New Motor, New Attempt at Recovery and Broadcast Testing (Space Enterprise at Berkeley)

October 7, 2023 Three weeks ago, the Berkeley team attempted to flight test their recovery system for their liquid bipropellant rocket. While matching the profile and materials of the liquid rocket as best as they can, which includes strong MJF 3D printed components and fiberglass, they use a simpler Aerotech commercial motor as their motive force. In their first attempt, the nozzle blew out, and Aerotech are sending a replacement after an RMA. In the meantime, they switched to a different motor they had on hand. Besides the recovery test, the team are trying to make sure they get reliable video feed using analog video transmission. Such a feature has a tendency to work in the lab, but not in the field, and so it's success is one of the critical goals of the flight. Rumor has it though, that Asa has gotten ahold of a much bigger motor, and may wish to fly it much higher than before.