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Old 01-23-2011, 10:32 AM
Beowulf Beowulf is offline
Junior Rocketeer
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 13
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Thanks for the comments. I realize that the wind at higher altitudes is going to be different than that at the launch site. It also occurs to me that wind is three dimensional: it won't exert a purely orthogonal force to the flight of the rocket.

However, I was thinking that I could project where I thought the rocket would land, and then use a GPS to mark the actual landing site. The difference between the two would be a combination of two factors: environmental effects, and then imperfections in the build of the rocket itself. I was playfully thinking of the latter quantity as "rocket fudge."

Over consecutive launches on the same day, environmental effects might be consistent enough to include as rough estimates. I'm not expecting to predict the exact spot in which the rocket will land, although I do think it would be cool to have a contest to accurately predict the landing site. If I could bring the rockets down within 50 yards of the launch site, then I think that would be a success.

I'll update this thread with my progress. It could still be a fool's errand, but at the moment it's very intriguing for me!
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