FIG 00 — Test stand render showing motor mounting rails and load cell stack
Rocket Static Fire Stand
From welded stainless frame to wireless thrust telemetry
Ground support equipment for static firing G-Class solid rocket motors with wireless telemetry.
Background
Validating solid rocket motor performance requires a secured ground test platform capable of isolating thrust data from structural vibration while maintaining operator safety distance.
Implementation
Designed a welded Stainless Steel 304 frame and validated it for stiffness and failure using FEA in SimScale. Developed a custom wireless Data Acquisition (DAQ) system (Arduino/NRF24L01) to stream real-time thrust curves to a Python dashboard from a 100 m safety range.
Key Contributions
- →Weldment drawings and cut-lists generated for fabrication communication
- →FEA validating frame rigidity — max deflection < 0.15 mm under load
- →Custom Python dashboard for real-time serial plotting and CSV logging
- →MCXK-E load cell integrated with HX711 amplification circuit
Results & Metrics
Impact
Gallery
FIG 04Physical assembly with H-class solid motor installed
FIG 02Exploded view of frame and sensor stack
FIG 03Fabrication drawing for welder communication (dimensions redacted)
FIG 05Von Mises stress analysis — max 67.6 MPa, F.O.S. 3.00
FIG 06Displacement analysis validating sensor isolation from frame flex
Before / After
CAD design — digital model prior to fabrication
Fabricated assembly — installed and operational