Guidance, Navigation, and Control
Jet Vane Static Fire Close-Up
A RAMBLIN' ROCKET CLUB PROJECT
Active Controls Rocketry
The Guidance, Navigation, and Control project within Ramblin' Rocket Club is flying medium and large-scale rockets that introduce active control methods into the flight plan. Using various methods such as canards, gimballed thrust-vector, and jet-vanes, GNC aims to establish a high-powered rocket with precise maneuverability, building the blocks for future missions, including controlled landing. With an intense focus on research and development, students gain critical skills in designing, testing, and manufacturing in a novel field.
Big Ideas, Big Innovations
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Controls: Develop innovative linear and non-linear control algorithms to actively stabilize our rockets. Created a simulation architecture for any rocket we use to predict rocket behavior under the control algorithm.
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Structures: Designs and manufactures almost all physical items inside every rocket, including aerostructures, internal hardware, recovery, and active control mechatronics. This sub-team leads the way in CAD, machining, structural analysis, and testing of each system.
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Aerodynamics: Creates CFD models to validate the aerodynamic performances of the rocket and the impacts of aerodynamic control surfaces on rocket dynamics. Analyzes high-speed, high-temperature, and turbulent flows to guide the overall design of each vehicle.
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Electronics: Developing our custom avionics flight stack purpose-built for our rocket, using all in-house PCBs.
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Software: Implements unique control algorithms on the rocket to provide the real-time state of the rocket and stabilization.
Founded in 2022, GNC aims to become the first collegiate team to successfully demonstrate jet-vanes technology in a high-powered rocket. GNC welcomes students of all majors and backgrounds; no prior experience necessary. Our leads will guide new members from onboarding workshops to hands-on activities quickly. Subteams include:
Projects
HPR TVC, Lorax
2025-2026
Similar to other GNC rockets, TVC, or Thrust Vector Control, involves rotating the motor at the aft end of the rocket. By rotating the motor and the direction of the motor exhaust, the entire rocket can be rotated. This helps stabilize and keep it straight up throughout flight. Lessons learned from previous low-powered TVC launches will now translate to a scaled-up, more powerful version of a TVC system. Lorax uses an i40N motor, gimbaled at the bottom of the rocket, to actively stabilize the entire rocket. With a larger motor comes many advantages, such as a stronger ability to resist atmospheric changes, including wind. From previous projects, such as Scarlet and Gru & Vector, come many lessons, such as a similar electronic architecture and recovery.
Fin Tabs, Onceler
2025-2026
Onceler, GNC’s Fin Tabs rocket, uses small rotating tabs at the bottom of the static fins to stabilize it. These tabs are rotated on one side of the rocket, for example, to change airflow over the fin and cause a force that rotates the rocket. This provides active stabilization during flight. Through Georgia Tech's on-campus wind tunnel, the team can accurately estimate how the system will perform and gain a better understanding of the system. Onceler will also use a new custom modular avionics stack being developed by the team. There are plans to launch this vehicle in Spring 2026.
Reaction Wheel, Syndrome
2025-2026
Reaction wheels offer a reliable way to control the roll of rocket and space systems. By altering the speed of a large rotating mass within the vehicle, the angular momentum can be controlled, and the roll of the rocket can be stabilized. This offers many advantages, such as the ability to offer stabilized camera footage. GNC’s Syndrome rocket will use this technology in order to do exactly that, roll stabilize a rocket in order to capture stable footage. The reaction wheel uses a brushless motor and electronic speed controller to exact precise angular momentums on the rocket.
Jet Vanes
2024-2025
The GNC Project has set its sights on a new method of Thrust Vector Control - Jet Vanes. Jet Vanes act as aerodynamically shaped deflectors that are placed at the nozzle exit. Using servo-motors to rotate these vanes, a rotating moment is created on the rocket, which allows the rocket to actively stabilize itself. Counteracting supersonic, turbulent, abrasive, and high-temperature exhaust flows, jet vanes provide one of the best ways to establish controls on a solid-propellant rocket. GNC aims to be the first ever collegiate team to build and launch a Jet Vanes TVC Rocket in Spring 2025.
Quick Facts:
Vane Material: Tungsten-Copper Alloy
Rocket Apogee: 10,800 ft. AGL
Flight Computer: Vaney Sensor Board
Motor Used: Aerotech N1000W
Max Velocity: Mach 0.65
Burn Time: 13.1 sec
Gru and Vector
2023-2024
Gru and Vector are two mid-powered rockets that were designed, built, and launched with a gimbaled motor system in February 2024. The gimbaled motor involved changing the direction of exhaust flow by rotating the motor on two axes. This allowed both rockets to be actively controlled during flight. Each rocket had different parameters – Gru was longer and used a G12 motor, while Vector was shorter and used an F10 motor. These variations allow us to compare the effects of different motor burn times, thrust outputs, and rocket conditions on the functionality of the gimbaled motor. The components of the gimbaled system were designed and built in-house by students, primarily using 3D printing to manufacture components for various systems. Both rockets launched, and although sustained flight was not achieved due to low thrust-to-weight ratios, the correction of attitude was seen during the flight
Test Stands
Our Static Fire Test Stands are manufactured in-house from scratch and provide a unique ability to read forces for rockets equipped with TVC. We have 2 test stands with the ability to read both large and small rocket motors, named after some of the greatest cartoon characters ever to live.
Tom Test Stand
The larger of the two test stands, Tom, provides the ability to handle full-scale rocket motors up to 8 inches in diameter with an axial thrust reading of up to 45 kN. Tom is also equipped with three 2 kN load cells that can read pitch, yaw, and roll forces. Tom’s robust but modular design accommodates motors 12-48 inches long. Tom’s first test fire in April 2024 made GNC the first collegiate team to test jet vanes technology.
Jerry Test Stand
The smaller of the two test stands, Jerry, allows for subscale testing with an axial thrust reading of up to 2 kN. Jerry is equipped with two 2 kN load cells for pitch and yaw measurements. Jerry, itself being a miniature version of Tom, accommodates motors 6-12 inches in length.
Mission Log
Vehicle | Est Launch | Launch Date |
|---|---|---|
Lorax | April 2026 | |
Onceler | April 2026 | |
Dr. Doofenshmirtz | April 2026 | |
Syndrome | April 2026 | |
Scarlet | Feb 2025 | 02/25/2025 |
Megamind | Feb 2023 | 04/23/2023 |
Gru and Vector | Feb 2024 | 02/02/2024 |