May 17, 2023
Building the Launcher One
There was a great amount of excitement for the first orbital launch from the UK. and I was really taken by the aesthetics of the Launcher One. I decided to build a scale model, and here we are.
The orbital launch attempt from the UK proved to be a failure. The rocket was lost due to a failure of the second stage. The first stage performed well and the rocket was recovered. The second stage was not recovered and the rocket was lost.
There was a great amount of excitement in the rocket community here and I was really taken by the aesthetics of the rocket. I decided to build a scale model, and here we are.
Design
The scale was decided based on the standard Loc Precision 4" airframe and after some initial simulations, I decided to go with a 38mm motor mount. This would allow me to fly the rocket on a variety of motors from H to J and still be in a sensible altitude for the flying sites here in the UK.
I initially looked a several tube options for the payload section, but in the end decided to print the entire forward airframe. This would allow me to have a flexible avionics bay that could be configured for single or dual deploy and allow multiple options for weight distribution.
The strength of the build is in the fincan and central support structure. The approach I've adopted recently for all of my scratch builds follwos the slotted fin/ centreing ring approach. This allows me to build a very strong structure that is easy to assemble and align.
and that was it