Model Rocket Booster Pods

thingiverse

These boosters are designed to provide thrust off the pad and to then fall off during flight, like the boosters on Falcon Heavy, Atlas 5, or SLS. They are fully 3D printed, but their size matches Estes BT60 tubing (1.6" dia). They have integrated 24 mm motor mounts for flying Estes C11 or D12 motors--or even Aerotech E30 or F44 motors for more extreme flights. The nosecone is designed to be tethered to the booster body using lightweight kevlar, and a streamer can be attached to this shock cord to aid in visibility. For flight, a 24 mm motor is friction fit into each booster. The ejection charge of the motor will separate the nosecone and, in so doing, activate the release mechanism. Use thrust curve data to choose booster motors that have shorter burn times than the central motor and have short delays. That way, the boosters separate mid-flight. For example, I have successfully flown these boosters on an Estes Ventris using D12-3 motors in the boosters (1.6 sec burn time) and an F15-6 in the central rocket (3.4 sec burn time). You can find thrust curve data at thrustcurve.org, and you can use Openrocket (download from openrocket.info) to simulate flights with different motor combinations.