High Power Rocketry Technical and Regulation Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering Canadian high power rocketry regulations, motor physics, flight stability, and safety protocols based on lecture notes.

Total Impulse (Canadian Regulation Limit)

The threshold at which rocket motors fall within the Requirements for Launching High Power Rockets in Canada, specifically in excess of $40,960\,N-s$.

Regulatory Approval Agencies (Canada)

Organizations responsible for authorizing High Power Rocket motors in Canada, including Natural Resources Canada - Explosives Division and Transport Canada.

Natural Resources Canada (Role)

The regulatory government agency responsible for approvals for the use and storage of rocket motors.

Total Impulse (Definition)

The sum of the total impulses of all the rocket motors used on the rocket.

High Power Rocket

Any rocket weighing more than $1500\,g$ ($3.3\,lbs$), having a total impulse greater than $160\,N-s$, or requiring a means of retarding its rate of descent to Earth.

Airframe Construction Materials

Lightweight materials including wood, phenolic, fiberglass, plastics, and metals used to build high power rockets.

Black Powder Propellant

A type of propellant that ignites faster than composite fuel, is single-use only, and cannot be bought as reloads.

Composite Propellant

A propellant more than twice as powerful for the same weight as black powder, requiring heat and pressure to build up ignition, and available in reload kits.

Manufacturer's Guarantee

A protection voided if the user modifies the motor casing of a commercially manufactured rocket motor.

Ammonium Nitrate

The most common oxidizer used in solid reloadable rocket motors.

Ideal Hybrid Rocket Motor (Orifice Change)

A configuration where changing to smaller or fewer injector orifices with the same oxidizer weight results in constant total impulse but decreased average thrust.

Nitrous Oxide ($N_2O$)

The most common oxidizer used in commercial hybrid rocket motors, available at most high performance automobile shops.

Boiling Point of Nitrous Oxide

The temperature at atmospheric pressure where nitrous oxide boils, specifically $-88.5^\circ C$ ($-127.3^\circ F$).

Critical Temperature ($N_2O$)

The temperature above which pressurized nitrous oxide changes to a gas, specifically $36^\circ C$ ($97^\circ F$).

Nominal Tank Pressure ($N_2O$)

The pressure of a nitrous oxide hybrid motor at $24^\circ C$ ($75^\circ F$), which is $4971\,kPa$ ($721\,PSI$).

Complex High Power Rocket

A rocket categorized by being multi-staged or propelled by more than one motor.

Copperhead Igniters

A specific type of igniter that requires the greatest current ($3\,A$) to initiate.

Igniter Placement (Composite Motor)

The requirement that the igniter must be placed at the top of the core in a composite motor.

Parallel Wiring

The required wiring configuration for igniters in a rocket powered by a cluster of motors.

Electric Match Igniters (Sensitivity)

Igniters that are susceptible to accidental discharge by static electricity.

Stable Flight Condition

An aerodynamic state where the center of gravity (CG) is located in front of the center of pressure (CP).

Static Stability Measure

The distance between the CG and CP divided by the body diameter; stable rockets should have the CP at least $1.00\,\text{caliber}$ behind the CG.

Barrowman Equations

Equations used to calculate the Center of Pressure (CP), though they are often incorrectly associated with calculating drag.

Shifting CG Forward

The act of moving the center of gravity toward the nose by adding weight to the nose, lengthening the rocket, or using a smaller (lighter) motor.

Shifting CP Aft

The act of moving the center of pressure toward the rear by making the rocket longer, using larger fins, or increasing the number of fins.

Coefficient of Drag

An aerodynamic value that increases as the length of the rocket airframe increases.

Progressive Burn

The safest burn rate for a rocket whose thrust-to-weight ratio is marginal.

Maximum Mass Calculation (4:1 Ratio)

The formula used to find safe lift mass: $m = \frac{\text{Thrust}}{4 \times 9.8\,m/s^2}$.

Vent Hole

A hole drilled in the body tube to prevent premature ejection of the nose cone or internal vacuum issues during flight.

Redundant Recovery System

A mandatory secondary ejection method required for rockets with a mass exceeding $5\,kg$.

Prohibited Payloads

Items that may not be flown on high power rockets, including incendiary devices, explosive devices, and live vertebrate animals.

CAR/ACF Qualified Rocket Inspector

The individual who must inspect all high power rockets prior to their flight.

Minimum Site Diameter

A safety requirement established in accordance with the safe distances specified for each motor type’s total impulse, starting at a minimum of $500\,m$.