This project is a 3D printed interactive rocket built for educational purpose. To be honest rockets normally look pretty lame just a long metal tube. Unless someone is launching one or something is in news no one really talks about them. This dummy interactive models aims to change that.
This design is based on worlds fastest super sonic missile BrahMos designed by India and Russia. Why choose this because it looks cool. Code is very simple even a school kid can understand it. You can see intro video to take a look of what you will be building.
Note: This was meant to be a working rocket that could fly. I designed this when I was working in Singapore, where rocketry is banned, hence, this is just a display model that does not fly. There is a flight controller that only moves the fins. Do not use this to build a flying version.
Things you will need
Honestly, it does not require much. The whole thing runs on Node MCU and is powered by a power bank.
- Node mcu
- MPU 6050
- perf board
- 2x 9g servo motor
- Power bank
- 3D printed parts
- LCD screen (optional)
- Long USB cable and power bank.
You can download the Code and 3D printing files from here
3D-Printed Parts
You need to download the STL parts and get them 3D printed. This is version 0. in a few months, i will upgrade the model. The whole body is modular so that you can use the printed parts in another project if you like.
Assembly Process
Whole boy is snap fit. No need to use glue. There is nothing much to talk about here. Everything is there in the video. I dont know why i am writing this.
Flight Computer
This is TAARA “Terrestrial Advanced Autonomous Rocket Avionics” is an experimental rocket flight computer for model rockets. Built for teaching beginners about thrust vector control and basic control system theories.
This is where all the magic stuff happens. TAARA controls all the movements of the rocket. If you download the code from GitHub, there is a readme file included. I have explained how everything works. Also, the code is heavily commented, and you can follow as you go along
There will be a tutorial on TAARA soon. I will update it here. Flight computer is itself a very vast topic very hard to cover in a small tutorial.
3d printed files for this are also included in the download package. Please read the GitHub page also to understand how the code works.
Power and Data
You can power it directly with your PC or you can just use power bank. Whole thing runs on 5V. Please do not go above that.
What’s Next?
At this point, you are done. But there is more. You can use python to receive data over wifi and plot from the rocket directly on your computer wirelessly and do a bunch of cool stuff. I made this years ago and if I ever get the chance I will build a real flying version 🙂
