Special Notice Regarding HPR Flights at JSC

The JSC rocket field is limited in size and surrounded by houses and multi-billion dollar space exploration equipment.  Therefore we must utilize higher safety standards than normal. The following rules are designed to insure we will not have a ballistic impact on any building, and to reduce the possibility of an impact of a heavy rocket under parachute as much as humanly possible.   

Please remember that due to the higher level of safety that we must maintain, WAIVERED LAUNCHES WILL ONLY WE HELD AT JSC ON A LIMITED BASIS.   The normal limits and procedures for our regular first and third Saturday launches have not changed.

Here are the basic limitations:

Impulse:  "I" motors

No weight limit

Wind limit - 15 mph

Altitude restriction is always 2500' and may be further restricted by winds. For instance with winds over 7 mph from the south, we'll be limited to 2000' for ballistic flight concerns over Saturn Ln. Single parachute flights will be limited to 1500' or 2000' in some wind conditions (chute size will effect this a lot).  Splash simulation data and wind charts will be used to determine allowable flights.

A wRASP printout for each high power rocket / motor combination is required. Rocksim or other data is needed for CP and parachute drift performance is also needed. To prevent flights from going above predicted altitudes, simulations must use a Cd of .7 or less. Parachutes must use a Cd of 1.5 or more. These should give good margins of error for both altitude and drift performance in most cases. 

Other requirements are that a rocket achieve at least 45 fps off the launch guide, and stability margins must be between .75 and 5.0 Calibers. Rail launching is highly encouraged, there will be a 10' rail available at all NHRC HPR launches. Safety check-in officers will carefully check the rockets expected flight path considering wind effects on weathervaning and parachute drift. All flights must be expected to land within the JSC boundaries.

Of course, all NAR and Tripoli rules as well as JSC and club rules including use of  a checklist must be followed at all times. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments ahead of time.