Beginners Guide to Rocket Design
Designing a rocket is no walk in the park for anyone (un)fortunate enough to be handed such a task, it's literally rocket science! There are basic mathematics and physics concepts governing the design and flight of rockets that one has to be conversant with which can be overwhelming for a beginner. The understanding of these concepts is developed through reading literature and reviewing previous designs and flight reports. For now, we’ll look into the basic steps that can be followed to get started on the design and flight of a rocket. 1. Laying out Requirements It is important to lay out the requirements of the rocket (apogee, payload, etc.) as they help to settle down on key rocket parameters. This entails defining what the rocket being designed needs to do. For example, the requirements for the Nakuja N3 rocket are to deliver a small payload to an estimated apogee (max altitude) of 2000m with the main focus being on recovery of the rocket. Once the requirements are known, a desi...