Senior Design Project 2008-2009

1. Rocket-Launched Reconnaissance UAV Senior Design Project 2008-2009

2. Team Summary Aerospace Club: Senior Design Project 2008-2009 William Runge Senior, Mechanical Engineering President, Chief Engineer, Webmaster w.runge@vanderbilt.edu Kyser Miree Senior, Mechanical Engineering Vice-President, UAV Fuselage Design, Technical Writer kyser.miree@vanderbilt.edu Tyler Lamb Senior, Mechanical Engineering UAV Wing Design, Fiberglass Fabrication Thomas Bowden Senior, Mechanical Engineering Rocket Design, Carbon Fiber Fabrication Thomas Carroll Senior, Mechanical Engineering UAV Imagery Systems, Outreach Ben Havrilesko Senior, Mechanical Engineering Rocket Electronics, Fabrication Matt Heller Senior, Computer Engineering Airborne and Ground Electronics

3. Project SummaryRocket-Launched Reconnaissance UAV A 10”-diameter, 16’-tall rocket carries a reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to altitude. Once at altitude, the UAV is deployed by a pyrotechnic charge. The wing, the propeller, and the tail rotate or fold and lock into position, and the aircraft is thenceforth piloted by two operators – a Pilot and a Payload Specialist – from a pair of computer terminals. The UAV reconnaissance package: • High-resolution digital camera on a tilt-pan gimbal • An Infrared Thermometer, which provides a digital temperature readout of whatever object the camera is pointed towards. The UAV sensory array, which provides information to the pilot, consists of: • A forward facing camera • A barometric altimeter • An airspeed indicator • A GPS receiver • 3-axis accelerometer • 3-axis angle roll rate sensor • A 500 mhz flight computer which encapsulates the information and transmits it to the groundstation via a wifi uplink

4. Plan of Attack • Build and ground-test the rocket, which is the least complicated subsystem • Build and flight test a Proof of Concept UAV to hone design/fabrication skills. • Design the electronics system, and flight test it onboard an off-the-shelf R/C airplane • Build and flight test the Competition UAV, without the electronics payload • Deploy the Competition UAV without the electronics suite from the rocket during a test launch, to be landed visually • Install the electronics suite into the Competition UAV; flight test the two as a pair. • On Competition Day (4/18/09), launch the rocket with the UAV and it’s electronics suite onboard to be flown remotely.

5. Rocket Design Progress(Units in Inches) • Rocket Design is essentially Complete • Rocket Assembly is underway • Rocket Deployment Testing is complete

6. Deployment Testing • Experimentally verifies that the pyrotechnic charges are sufficient to separate the rocket • Provides the team with much-needed explosive handling and packaging experience

7. Unmanned Aerial VehicleProof of Concept: Design (Units in Inches) • Demonstrates the design and fabrication skills of the team • Provides experience and practice with composite fabrication methods • Provides insight to potential areas of improvement for future iterations

8. Unmanned Aerial VehicleProof of Concept: Fabrication

9. Unmanned Aerial VehicleProof of Concept: Fabrication Complete

10. Unmanned Aerial VehicleProof of Concept: Flight Testing • Flight Testing takes place at Peeler-Park, a R/C only airport in north Nashville • Initial flight tests are conducted by an experienced R/C pilot named Randy Moore. • Flight testing of the Proof of Concept UAV was a success

11. POC#1 Flight Test Video • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqAEzrAjSO0

12. UAV Electronics Payload Status Design: Complete Assembly: Underway Ground Testing: Underway (subsystems only) Flight Testing: Mid-February: off-the-shelf R/C Airplane Reconnaissance Package Schematic

13. Pilot’s Interface Mockup

15. Competition UAV Status(Units in Inches) Status Design: Complete Fabrication: Underway Flight Testing: To begin Feb. 15th Specs: Rotating Wing (48” x 8”) Folding Propeller Folding V-Tail 85 mph cruise Retractable landing gear 4-cell, 5000 mAh Lipo 6.5 lb weight w/ electronics

16. Questions?