Determining the Relationship Between the Velocity and Drag Coefficient of a Model Rocket

Abstract

There has been a significant uptick in interest among the wider public toward space and its associated technologies. Despite this, there is still a significant lack of public resources discussing the more nuanced areas of rocketry. One such area is the behavior of air around a rocket as its speed increases. The changing speed causes the air around the rocket to flow differently, resulting in different drag characteristics. This paper studies this relationship. In keeping with the focus on accessibility, this paper will use a model rocket instead of the full-size version. This paper finds that there is a negative correlation between speed and air drag on a rocket.