How to Build a Rocket for L1 Certification (Vulpes II Rocket Launch)

On January 14th, I launched the second hobby rocket I’ve ever built. The Vulpes II is an L1 certification rocket, meaning that it had to meet certain standards for me to obtain the certification to purchase H and I class high-power rocket motors. Getting to an estimated apogee of 430 meters and successfully separating, the Vulpes was recovered intact. The Vulpes’ motor was single-use, but its intact structure means that all it would need is a new motor to launch again. Learn all about the Vulpes and how you can build your own L1 certification rocket in this Graviton Media video. An unedited video of the Vulpes’ flight is also available at the link below. I hope you enjoy the videos and learn more about hobby rocketry.
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[@the.starman]

Hi! I'm the president of TU Darmstadt's rocketry club and I really liked your project! We started out with a very similar rocket flying an H-motor as well, but packed our own flight computer as well as a sofisticated recovery system which I can highly reccomend! Also, make sure that during descent under parachute your chute lines don't get tangled up because your rocket will most likely enter what's called a flat spin. Last month, we launched our latest rocket to a height of one kilometer and deployed three payloads - I hope you're planning something similar! It is a ton of fun, let me tell you.

[@GravitonMedia]

Awesome! Nice work. Rice Eclipse is building a rocket for Spaceport America this summer. It'll be much larger than the rocket in this video and fly to an altitude of 30k feet. We've built our own hybrid motor for it and are very excited to see it fly.

[@Respectedfact1234]

Can eagestion system damage the parachute??

[@GravitonMedia]

Yes, the ejection is a black powder explosion, so if the parachute isn't properly protected, it can be damaged

[@kabirranjandeka]

Anyone please help me to build my own rocket please 🙏🙏

[@sweaterdog5475]

Woah, you said THIS was your second Rocket? Congrats!

[@KofiAsare0]

Great video! Im working on a scratch built L1 and this definitely covers lots of important niche things!

[@GravitonMedia]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck on your certification.

[@KofiAsare0]

@@GravitonMedia thanks!

[@LT72884]

loved it!! I did my L1 on an H550. It burns for 0.5 seconds and produces 550 newtons of thrust in that short burn time hahaha. My rocket held up great. For my L2, i used the same rocket with a J270 motor and single deploy. However, on the second launch, the motor exploded 2.25 seconds into flight. It separated my booster from the upper airframe, feel 5300 feet and was recovered without a scratch hahaha. Only a broken shock cord :) My L1 and L2 were done with no electronics, however, my L3 we had redundant dual deploy, but my team launched without me and forgot to hook the electronics up so it came in ballistic from 10,000 feet......

[@GravitonMedia]

Wow! That sounds like an interesting flight record. I'm glad the L1 went well. Sorry about the L2. CATO's are rare with manufactured motors, but it's very frustrating when it happens. How did you keep your L2 from drifting too far with a single motor deploy? I've been working on an L2 design, but increasingly find a drogue necessary to prevent drift. An L3 sounds like a daunting challenge. Sorry it went ballistic. Good luck getting your L3 certification.

[@LT72884]

@@GravitonMedia thanks :) Pick the lowest L2 motor you can find. Thats how you prevent drift. Also add weight to the payload section in open rocket and sim it. I added a couple of bags of black beans to my rocket. Kept it low and slow and the extra weight helps it drift down rather than at an angle. Might land a tad harder, but my rocket was fine The j 270 is a lower end L2 motor, but i still had to walk half a mile to get it. Oh, and if its a slightly windy day, you will have to keep an eye on it. Take binoculars and a ATV if you have one. All in all, my L2 disnt drift very far since it was a low power3d motor and i had a couple bags of black beans in the payload section to add drag and weight.

[@GravitonMedia]

Thanks for the advice!

[@markusoz1660]

Great video, it's amazing!!!

[@GravitonMedia]

Thanks!

[@barirudin6395]

Very informative

[@GravitonMedia]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@rollyherrera623]

Well Done, young man! Great Video... Just scribed; I want to see you do more!

[@GravitonMedia]

Thank you for the well-wishes! I'm glad you enjoyed my video. I'm planning to build and launch an L2 rocket this spring, so I'll make a video about that as well.

[@barakakatembo3131]

I'm happy to follow your video, but I have a question and I hope for the answer: how to define the center of thrust of the rocket, before it slips into the fuselage of the mini rocket ??? please answer

[@toothlesszilla9982]

The cutey vulpes cutey rocket 😊

[@MrPanchalTech]

good work brother, best wishes

[@GravitonMedia]

Thanks!

[@donbalduf572]

Interesting. This is fundamentally similar to the Estes rockets I built and flew as a kid.

[@ThalesRivas-bj1vv]

Just launched my rocket with a k series engine and besides electronics and 2 stage deployment they were exactly the same

[@sharadpanchal3661]

Very nice , very impressive 👌👌👍

[@GravitonMedia]

Thanks!

[@darshilkareliya]

The snail😅😂

[@purple.4955]

Congratulations!! I am currently on the design journey of an L1 attempt rocket too and this video inspired me to try harder even more!! P.S. what's the diameter of the airframe of Vulpes?

[@GravitonMedia]

Thanks! The Vulpes had a diameter of four inches, which was definitely overkill for an L1 in retrospect. You can get cardboard tubes on Amazon that have diameters of 4in, 3in, or 2.5in. All of those work pretty well for L1s.

[@natecox8548]

Hi great video, I'd like to know where you get your rocket supplies especially the body and nosecone. Also if you could explain how a reloadable motor works and where you can get propellant from I'd be very grateful. I'm trying to get into this type of amateur rocketry and I don't know where to start or get things.

[@GravitonMedia]

Hi there, we get the body tubes from BOX USA, a company that makes poster mailing tubes. We get the nose cones from Apogee Rockets. Reloadable motors have reusable casings with new fuel inputted each time. You just have to buy new fuel each time.

[@natecox8548]

@@GravitonMedia Thanks I really appreciate you taking the time to respond I wish you the best of luck with every future launch 😁

[@GravitonMedia]

Thanks!

[@carlenilsonaraujo7919]

Como divide o centro de massa pro foguete não girar na ignição?

[@andrewe868]

I’m very new to this. Can you reuse motors or are they all 1 time uses?

[@GravitonMedia]

That depends on the motor. The Cesaroni H255 I used was a one-time use motor, so it would have to be replaced with a new motor after each launch. On the other hand, a motor like AeroTech H128 has a reusable casing, and just the fuel needs to be swapped out after each flight. For a beginner, the one-time use motors are simpler to assemble, as their fuel components are not detachable since they aren't meant to be swapped out. Reusable motors can be more complex since you have to work with the motor internals. Hope this helps. Happy rocket-building!

[@davisjones760]

How do you know how much to file down the delay grain to get the delay to 7 seconds?

[@GravitonMedia]

For L1 rockets, the best way to do that is to simulate your rocket on the program OpenRocket. This will give you predicted values for apogee and time of flight, which you can use to determine the optimal delay time (just after apogee is best).

[@hanakatanoboru6849]

💯👌こういうのは、大事だね！これからは、ロケットです！！。フレーフレー阿修羅！！頑張れ、頑張れフレイアーの類！！それでよか！！。

[@hanakatanoboru6849]

ＹMCAの思い出をワンスモア！！OK。

[@ryderloomis2776]

I am very greatful company’s like apogee sell these rockets in kits

[@SolRC]

I don't like sharp cones, the breaking of the air should be gentle, clean air is better for moving fast through it. Do you ever launch dolphin or tuna shaped cones?

[@GravitonMedia]

Interesting. I haven't tried other-shaped cones for this type of rocket. Are the aerodynamics better?

[@ZinebZnaidi]

where can I find the technical sheet about the g-rocket motor pls?

[@GravitonMedia]

That's going to depend on which model of G motor you're looking for. Is it Cesaroni, Apogee, etc.? If you don't know that yet, you can try this online store to see what suits your needs: www.hobbylinc.com/g-model-rocket-engines

[@akashsingh276]

Could you share the sizes of the rocket and fins, please?

[@GravitonMedia]

Sure. Here's a link to the OpenRocket file that has all the relevant dimensions: drive.google.com/file/d/1LGcFyVThF15gDpPeObEHJWtwBjVWKXXZ/view?usp=sharing

[@hellohunter8583]

Wait, would a simple apple airtag in the payload work for recovery?

[@GravitonMedia]

Probably not. The issue with an AirTag in particular is that it doesn't actually use GPS tracking. Instead, the AirTag uses Bluetooth connections to nearby Apple devices to determine its location. For instance, if you drop your wallet in a busy parking lot, the AirTag will determine its location by connecting to the nearby phones of passersby. For the typical use-case of AirTags-finding misplaced keys, wallets, and other household items-this works fine. When it comes to rocketry, launches typically occur in remote rural areas, and the rocket is unlikely to land close enough to any other Apple devices to pick up the short-range Bluetooth signal. Thus, an AirTag would not be reliable for recovery. You want to use a tracking device that has GPS capabilities. Thankfully, most GPS trackers are in a similar price range to Apple AirTags, about 30 bucks.

[@hellohunter8583]

@@GravitonMedia Wow, The fact you took your time to help me on thhis means alot. I really appreciate the response, You earned a subscriber! What GPS do you recommend I use?

[@GravitonMedia]

Thank you for subscribing! I actually haven't used a GPS in my rockets yet. My team at Rice University uses Telemegas and Raven Blues for altimetry data. I think those companies might sell GPS as well, so that would be the first place I would look.

[@chirantansarkar9382]

Could you please share Details about the Vulpes I

[@GravitonMedia]

Sure, I made this video about it. Let me know if you want to know more: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqGVf4aol92XqKM

[@user-jq2qe4fb6i]

Since I was young, I have hoped to build a rocket that would reach space and take pictures of the Earth.

[@flemmingstelling8079]

@ 12:04 - "ran out of steam"......be careful with your terms as you adress newbies who may not be English proficient yet watch "steam" trailing the rocket...🙂

[@quyenanhphamtran880]

;kjk;'ljlk

[@karlthatplaysgames6941]

well even tho im 14 and cant make a rocket like this I STILL THINK MY FALCON GOOFY 1000 IS GOOD ITS A WATER ROCKET >:(