Well we are working on a guided parachute recovery system. If we get some more funding near term some hardware should be coming soon. This system is GPS guided and is autonomous and will return spent booster's to the launch site or preselected LZ's. NSE-2 should be recovered using this method to recover our payload without having to chase it down. It is a bit more practical and cheaper than winged flight.

Monroe

They are working on a similar system at CUSF called Meteor.

As this is a University Website, I'm always surprised there are no updates.
They started two years ago, but there doesn't seem to be any updates in the last year.
You may finish before they do.

MisterQED
Team Daedalus

GPS guided parachutes are as old as GPS, and radio guided back to 1968 that I know of. Steve Snyder of SSE inc, one of the earliest developers of airfoil sport parachutes had developed a system that would home in on an RF transmitter. Then when GPS became avaiable, he built in the means to determine wind direction as it approached so it could land upwind. The concept is well proven.

Question is, will attempts to recover make the rocket too expensive? For N Prize I think a cheap disposable is what I want. Stage 1 hardware cost estimated to be less than about $300 each. They will be equipped with a vent that opens after depletion so it will sink offshore of US.

Another recovery method I'd been thinking of for larger more expensive stages in described in the SA 05 and CSC 06, in which airbrakes in the tail slow the descent to under 200 knots or so and wings are deployed like on cruise missiles.

Dont forget the 6 sextillion ton recovery device always works. Charles

Hey Charles
The Recovery system is for the balloon launch platform, actually for the camera platform (sore subject) on this next mission it's planed for anyway (not the very next). We have to have it ready by March-April a prominent University is looking for us to carry a payload by then (to near space) they may save our butt if we can have it ready by then.
CUSF is working on one? I guess I need to look at other teams websites more often. Good luck with that guys! I don't see it being to difficult I hope! I better tell Dave and Stew huh! Hey Dave! where did ya go?

Monroe

Speaking of where are you guy's am I the only team member that talks or what (Besides Rick)

Just saw their parafoil "Meteor" holy cow yeah just like that. Next I guess we do the wing brake thing Charles suggested? Like minds, it really is funny the changes I go threw as this develops and the similar thinking we all seem to have at one time or another.

Yeah, even I had an idea like this once...