iPhone Flies on a Rocket: Collect and Analyze Data!

By Mike Westerfield
Category: Fun & Games, Science
Time Required: 2 to 4 hours
Difficulty: Moderate

It was a beautiful fall morning as I carefully packed the parachute, slid in the engine, and installed the igniter in my model rocket. I started the data collection program and slid the payload with a TI Bluetooth low energy SensorTag and an iPhone 4s into the payload bay.

Yes, an iPhone.

My wife’s iPhone.

Gulp.

Silently, I recited the astronaut’s prayer, "Dear Lord, please don’t let me screw up." Then I pushed the launch button.

The rocket lifted off smoothly, arcing into the air. The parachute deployed. Landing broke off a fin, but pulling the payload out, I saw the iPhone was still working, still collecting acceleration, rotation and pressure!

We launched three more times that morning, once more with the same rocket after a quick field repair, and twice with another rocket that carries the SensorTag without an iPhone, transmitting the data using Bluetooth low energy to an iPhone held safely on the ground. This blog shows how it’s done. You’ll get plans to build the rockets, programs to collect and analyze data, and even links to the data from our four rocket flights.

Steps

Step #1:

The booster is a pretty standard model rocket. Assembly directions are covered in lots of places, so we won't go over them here.
See the accompanying plans for measurements and fin patterns.
One thought, though, is to change the fin design. The fins shown were chosen because the rocket was going to be shown at a trade show in Germany, and needed to stand up on a table. The swept fins are pretty vulnerable to breakage on such a heavy rocket, though, and did break on both flights.
A more practical design is also shown in the plans. The rocket won't stand up, but it is also less likely to break the fins when it lands.

Conclusion

See my blog for more about my own rocket launch, including the data I collected from two launches of this rocket and two launches of the companion ST-1 rocket.