Rocket Math: Thrust, Impulse, the Rocket Equation & Flight Simulation

What you'll build

What you will be able to do

Each lab ends with a concrete result that you build yourself and the checker confirms, cell by cell.

• Turn a measured thrust curve into total impulse with the trapezoid rule, read the peak thrust and chart the curve.
• Calculate average thrust, look up each motor's impulse class letter and build its designation code like E13-6.
• Check five motor choices for the Kestrel: weight, thrust-to-weight ratio, liftoff acceleration and the speed at the end of the launch rail.
• Compute exhaust speed, mass ratio and ideal Δv for five vehicles, then the mass ratio a rocket needs to reach orbit.
• Track the mass of a three-stage launcher at each ignition and burnout, compute every stage's Δv and see how much staging gains over one big stage.
• Write one Euler step of the Kestrel's flight (velocity, drag, acceleration), let the table repeat it every 0.25 s up to 10 s and chart the altitude.
• Calculate how long the Kestrel coasts after burnout with and without drag, its apogee, and which motor delay fires the ejection charge at the right moment.
• Size a parachute for five rockets from a target descent speed, pick a chute from stock and check the real descent speed.