MCGILL ROCKET TEAM
A white rocket with a pointed nose cone and small fins is resting horizontally on a launch rail in a dry, desert-like landscape. The rocket's body is covered with various small colored markings and logos. The launch rail, made of metal and wood, extends into the foreground, casting a shadow on the sandy ground. Sparse green bushes and other desert vegetation are scattered across the scene, with distant mountains visible under a clear blue sky.

Project Blanche (2018)

Blanche 10K COTS

The 2018 IREC marks McGill’s 4th year participating in the competition. The Project Blanche is the successor to Project Aeris, the team’s 10,000 ft COTS category entry. Following the difficulty recovering Aeris, the team has fundamentally reworked the recovery system design and airframe manufacturing process to prevent the same issues from reoccurring.

A 3D rendering of a white rocket, named "BLANCHE" vertically in red text, against a black background. The rocket has a pointed nose cone and four fins at the tail. Various sponsor logos are visible along the body of the rocket, including Altium, A&P Technology, Futek, McGill, MAAC, Huntsman, and Vectorfly.

To further validate the changes, the team has built a secondary rocket, Bertrand, which flew on a test launch on June 2nd, 2018. However, manufacturing an entirely separate rocket to test critical recovery and avionic systems increased financial costs. In order to help offset the additional costs, the group expanded the number of student-made components, replacing off-the-shelf pieces.

Only 3 of the 53 major components in Blanche were off-the-shelf - being the motor itself, the avionic redundancy, and a motor retaining ring. Student made components such as parachutes, shock cords, CO2 ejectors, tender-descenders, and the airframe lead to cost savings of several thousand dollars.

The aero-structure subsystem features a composite airframe manufactured in-house using a refined resin infusion process. This method was perfected over the course of the year and allows for high quality, tight dimensional tolerance composite structures as well as reduced lead times.

The avionics are centralized in a radio-transparent fiberglass airframe section, as well as telemetry module in the nose cone. The telemetry systems are triply-redundant, and the parachute deployment is doubly-redundant. The centralized avionic section allows for rapid, convenient assembly, and easy access to the ejection charges located in the forward parachute chamber.

A single separation point is located at the nose cone, where a deployable payload will eject,intended to measure micro-organism density in the atmosphere.

Design Cycle
#4
2017 - 2018
Length
11.00 ft
3.35 m
Outer Diameter
5.20 in
13.21 cm
Liftoff Weight
53.30 lb
24.18 kg
Average Thrust
460.90 lbf
2.05 kN
Max Mach Number
0.81
911.25 ft/s
275.63 m/s
Average Thrust
10,138.00 ft
3.09 km
Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
10.64
Propulsion Type
Solid
Cesaroni M2045

Results:

Spaceport America Cup 2018:

  • 10K Category: 1st/47
  • Overall: 1st/99, WINNER of the Spaceport America Cup!

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A group of nine team members, are posing for a photo in an arid, outdoor environment. Behind them stands a tall, slender rocket, predominantly black with a white nose cone, on a launch rail. The team members are holding a large red banner that reads "McGill Rocket Team" and "Thank you to our sponsors," along with various company logos. The individuals are casually dressed, some wearing hats and sunglasses, and they appear to be in good spirits, celebrating their work with the rocket. The sky above is clear and blue.
Project Stella (2017)

7/13/2017

Stella marks our team's first ever participation in the 30,000 ft category, as well as a first ever production of two rockets. The design incorporates a student built carbon fiber airframe and refined separation and recovery mechanism.

 A tall, slender white rocket with red markings, including the name "STELLA" written vertically, stands upright on a launch rail in a desert landscape. The ground is sandy with sparse green bushes and some dried brush. In the background, a flat horizon separates the desert from a clear, bright blue sky.
Project Stella II (2018)

8/16/2018

Following the off-nominal flight of Stella last year, the team has fundamentally reworked the recovery system design and airframe manufacturing process to prevent the same issues from reoccurring.