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21 <h1>Documentation for OpenRocket</h1>
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49 <h2>User documentation</h2>
51 <p>No user's guide currently exists for OpenRocket. There is a
52 <a href="http://apps.sourceforge.net/mediawiki/openrocket/index.php?title=User%27s_Guide">page on the wiki</a> for creating a User's guide.</p>
53 <p>If you would like to help, please extend it!</p>
56 <h2>Technical documentation</h2>
58 <p>OpenRocket was originally written as the Master's thesis of
59 Sampo Niskanen at Helsinki University of Technology. The thesis
60 currently functions as the technical documentation, and will be
61 updated in the future to account for further enhancements.
62 The thesis is licensed under a
63 <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/fi/deed.en">Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License</a>.</p>
65 <p class="right"><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/fi/deed.en"><img alt="Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd-nc/1.0/fi/88x31.png" /></a></p>
69 <p><a href="thesis.pdf">Development of an Open Source model
70 rocket simulation software</a> (PDF, 1.3MB)</p>
73 <p class="quote"><strong>Table of contents:</strong></p>
75 <li>1. Introduction</li>
76 <li>2. Basics of model rocket flight</li>
77 <li>3. Aerodynamic properties of model rockets</li>
78 <li>4. Flight simulation</li>
79 <li>5. The OpenRocket simulation software</li>
80 <li>6. Comparison with experimental data</li>
81 <li>7. Conclusion</li>
84 <li>A. Nose cone and transition geometries</li>
85 <li>B. Transonic wave drag of nose cones</li>
86 <li>C. Streamer drag coefficient estimation</li>
92 <p>Below are resources that have been found useful in the analysis
93 of model rockets. Many useful scientific aerodynamic articles and
94 documents are available at the invaluable
95 <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/">NASA Technical Resources Server
100 <a href="http://www.apogeerockets.com/Education/downloads/barrowman_report.pdf">The Theoretical Prediction of the Center of
101 Pressure</a></em>, James and Judith Barrowman, 1966.</dt>
102 <dd>The original NARAM R&D report explaining how to
103 calculate the CP position of a rocket.</dd>
106 <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?Ntk=all&Ntx=mode+matchall&Ntt=Barrowman+Practical+Calculation+of+the+Aerodynamic+Characteristics+of+Slender+Finned+Vehicles">The Practical Calculation of the Aerodynamic
107 Characteristics of Slender Finned Vehicles</a></em>, James
108 Barrowman, 1967.</dt>
109 <dd>The more in-depth and technical thesis, where Barrowman
110 presents methods for calculating the CP position of a rocket at
111 both subsonic and supersonic velocities and its other
112 aerodynamic properties. Available on
113 <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/">NTRS</a>.</dd>
116 <a href="http://projetosulfos.if.sc.usp.br/artigos/sentinel39-galejs.pdf">Wind instability—What Barrowman left out</a></em>,
118 <dd>An extension to the Barrowman method to account for body
119 lift at large angles of attack.</dd>
121 <dt><em>Topics in Advanced Model Rocketry</em>, Mandell,
122 Caporaso, Bengen, MIT Press, 1973.</dt>
123 <dd>An excellent theoretical study on the flight of model
124 rockets. Available as a reprint edition.</dd>
126 <dt><em>Fluid-dynamic drag</em>, Sighard Hoerner,
127 published by the author, 1965.</dt>
128 <dd>An excellent resource for all kinds of experimental data
129 regarding drag. Available as a reprint edition.</dd>
131 <dt><em>Tactical missile design</em>, 2nd edition, Eugene
132 L. Fleeman, AIAA, 2006.</dt>
133 <dd>Useful approximation methods for estimating the aerodynamic
134 properties of rockets.</dd>
136 <dt><em><a href="http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~mason/Mason_f/CAtxtTop.html">Applied
137 Computational Aerodynamics</a></em>, William Mason.</dt>
138 <dd>An online textbook on computational aerodynamics.</dd>
140 <dt><em><a href="http://www.combatindex.com/mil_docs/pdf/hdbk/0700/MIL-HDBK-762.pdf">Design of aerodynamically stabilized free rockets</a></em>,
141 MIL-HDBK-762, US Army Missile Command, 1990.</dt>
142 <dd>Military handbook on the design of rockets, a good resource
143 for aerodynamic estimation methods.</dd>
146 <a href="http://www.thrustcurve.org/">ThrustCurve.org</a></em>,
148 <dd>An excellent resource for model rocket motor thrust curves.</dd>
151 <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?Ntk=all&Ntx=mode+matchall&Ntt=NASA-TN-D-4013">Static stability investigation of a single-stage
152 sounding rocket at Mach numbers from 0.60 to 1.20</a></em>, James
153 Ferris, NASA-TN-D-4013, 1967.</dt>
155 <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?Ntk=all&Ntx=mode+matchall&Ntt=NASA-TN-D-4014">Static stability investigation of a sounding-rocket
156 vehicle at Mach numbers from 1.50 to 4.63</a></em>, Donald Babb and
157 Dennis Fuller, NASA-TN-D-4014, 1967.</dt>
158 <dd>Experimental data of a wind tunnel investigation of a
159 sounding rocket at subsonic, transonic and supersonic
160 velocities. Available on
161 <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/">NTRS</a>.</dd>
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