Purpose

Hermes Flight 2 failed due to aerodynamic forces at approximately 7s into flight. It is speculated that pitch-roll coupling ('coning') contributed to the demise of Hermes 2. To mitigate pitch roll coupling it is necessary to maintain a frequency separation between the pitch and roll modes. Pitch modes are energetic and stochastic depending on winds at liftoff, rail angle, vehicle parameters, and more. Roll modes depend mostly on fin attachment precision. A reaction wheel that could manage roll around the long axis of the vehicle could prevent coning from occurring during the flight of Hermes 3.

Requirements

The following requirements are self imposed

Design

Hardware

Pyxida will send I2C commands to a Teensy 3.5 which will PWM Control 60A Hobbyking ESC units that drive Quantum MT motors. The system is powered by a 4s LiPo battery.

Testing