Day 3

We launched our 4th rocket trial today on the 3rd day of March 2011. After losing our fins during the 3rd launch a couple days ago, we decided to re-glue and duct tape the fins back on to the bottle. After completing this, today's task was to create and connect a parachute to the rocket. We cut off the top of another bottle and placed it as a cone on our rocket. This kept the parachute packed until it deployed. The cone was not connected to the bottle in any way. We used a plastic bag as a parachute and duct taped part of the bag to the bottle. Space was left for air to enter the chute when deployed. For launching, 60psi of pressure was used as we did in the 2nd and 3rd launch. The initial lift off was a straight vertical line, however due to high winds during the day, the rocket drifted far from the launch point. When reviewing the footage from the launch, the cone flew off and the parachute deployed at 4 seconds. After 10.5 seconds of flight and almost landing on a teacher's car, the rocket landed in tact. Can't wait till launch 5 next week!