Launch Vehicle 3.1 is Portland State Aerospace Society’s current iteration of a long history of student-built rockets. Until recently LV3.1 has been out of commission due to missing a critical system, the Electromechanical Recovery System (ERS).
The ERS’ job is to deploy the parachutes that allow the rocket to land in a safe and controlled manner. Many systems were designed until a general consensus was met on our final design. That design was further developed using the computer-aided design software, OnShape. A prototype was printed using a combination of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). A method of reading the state of the system–whether it's locked or unlocked–needed to be developed, as well as a way of passing power through each ERS. At this stage, a combined effort between two different disciplines, mechanical and electrical engineers was formed in order to achieve the electrical component of this system.
Printed circuit boards were designed and sent out to be manufactured and upon receiving them, testing began to see how accurate our design was. The mechanical side was also tested to see how successful and reliable the deployment of this mechanism was.
Due to the success of our tests, we were confident in having parts machined out of aluminum in preparation for a launch-ready ERS.