Forum | Crude Render of Lunar Lander Frame

Post edited 6:29 pm – November 22, 2009 by Rocket-To-The-Moon

Here is a crude render of the lander frame. This is definitely not an engineering drawing, more of a proof of concept.

In this drawing the lander legs are in their stowed position. Also the legs do not have their foot pads attached. I'll see if I can get the legs rotated around and then make another render.

I think that the material I have chosen is too large for the job. It is extruded aluminum box section with a wall thickness of 3.175mm so it looks a lot heavier than it actually is. The main frame beams have a mass of 2.519 kg/meter and the frame is 2m square (ignoring the leg rotators and buffer springs). This means that the entire frame is about 40kg (minus the legs). There are still beams that need to be put in the lower portion of the frame which will  increase the mass further.

Now we're getting somewhere. Here is version 3:

Post edited 10:50 pm – November 22, 2009 by Rocket-To-The-Moon

I think that I'm almost done with the lander concept. As you can see there is quite a bit of empty space for anciliary equipment such as electronics, oxygen, and communications equipment. I'm looking for feedback to see what you think.

In the second image you can see what the lander looks like in its launch configuration with the legs folded.

Post edited 3:28 am – November 23, 2009 by Rocket-To-The-Moon

Thanks, it was a nice way to spend my Sunday afternoon.

I've been going through videos and information on some of the Lander Challenge vehicles to get an idea of what we are working with. With so many teams building these vehicles it shows that it is definitely possible to do on a small budget.

The issue of the ladder is definitely something that I have thought about. I assume that we will have simple handrails (maybe just tensioned cables to save weight) that run along the propellant tanks. To be honest, it is difficult to work with spherical and cylindrical shapes in SketchUp so I didn't bother.

The size of the fuel tanks is essentially based on the biggest tanks that I could fit in the space provided. If they get any larger you have to move them out from the vehicle center line. This isn't necessarily bad though, because as it is the buffer springs extend well past the edge of the vehicle. My solution to this problem may be to attach the buffer springs to the legs themselves and then allow them to swing with the leg until it contacts the leg rotator main frame.

I'll measure the outside diameter of the tanks tomorrow and calculate how much they can hold. I'm not sure what ratio the hypergolic fuel that we will be using is mixed in. If it is 1:1 then we are golden, but if it is something like 3.6:1 then the tanks will have to be re sized and rearranged. The Texel lander looks like its tanks are all the same size so that gives me a good feeling.

Not a finished product, but I hope that it can be used to help draw attention to the project.

Post edited 3:49 am – November 23, 2009 by Rocket-To-The-Moon

I just learned to use it by tinkering around (really, really wanting to make the end product was my carrot on a stick). It is amazing how fast you can learn when it is something that you are truly interested in doing. I may try to make a CM and SM later this week. At the moment my objective is attracting new members and I figure that not too many people would randomly find the forum and read hundreds of posts. Hopefully these little pieces of eye candy will help to bring our vision to life.