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The CubeSAT-Adorned Rocketry Masterpiece, or CARM, is the Tufts Rocketry Team’s first ever entry into the Spaceport America Cup. Six inches in diameter, 12 feet long, and weighing 87 pounds at liftoff, CARM was designed to carry a prototype CubeSAT (built by the Tufts CubeSAT Project Team) to 10,000 feet on a commercial off-the-shelf solid motor.
This project represents a massive step in the Rocketry Team’s goals and capabilities. CARM was our first competition rocket, our first rocket to employ an all-fiberglass architecture, and by far our most powerful rocket to date. It represented the culmination of years of efforts to continually learn, improve our designs, and grow our team operations. Following an intense year with many setbacks, tough challenges, and lots of lessons learned, CARM flew successfully at the competition and placed 33rd/122 overall, an extremely impressive achievement for a first-time team!
Outcome: Success
Limitations: Custom onboard flight computers shorted out pre-flight, limiting the data gathered to exclusively the Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) flight computers
Outcome: Partial Success
Cause for failure: Incorrectly wired the backup main parachute charge to the backup computer’s drogue charge terminal, causing both parachutes to deploy at apogee. Rocket then landed in a tree.
Key actions taken: Implemented additional wire management strategies, reviewed pre-launch checklist to ensure multiple inspection points, increased labeling of computers, screw terminals, etc.