Glenbrook North High School

Experiment Hypotheses

 
 
     The purpose of this experiment is to detect and record environmental variables inside a SubSEM module.  Recording this data will provide a better understanding of the conditions experienced by SubSEM experiments.  Studying specific environmental factors will provide a baseline for future flights and allow for the isolation of variables.  Environment 2.0 is a derivation of the "Environment" experiment, flown in 2001.

     Many lessons were learned from the original Environment experiment that will be corrected and built upon in this experiment.  Environmental data collected will include more accurate measurement of previous data such as acceleration, temperature, pressure, and magnetic field, as well as the collection of new data including infrared, ultraviolet, gamma, and beta radiation.  Rocket attitude will be determined from magnetometer data.  Controls will be used to subtract out noise and act as a null baseline.  

     It is hypothesized that:

     
Instrument Hypothesis - Ascent Hypothesis - Free Fall
     
Acceleration - Thrust Axis Increase to maximum at launch, stay near max while engine is burning Near zero for entire freefall, will record small acceleration due to air friction
Acceleration - Radial Axis Increase to maximum as rocket starts to spin, and continue near maximum Constant acceleration in free fall as rocket continues to spin.
Temperature - Internal Change as function of external temperature due to heat transfer through rocket skin. Change as function of external temperature
Pressure - Internal Change as a function of internal temperature due to ideal gas law.  May change if gasses are vented from other experiments Change as a function of internal temperature due to ideal gas law
Pressure - External Decrease as function of altitude Reaches minimum at apogee, will oscillate as rocket falls sideways causing pressure port to change from static port to pitot
Magnetic field- Thrust Axis Field will not vary significantly, except for cross axis sensitivity Field will increase as rocket tilts and sensor aligns with earth's magnetic field
Magnetic field - Radial Axis Field will oscillate as a sine wave as the sensitive axis aligns with earth's magnetic field will oscillate as sine wave as the sensitive axis aligns with earth's magnetic field.  Amplitude of wave will be dependant upon rocket heading.
Radiation - IR Undetectable or very small Increase as function of altitude, reaching maximum at apogee.  IR will increase as window faces away from earth
Radiation - UV Undetectable Undetectable or very small at apogee as most UV stopped by 100 km altitude
Radiation - HEP Increase as function of altitude Increase as function of altitude with maximum at apogee.

 

 

 

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