Rockets
Low Power
Frank
Flight 1

Flight 1

All launch attempts were made from the ROC launchsite in the Lucerne Dry Lakebed in Lucerne Valley, California on 2022-08-13.

Attempt 1

Frank was set up on pad A2 with an Estes B6-4 motor and an Estes igniter. Continuity was established and the igniter fired, but failed to ignite the motor. The igniter was retained for investigation, but no significant flaws were found to the igniter.

Attempt 2

A fresh Estes igniter and plug were installed in the motor, and a continuity test at the pad showed continuity, but the LCO (Launch Control Officer) reported no continuity upon testing. A launch attempt was made anyway, but was unsuccessful.

Attempt 3

Suspecting a failure of the pad wiring, Frank was moved to pad A1 and the motor and igniter were retained from the previous attempt. The igniter was removed from the motor, found to be physically intact, and was re-inserted into the motor and given a fresh plug. Continuity was good both at the pad and from the LCO’s controller, and Frank lifted off from pad A1 at 11:58.

As I put it at the time,

[…] The misaligned fins didn’t Proton-M it, thankfully, but it didn’t fly as straight as I would have liked.
— icannotfly (@sovietmoonbase) August 13, 2022

Proton-M here being a reference to a 2013 launch of a Russian Proton-M rocket which dramatically pitched over almost immediately after launch, resulting in an uncorrectable trajectory and the total loss of the rocket.

Despite the misaligned fins, Frank maintained a fairly stable trajectory, even if it did arc a little more to the west than I would have liked. Near apogee, the ejection charge fired successfully, but the friction fit failed to retain the motor. Both the nosecone and motor were ejected from the rocket, with the motor striking the ground only a few meters from me. The parachute deployed flawlessly and carried Frank gently down. No wadding was seen in the air post-ejection.

A photo of a white rocket, Frank, on a cracked, dry desert floor. The rocket's nose cone is off and its parachute has deployed. There is no damage to the rocket, but the motor is missing.

Frank, relaxing on the desert floor after its first flight. The motor is conspicuously absent.

When recovered, the motor was still hot to the touch. Several meters away, Frank was located and, upon inspection, still contained all the ejection wadding which had been packed into it. Later, the wadding was removed and found to be singed, but largely intact.

Since the amount of wadding used was within the manufacturer’s specs, all indications point to a failure of the friction fit as a method of motor retention.

Unfortunately, no video was taken on launch day. I had just gotten off a shift and rushed out to the desert, barely arriving in time to squeeze myself into the last few rounds of launches.

Outcome

Due to the potential for injury due to uncontrolled, flying motors should the friction fit continue to fail, Frank is grounded from flight until a more suitable method of motor retention can be devised and installed.

Frank