The payload portion of our rocket will be deployed at the altitude of one mile (5,280ft) and will take over 5 minutes to land (descent rate will be 15fps). The payload will be delivered to the target altitude by the rocket vehicle.
In order for our project to succeed, the payload itself will have to meet two main objectives:
Two DSLR cameras together with an automatic firing circuit will help to meet the first objective. One of the cameras will be a standard DSLR (most likely Nikon D50 camera), while the other one will be the same camera but modified to record pictures in the infrared spectrum (wavelengths above 720nm). Both cameras will capture pictures in regular intervals (5 seconds). To assure the perfect synchronization of color and IR pictures, both cameras will be fired by the same firing circuit.
Considering the high cost of the whole payload (two DSLR cameras + additional electronics) it is very important that the payload portion of the rocket is recovered after the flight. An on-board GPS system will help with this objective. We plan to use a GPS system that can be connected to our main flight computer (RDAS, Rocket Data Acquisition System). RDAS provides telemetry capabilities and will allow the GPS data to be broadcasted in the real time during the flight. A ground based receiver will receive the data and display the rockets immediate position on a map on a portable computer display.
Should the GPS tracking fail, two backup tracking systems will come into play. The first is an AM-radio beacon that broadcasts a signal on AM frequency. The signal can be received by an ICOM receiver. Moving in the direction of increasing signal strength should bring us to the proximity of the rocket.
A 140dB sonic beacon (also called "a screamer") will provide additional assistance with finding the rocket once we get close enough to hear it.
An up-to-date detailed description of the project can be found
in the Flight Readiness Review document in the Documents section.