OHKLA
From CSTART Wiki
Contents |
[edit] Overview
OHKLA (Open Hybrid Karman Line Attempt) is CSTART's project to use a hybrid rocket to carry a small payload beyond the 100km Karman Line, i.e. into space, on a suborbital trajectory. The OHKLA rocket will be as small and light as possible, will not be controlled and will carry only the minimum equipment required to verify maximum altitude and enable recovery. A more detailed description of the project will be constantly updated as work progresses.
The main motivation for OHKLA is to provide a low-cost, small-scale project for doing hybrid rocket research and development to get knowledge and experience that will later be used for more ambitious rocketry projects. It is expected that OHKLA will facilitate experimentation with a range of propellants, ignition systems and nozzle designs. You can read more details about the technical goals of OHKLA elsewhere on the CSTART Wiki.
In addition to these technical motivations, breaking the Karman line constitutes an important but realistic goal for CSTART to establish itself as a serious player in the private spaceflight field and raise awareness and support.
Since the main focus of OHKLA is propulsion research, all other subsystems on the rocket, such as those related to altitude and velocity measurement, parachute release, location reporting, etc. will be standard, off-the-shelf components from the amateur rocket industry, wherever this is possible. For this reason, OHKLA is not divided into workgroups like CLLARE.
Essentially the same project has been succesfully completed in the past by the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CSXT) in 2004, using a single stage solid fuelled rocket, and by the small company Rocket Labs in 2009 using a two stage hybrid fuelled rocket.
A complete overview of the OHKLA project can be found in the OHKLA Project Overview document.
[edit] Project Core Documents
The following four documents are the most authoritative sources of information on the OHKLA project. Their contents should be trusted above and beyond anything else you read on the Wiki, forums, etc. The documents provide a range of detail for a range of audiences.
[edit] OHKLA Press Kit
This document (coming soon!) explains the most important details of OHKLA project in brief, straightforward, non-technical language with lots of pictures. It is intended to be accessible to anybody from the general public.
[edit] OHKLA Project Overview
This document provides a complete overview of the OHKLA project in a way which is much more detailed and specific than the press kit, but still without going into complete technical detail. It will leave engineers and scientists with unanswered questions, but should satisfy the interested layperson who wants more detail than the press kit provides.
[edit] OHKLA Technical Manual
This document (coming soon!) is the definitive source for technical details on the OHKLA project. It provides the absolute maximum level of detail on every aspect of the project. It will be accessible to people with a background in engineering and science disciplines.
[edit] OHKLA Operations Manual
This document (coming soon!) is the definitive source for operational details on the OHKLA project. It provides details on how the project will actually be run, discussing such things mission timelines, safety procedures, contingency plans for various scenarios, etc.
[edit] OHKLA Construction Manual
This document (coming soon!) contains detailed instructions on how to construct all the hardware involved in the OHKLA project. When finished, it should provide all the information required for anybody with the appropriate resources to build their own OHKLA rocket!
[edit] Engineering Process Pages
These Wiki pages contain material related to the application of the CSTART Engineering Process to the OHKLA project. They contain various material used to justify the design decisions which were made in developing the material which is in the Core Documents.
- OHKLA Design Tasks
- More to come as the Engineering Process is hammered out!
[edit] Assorted Wiki Pages
These Wiki pages provide details of various aspects of the OHKLA project. They constitute a sort of web-based version of the various Core Documents, and are easier for the casual reader to navigate. Due to the open nature of the Wiki, they are less authoritative sources of information than the Core Documents.
[edit] Overview pages
[edit] Specific details
The links below are to pages dedicated to specific details of the various components of the OHKLA rocket. From these pages you will be able to access calculations, CAD diagrams, software etc.
