BPS.space

Camera Payload Deployment Mechanism

The video documents the development of a side‑mounted camera pod intended to capture drogue‑parachute deployment from a rocket reaching roughly 10 km altitude. The creator outlines the full system – a 3‑D‑printed pod, custom fiberglass nose cone, high‑torque servo, and a “risky Batman” propellant – and explains the need for a precise, sub‑second ejection window just before apogee. Initial tests used a hollowed‑out pod riding on plastic‑ceramic bearings, driven by springs of varying stiffness. Stronger springs achieved faster ejection but introduced pronounced rotation, while even modest springs produced a consistent downward pitch due to flex in the deployer and bearing play. The pod’s target mass of about 100 g (camera, tracker, battery) was matched with infill‑adjusted prints, and multiple lubricants were trialed to reduce friction, yet the tilt persisted. The creator dismisses 360° cameras, noting their data‑rate and compression limits that prevent high‑frame‑rate, high‑resolution slow‑motion capture. Instead, a single‑lens GoPro is selected as the optimal compromise. Design revisions include removing the bearings, adding chevron‑shaped contact points, and simplifying the door mechanism, all modeled in Onshape’s cloud‑based CAD platform. A brief sponsor segment highlights Onshape’s rapid update cycle and model‑based definition capabilities. The iterative process underscores the challenges of miniaturized payload recovery: ensuring stable orientation during ejection, capturing usable footage, and retrieving the pod via a tiny GPS tracker without a parachute. Successful resolution could provide hobbyist and educational rocketeers with a reliable method for high‑quality visual data, reducing cost and complexity while expanding the scope of amateur aerospace experiments.