Ground tests

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Martlet 1 ground testing

Two small rockets were made for use with Nova 5. They were tested on the ground by launching them from Nova 5 itself which was suspended in the same way it would be when attached to the balloon. On their first test neither of the rockets flew well, both rapidly becoming unstable and not reaching a great height.

After these initial tests both rockets were rebuilt, there were major changes to the tail fins, with one rocket now using three and the other four. Also the centre of gravity of each rocket was moved a lot further forwards. The rockets were tested under the same conditions as before and this time both flew much better. Both flew well enough to be used with Nova 5 but one sustained a small amount of damage on landing so it was the four fin design that was sent up with Nova 5.

(Quicktime player is needed to view the videos of the launches)