Altimeter on the pad Fail

[NewtonsLaws]

An interesting day at QRS 29th Oct.

Set up my AMRAAM 4 ,Dragon Fire, for its third launch on dual eletroncics, duel Deploy.
All good for a K360 launch, the biggest of the day.

Out to the pad, start electronics before inserting igniter.... POP ! And off comes the payload section !

Long story short, I took it to Blake at AusRocketry for analysis. He managed to hear an error code indicating possible fail of the barometer.
Blake replaced it under warranty . And Matt recommended on larger equalization holes on the Av-bay.

More caution and more “let’s turn that on and stand back further and wait a bit longer” as the rocket was re-mounted at Pad C.

Success - 4900+ feet with a 200m walk to recovery! Great end to a heart stopping day.

Special thanks to Matt and Blake for diagnostic support.

And to Australian Rocketry for supplying and supporting quality equipment - things can go wrong occasionally but it is the back up that makes the different for a top supplier!

PS - I am told there is video of this “incident” - I have yet to see it. But I have seen a photo of the WTF moment after this thing popped. New nappy required!

Dragon Fire - Safe Launch!! On K360 to 4900’ (Flinders Peak in the back ground)

D36EA83A-8B27-4BAB-94FF-34950DF072EF.jpeg (163.24 KiB) Viewed 3647 times

[OverTheTop]

Interesting. Any telemetry on your rocket?

I have had the NC blow of a rocket on the pad once. In my case it was an internal electromagnetic compatibility issue between the altimeter and my telemetry transmitter.

[crom]

Video to come..... YouTube doesn't like a 21 gb upload in one go.....

[snrkl]

I was watching the moment you wished you had the “TanPants️” on, and certainly had a chuckle once it was clear that you were ok...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[snrkl]

Here is the video all queued up to see the failure event - it happens at around 27:30

https://youtu.be/9dKfO5tzB-k?t=1641

[NewtonsLaws]

I wonder if safety glasses should be a standard if there are live charges?

Is there much evidence of this type of event in the US or Canada?

[snrkl]

I wonder if safety glasses should be a standard if there are live charges?

Is there much evidence of this type of event in the US or Canada?

I’m thinking that safety glasses would be beneficial whenever handling stuff that goes bang... you only get two eyes - best to keep them intact...

As for US practices, perhaps a post on rocketryforum.com would provide some input?

[OverTheTop]

I wear eyeglasses so I get the protection there by default. If I need to focus in close I swap them for safety glasses. As snrkl said, you only get two eyes.

Hearing protection when carrying a rocket, especially on your shoulders, is also a good idea. A few people have had their hearing downgraded by unplanned ejection events.