Designing a Universal Deceleration System for Sounding Rockets Lighter than 100kg by System Engineering Approach

Abstract

For many years deceleration systems are developed in evolutionary fashion. This evolution needed flight test, and experimental data. This research deals with designing a deceleration system for a sounding rocket. It is mainly aimed at designing a universal deceleration system so that the payload touches the land with a safe velocity. To do so, first a deceleration system is designed for a 25kg payload in altitudes of less than 2km.Having considered flight equations for the sounding rocket and parachute, a number of parameters including recovery weight, landing time and velocity and maximum post-deployment acceleration have been computed for sounding rockets lighter than 250kg. Sensitivity analysis of the payload weight and recovery initiation velocity led to designing a universal deceleration system capable of recovering sounding rockets weighing between 25kg and 75kg with a landing velocity between l0 m/sec and 12m/ sec. Base on system engineering approach, universal deceleration subsystem is design for sounding rocket with various mass.