SPORT ROCKETRY MAY/JUNE 2017 25
YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR MISSION!
Figure 9. The landing sensors
detect surface contact when any
spring is crushed and makes
contact with a piece of piano
wire inside the spring.
like opening an inverted umbrella. The ex-
tended mat would provide a suitable envi-
ronment for rover deployment. Figure 10
shows the completed lander with the fabric
mat attached to the deployed legs.
The Airframe
"Mestler"
I considered making a fiberglass air-
frame; however, I prefer something I can
work with in the house, specifically in
my office, where my inspiration generally
thrives. Most my successful brainstorming
and assembly occurs between 9:00 PM and
3:00 AM. That being said I went with LOC
Precision 5.5" cardboard tubing. The air-
frame was born from their Big Cletus kit
and was modified almost completely by
the time I was done with the project. The
vehicle build is unique and presented sev-
eral engineering challenges. The airframe
was split into upper and lower assemblies
separated by a 32" payload bay (for the
lander). The upper and lower assemblies
were connected by two 0.75" aluminum
struts that were attached to reinforced
centering rings in each of the upper and
lower assemblies. There were two payload
bay doors that sealed the lander and pro-
vided additional structural support to the
airframe during launch. The basic airframe
structure is shown in Figure 11.
The payload bay doors were secured
