet of fiber optic cable and cleaning out the on-site shed for our chemical deliveries.

Day Two: Finishing Touches

It took a little under 14 months, but it’s finally happened — Castle Point Rocketry has received a shipment of rocket propellant. (The oxidizing half, at least.) Shortly after a late start to the day, the first cryogen delivery came through: liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen. It’s a good thing we got that shed cleaned out!

For the rest of the day, we split up into small project teams. The test stand was bent and needed a quick weld — Rodrigo made short work of it. Over the weekend, the gantry hoist slipped on the muddy ground. We righted and reinforced it. Ben and Nathan focused on getting the avionics and valves attached and laid out.

CP Rocketry Test Site, featuring the Mayor’s Soy Beans

Though all parts of plumbing were screwed together, Will and Monica still had some tightening to do. They spent most of the day in the truck-lab working on the rocket. Dakota manned the ground control station, where there is WiFi and a view of the road, to finish up some remaining purchases and administrative duties.

The inside of our truck-turned-lab. (There are no chemicals stored inside.)

When interrupted by a small storm, we broke for lunch. Then, after three more hours in the sun, a massive thunderstorm rumbled in from Delaware. We took it as our cue to leave before it got dark out — but not without first getting absolutely drenched.

What’s Left

We’re zooming in on the first day of true testing. It’s highly likely that, after a delivery Friday morning, we will be testing Friday afternoon. In the meantime, the team still has a short laundry list of tasks to accomplish. First and foremost, we need to reestablish ground control. It kinda tipped over in the rain, and we had to rescue it.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for a live feed of testing. (Or the live feed itself.)

News

Ready to Test

July 9, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Here we go. The last fourteen months of work have all come down to this: testing. Over the last two weeks, we have traveled back and forth from South Jersey to inspect the site, set up infrastructure, and clear the area.

In the next 6 days, Castle Point Rocketry will be pursuing a rigorous testing schedule. The testing procedure is 65 pages… But what all will we be doing?

You’ll be able to follow along on live streams that we post to our social media pages. In case you’re still curious what we’re doing along the way, here’s a short explanation.

Phase One: Tank Testing

The first set of tests caters specifically to our experimental liquid oxygen (LOX) tank from Infinite Composites Technologies. Though the composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) is theoretically capable of handing pure oxygen at such cold temperatures and high pressure, we want to test it to be absolutely positive. That way, if we notice any problems, we can stop everything before we have it inside our rocket.

Our Tank Testing series consists of three tests. TT.01: COPV Cryogen Validation proves the tank can withstand cryogens at high pressure. (A gas is “cryogenic” if it can be turned into a liquid below -240°F .) Then, TT.02: COPV LOX Compatibility Validation and TT.03: COPV Cryogenic Pressure Validation step into chemical compatibility with LOX and a system at full pressure.

Phase Two: Full Stack Testing

The second set of tests is more complicated and involves more subsystems. Rather than just the LOX tank and its assorted plumbing, the next five tests incorporate the whole rocket — but don’t let it leave the ground. Computer, mechanical, and chemical systems all interact with one another to give the team an idea of the rocket’s performance.

Similar to the Tank Testing procedures, FST.01: Full Stack Pressurization Test and FST.02: Cold Flow Test simply ensure that everything can withstand operational temperature and pressure. Then, we introduce fire.

FST.03: Ignition Sequence Test is expected to be the longest test Castle Point Rocketry will perform. It is a critical juncture of the project, for limiting the time between when chemicals flow and when the engine ignites will conserve precious fuel and help us make it to the Karman Line. FST.04: Hot Abort Sequence Test then double-checks that, once turned on, we can turn it off as necessary.

Finally, the grand finale. FST.05: Full Stack Hot Fire Test. This test will be the most exciting, the most relieving, and the most Instagram-able. (So we’ve left room for it to happen twice.) Picture a rocket — without its nose or tail — strapped to the ground, straining upwards under full thrust. This test is essential not only to prove we can launch, but also to fully grasp the efficiency of our engine.

What Then?

And then, well, we pack up and go home. We’ll have a truck to return, a rocket to clean, and some data to send off to interested parties. Not to mention, we’ll be so ecstatic we probably won’t sleep for three days. (Or, alternatively, so ecstatic we will sleep for three days.) We have the future of this project to look forward to — including a launch looming in the near future.

News

More New Lab Space!

July 2, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Last week was a rather exciting time. Not only did we set up for testing, we moved our lab — twice. And all within four days.

Stevens is modernizing and expanding, so there are plenty of active construction sites around campus. You may remember that Castle Point Rocketry’s lab space in Griffith is right next to one. That’s why we had to move two months back. Early last week, we were notified of that construction zone needing to overtake our lab space for some finishing touches. We had to be out by Friday. So, we were offered another space in the basement of the Burchard Building.

The old machine shop in the basement of Burchard, after the first round of cleaning.

We went to look at the space. 200 extra square feet made the move enticing, but there was a lot of work that needed to be done. The school’s machine shop occupied this space for many years, so there were rust marks, flaky paint, and a fine layer of metal dust on every surface.

The team spent three nights up until 2:00am refinishing the room. We washed the walls. The floors were swept, vacuumed, rinsed, scrubbed, revacuumed, and squeegeed. We brought tables up and wrapped compressed air hoses up into the ceiling. Finally, it looked appropriate for our use.

Almost done cleaning — and our clean room up in the back.

The final play before moving all of our tools and rocket parts up was to set up the clean room. After all, bringing clean parts up from Griffith just to lay them on the floor of an old machine shop isn’t the best plan. Thursday night found Nathan and Dakota laying thick plastic siding and flooring, with Will and Tom adding a vestibule. We called it a night and headed out.

Friday morning, we visited another construction site — the one just outside Burchard. We wanted to use the rental truck to move our lab up all in one go, but needed permission first. In a whirlwind couple of hours, we found out that room was already promised to someone else… So our clean room was torn down, the tables were removed, and we skedaddled back down to Griffith.

And here we’ll stay for at least two more weeks. Sure, the excitement of new lab space was fleeting, but we won’t complain. No one can, with this view!

Home sweet home. Great for getting those creative juices flowing.

News

On the Road

July 2, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Castle Point Rocketry took its first official road trip. Destination: South Jersey.

The team packed up some supplies and drove to our proposed test site in southern New Jersey. Our goal was to survey the land, set up our test apparatus, and make sure our testing plan is viable. It only took us 27 hours, round-trip!

Our truck pulling out of campus — laden with test setup materials.

By far, the most difficult part of the journey was getting out of Hoboken. After the initial burden of getting through NYC metro traffic, though, the going was easy. Will, Nathan, Monica, Rodrigo, Dakota, and Tom made the 2.5-hour trek to our testing site and spent the night. Then, a full day in the sun lay ahead of us!

(Quick recap: The duckbill earth anchors keep everything on the ground so that we can measure thrust while the rocket engine fires. The gantry hoist pulls the truss upright.) While Will and Rodrigo focused on the logistics of securing our duckbill earth anchors into the ground, Tom and Dakota refinished the gantry hoist. The entire apparatus (test stand, gantry hoist, and trusses) was then laid our for placement and inspection. Luckily, we passed our own muster.

L-R: Our rental truck, the gantry hoist, the test stand, the truss, and a (unused) backhoe.

We were displeased when the evening’s forecasted rain came three hours early. That’s three untapped hours of perfectly good productivity! We securely wrapped all permanent features in tarps, then loaded up the truck before calling it a day.

Despite the early departure, we are happy with the day’s events. Among other things, we verified the land will suit our full stack testing and confirmed that our duckbill anchors need no doctoring for added support. And, just like that, the road trip was over. We skedaddled back to our Hoboken HQ to unpack and prepare for another full week of rocket science.

News

“Always Open”

June 24, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Those of you who follow us on Facebook may have noticed a quirk. Under the “About” section, just under the map of Hoboken, it says “Always Open.” This is no mistake.

Here’s a little peek into what we’ve been up to this weekend — at all hours of the day.

Tank Cleaning

As you may recall from a few weeks back, the vast majority of our propulsion system needs to be “Clean for Oxygen Use.” We have finished pipes, fittings, and adapters and are onto the bigger pieces: our tanks.

The helium and oxygen tanks we use were made special for us by Infinite Composites Technologies. We are rigorously cleaning both with isopropyl alcohol baths to dislodge any remaining construction materials from the inside.

Since the alcohol coming out is dirty, we also needed to clean it for reuse — about 34 liters (9 gallons) worth. Monica and Dakota spent much of Saturday vacuum filtering all 34 liters.

The process of vacuum filtration. Dirty isopropyl in the top, clean out the bottom.
We changed filters once every 2 liters — about when they started to look like this.

Load Cell Calibration

A by-product of last weekend’s Dry Run Mechanical Test, we are confirming all of our load cells work. In order to accurately measure the thrust of the rocket, we will attach it to the ground with cables. These cables will pull on our load cells, which tell us how much thrust the rocket has.

Ben was hard at work making sure the code was solid while Will used the engine hoist to test a few known loads.

Will’s load cell testing apparatus.
Ben working on code — as seen through the clean room walls.

Now that it’s Monday, Will, Tom, and Abe are out on Walker Lawn with the load cells and duck bill anchors. The anchors are being used to test the load cells, and vice versa. We want to make sure our duck bill anchors are rated properly. After all, the last thing we would want is for an anchor to come out of the ground during a test.

Fitting Tightening

Last but not least, we have our piping. As mentioned above, all of the propulsion subassemblies have been cleaned for oxygen use. Now, it’s just a matter of preparing them for testing and launch.

Our propulsion system has threaded joints from two rival piping standards: JIC (Joint Industry Council) and NPT (National Pipe Tapered). Each of these two standards comes in multiple sizes — and each size requires a unique tightening force. Larger threads require greater tightening force — as much as 100 foot-pounds.

Nathan and Will using two wrenches and a vise to tighten a JIC-12 fitting to specification.

In order to accurately tighten each joint, we use both a torque wrench and a crescent wrench. (One to twist, one to hold the rest of the subassembly.) For some subassemblies, more advanced methods are needed, though. In the case of particularly wiggly or oddly-shaped pieces, a vise is necessary to get a good grip. Thus the above picture outside the clean room — as long as the interior is not compromised, the outside of the subassembly can always be cleaned again.

A Little Fun

We also manage to have a little fun after a long day’s work. (And usually right before another long night’s work.) Friday night, we all stepped outside to enjoy a barbecue dinner. Because how else would we ring in the first day of summer?

News

Dry Run Testing

June 19, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

[This is a long article. If you’d like to see just pictures and videos of our tests, check out our YouTube and Facebook pages!]

Last week, Castle Point Rocketry had two full days of testing. We verified our mechanical and avionics systems to ensure full preparation for the next round of testing: propulsion. In propulsion testing, we will light the rocket and measure the thrust it produces. It was necessary, then, that we check to make sure the test apparatus works (and can support the weight of the rocket) beforehand.

At the end of the second day, we had a fake rocket towering into the night sky.

It took all of both days, but the test was a success. We strapped a 500-pound surrogate rocket to the test stand and raised it from horizontal to vertical. In the dark!

Day One: Wednesday

We started the day by needing a U-Haul. Our lab in Griffith isn’t too far from Walker Lawn, where we were testing, but hauling a literal ton of metal up the hill sounded … none too fun. Luckily, we had some lifting help from Stevens Physical Plant and some traffic direction by Stevens Police.

Officer Gamez of the SPD posing with the team after helping us back in.

Avionics

The big focus of Day One was making sure all of our Avionics and Ground Control systems worked. To do so, we needed to take over a classroom, too. Ben found an empty room not too far away, overlooking the mechanical proceedings on Walker Lawn. Our ground control station was set up, and the wires started running!

All the wires serve three purposes: valve actuation, transducer reading, and real-time image processing. So far, the project has grown to incorporate 27 instruments. Eight of these require active actuation, and six send signals to ground control.

After double-checking that the radios worked (another important electronics test), Ben and Faris actuated each valve in the order that they will be used in testing. Though we didn’t have any temperature and pressure sensors set up, Ben also made sure the sensor code was running. Finally, we set up each of our three cameras — one real-time, one slo-mo, and one thermal — and they each came up on-screen!

Avionics Dry Run Testing: Successful.

Mechanical

Mechanical systems were being assembled throughout the avionics tests. All hands were on deck to set up the gantry hoist, test stand, and aluminum truss.

Rodrigo, Will, and Abe working on the test stand.
Will climbing the gantry hoist to adjust the winch.

These three metal structures will serve as the backbone for our propulsion testing. To restrict movement under fire, the rocket will be bolted to the 30-foot-long aluminum truss. (And tied down, twice-over.) In turn, the truss is bolted onto a short steel structure called the “test stand.” It sinks into the ground to provide added stability. In order to raise the truss, several cables run to another nearby steel structure: the “gantry hoist.” Equipped with a heavy-duty winch, it pulls the truss and rocket into place atop the test stand.

This process of raising the truss is what we tested. After a few preliminary tests and some iterative construction:

Checking calculations with a third of the truss section.
Supporting the whole truss before it goes up.

Some small edits to the gantry hoist before another pre-test. (Video has no sound.)

It went all the way up!

(Pardon Dakota’s yelling.)

By the time it came back down, it was nearing dark and threatening to rain. So we packed up and vowed to raise a weighted truss another day!

Day Two: Friday

It rained all day Thursday. Bummer. Luckily, we had the lawn reserved Friday, too. So we got back out there at 9:00am and went to work!

Step One: Check Everything

Even though everything had been set up on Wednesday, we needed to make sure everything was ship-shape. Even the slightest wiggle room on a bolt could send the whole thing crashing down. Not optimal.

Deputy Chief DiGenova of the SPD making sure our Test Stand was in peak shape.
Making sure the gantry hoist’s support cables were taut before testing.

Once happy, we jumped ahead to where we left off: Adding weight to the rocket. Our first subject? Our very own Abraham Edens.

Step Two: A Small Amount of Weight

It didn’t take much coaxing before Abe was hanging upside down. Who doesn’t want to say they’ve hung like a koala from a truss and elevated eight feet in the air?

Abe being raised to Height #1 for the first time.

To check all of our structural components, the truss first took Abe up to about six feet, then up to eight. Twice. (You can see more in the time lapse video below.) After Abe had had his fill, we gave Tom a go as well.

But all this wasn’t just eight college kids goofing off with a 30-foot truss. There was actual science behind it. Before loading up our testing equipment with 500 pounds of wood and concrete, we wanted to be sure that it could repeatedly lift human-sized cargo. And it’s a good thing we tested it out first. We were successfully able to raise both people, but the winch slowed down to a snails pace. This indicated we would need more powerful equipment for the full rocket.

Time lapse footage of both of Abe’s adventures up the truss. (Video has no sound.)

Step Three: Time to Buy Some Stuff

We took a lunch break. After all that heavy lifting (and being lifted), it was time to eat some food. We also took the chance to buy a heavy-duty winch — then the car battery to operate it.

Will and Nathan got to work installing the new winch atop our gantry hoist. Once it was up, we were all ready to go.

Step Four: Fake Rocket, Real Results

500 pounds of concrete is heavy. Our 2-ton pneumatic engine hoist was busy elevating the aluminum truss, so we lifted and moved the fake rocket by hand. Talk about a workout. Coupling the surrogate rocket to the truss required moving it ten feet to the west, then elevating it while another team member temporarily secured it with ratchet straps. Then, three linear rails permanently mounted the rocket to the truss.

But after all that grunting and sweating? We got to stand back and watch this:

Pardon the abrupt switch from landscape to portrait. (Video has no sound.)

So, there we were. Eight rocket engineers standing out on Walker Lawn at 11:45pm on a Friday night. Covered in mosquito bites, still sore from lifting a fake rocket, and getting kinda hungry again. But in front of us was solid proof that our testing structures would support the weight of our rocket.

Gazing up at the fruits of our labors at 11:45 Friday night.

In fact, the fake rocket we lifted weighs more than the rocket parts we will use in testing. The dummy rocket’s 500 pounds accounts for the weight of the entire rocket — when, in testing, we won’t be adding the fins, nose cone, or fuselage. So, really, we have a built-in Factor of Safety greater than 1.0!

Step Five: Teardown

As much as we all could have stood there for hours just gazing up at it, we took it down in a hurry. After all, it was nearing midnight and all of us were tired from two long days of testing. We packed up the U-Haul with all of our materials, leaving behind only the test stand, rocket, truss, and pneumatic hoist for Saturday morning.

Though it looks like someone landed a plane on Walker Lawn, this is what our testing apparatus looks like all wrapped up!

We found out it took even more work to take the rocket off the truss than it took to get it on. So the remaining construction was wrapped in a tarp, and we finished taking it apart the next day. And just like that? We called it a successful Dry Run Test.

Uncategorized

Dry Run Test #2 (Teaser)

June 14, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

It’s June 14th! You’ve caught us mid-test! So, let’s break these last few days down…

4,000 square feet of grass. 2,000 feet of fiber optic cable. 1,200 feet of Caution tape. 770 cubic feet of U-Haul space. 120-volt generator. 30 feet of truss.

10 seconds from the heart of campus. 9 o’clock start time. 8 team advisors. 7 valves. 6 visitors and counting. 5 walkie-talkies. 4 days. 3 structures. 2 tests. 1 fake rocket.

Keep an eye on our Instagram (@cprocketry), Facebook, and blog to see how it goes!

News

Industry Advisor Review

June 14, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

It was June 10th, 2019. A thick, foggy mist had swallowed up New York City. Hoboken traffic was, unsurprisngly, backed up half an hour. And in the back of a machine shop at Stevens Institute of Technology? Nine rocket enthusiasts were ironing out a testing procedure.

Castle Point Rocketry invited our industry advisors, Rich and Luke, in to review our final testing procedure. Somehow, there were still some introductions to be made, too!

Rich Kelly (left) and Luke Colby (right) introduce themselves before we get to work.

Luke Colby is the President and CEO of Triton Space Technologies, providing engineering design services out of Boston, Massachusetts. Luke has been advising our project by phone since Fall 2018, but we have never met in person. His company also manufactured a handful of valves that will travel aboard our rocket.

Rich Kelly is a Senior Project Engineer with Valcor Engineering, based in Springfield, New Jersey. Due to Valcor’s proximity, he has visited our lab many times over the last few months. And they also manufactured several valves we will be launching into space!

After introductions, we quickly showed Rich and Luke the latest work we had done on the rocket. Then, it was down to business.

Sitting down to hammer out the details of chemicals testing.

We crowded around an imaginary table in our makeshift conference room. (Spoiler: It’s our lab with a portable projector screen.) We had less than six hours to go through the entire 64-page Propulsion Testing Document, so… there was little time for games. (There was, however, time for lunch. Self-care is important and, as Rich reminded us, “The food’s not getting any warmer!”)

The team led Rich and Luke through our testing plan page by page, halting when there were questions or suggestions. After reviewing three tank tests, five full-stack tests, and ten procedural methods, we reached the end of our packet. We called it a day, but Luke and Rich left us with a few pointers. Among other things, the team is revising our waste management plan, redesigning the igniter (again!), and renting more robust pressure regulators.

Just some happy nerds doing space stuff.

It was then time to set our sights on the next big exciting task: Dry Run Testing!

Uncategorized

“Clean For Oxygen Use”

June 11, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

We can all probably agree with the relative levels of cleanliness. Around the bottom of the scale, there’s “I Am Comfortable Living In This.” A little more clean, you probably find “Company is Coming,” closely followed by “My Parents Are In Town.” Near the top of your list, you probably find “Apartment On The Market.”

“Clean for Oxygen Use” may top the charts. It’s certainly not a household standard.

Bottom shelf: Unclean. Top shelf: Clean.

This cleaning method is the entire reason we constructed our clean room. Much of our rocket will come into contact with high-purity oxygen, whether in liquid or gas form. Gaseous oxygen loves lighting things on fire, and liquid oxygen freezes most substances solid — so we need to be sure everything is as clean as humanly possible. To do so, we have a six-step cleaning process.

Step One: Alcohol Bath

After we identify a subassembly to clean, we remove each piece from storage. We bathe each individual fitting, pipe, adapter, and valve in isopropyl alcohol. (That’s the same alcohol you put on wounds to clean them.) For 12 minutes, they rattle around inside an ultrasonic chamber. By vibrating them very, very quickly, the machine dislodges defects, dust, and other gunk that is clinging to them.

Our ultrasonic bath is located on the left.

Isopropanol is also a dehydrant. This agitation bath ensures every out-of-the-way nook and cranny is water-free. Any water left in the system would freeze in contact with cryogenic liquids, decreasing functionality and making the rocket explosion-prone.

Step Two: Nitrogen Purge

After they’re removed from the bath, each part is individually inspected for remaining debris.

A tee junction during the nitrogen drying cycle.

Then, every part is dried with a pressurized jet of filtered nitrogen. Not only does this ensure no isopropyl alcohol is left on the part, it blows away any remaining foreign materials.

Step Three: Alcohol Rinse

As if Step One weren’t enough, we then subject each component to yet another round of alcohol. This time, the isopropanol is targeted in a stream. The entire part is washed beneath a squeeze bottle before moving on to Step Four.

A tee junction having an isopropyl alcohol shower.

Step Four: Nitrogen Purge

More drying! Like most alcohols, isopropanol is flammable so we need to make sure each part is bone-dry before assembly. This last round of nitrogen is usually enough to get the last bits of stubborn junk off of our fittings.

Step Five: Critical Inspection

Once the second nitrogen blow-down is complete, we are fairly certain nothing remains. But just to be sure, though, we inspect each piece from every angle for leftovers. Inside and outside, nothing is allowed to escape our prying eyes. And on the off-chance we still find refuse holding on? We restart the whole process from scratch. We bought smaller ultrasonic bath just for that purpose.

Step Six: Assembly

Finally, we are sure that our parts are Clean for Oxygen Use. We bubbled, tossed, dried, washed, and dried most everything (and even brushed some with a high-grade pipe cleaner), and it’s time to put the pieces together. One by one, being sure not to stir the air or drop anything, the rocket starts taking shape. We have 24 subassemblies ranging in size from one component to thirteen.

One of the subassemblies we will be using for tank testing.

Each über-clean subassembly is then given a new home on the high shelf in our clean room. Small subassemblies are bagged and given a unique name so they don’t get confused down the road.

And that’s how you make a rocket Clean for Oxygen Use!