Onkla Set To Launch Their Second Overall Mission

On Sunday, July 10, 2022 Onkla will attempt to launch their Everest 1.2B rocket from MLP-15 at the Onkla Flight Facility. This is the upgraded design over the Everest 1.2A rocket which flew on the failed VTF-1 mission. VTF stands for Vehicle Test Flight, and there are currently three planned missions.

VTF-2 will be the second launch for Onkla and will support many new systems, and upgraded designs. The Everest 1.2B rocket will now launch from the MLP-15 series pads instead of MLP-14 which was the design used on the VTF-1 mission. This pad will support two launch rods which will help stabalize the vehicle once it gets off of the pad. The rods will be used on both sides so that they do not induce any sort of roll or pitch. MLP-15 is also the third iteration of the pad with MLP-11 and MLP-14 being its predeccesors. The new pad will also support a new flame trench system. It is a square, and then it opens up, so that it has less of a chance to slide while on the support. However, now the igniter will be fed through the flame trench, so when the engine starts, all of the smoke and exhaust will only be flowing one way to make the launch more visible if it does what VTF-1 did again. But hopefully with all the upgrades, it will go up.

The VTF-2 mission will fly on the SN3 vehicle. SN3 will support the same main body design as SN1. It has an engine segment that is 69 millimeters diameter, and 8 millimeters tall. Then it supports four ring segments ontop which are all 69 millimeters in diameter and 50 millimeters in height. Then there is the nosecone which is also 69 millimeters in diamter at the base, and 78 millimeters in height. This is the simpler version of the vehicle, however when we put the flight computer on the vehicle for the DEMO-1 mission, the vehicle will be a lot more complicated.

SN1 on the pad for its WDR-3. Photo: Josh for Onkla

The vehicle also supports rings on the main ring segments. There are two rings on each segment, each spaced 180 degrees apart, and they will be fed onto the launch rods. The rings reach out 8 millimeters away from the vehicle on each side, and will also work as an aerodynamic stabalizer during the flight. However, an issue with that is that it could also induce some sort of wobble during the powered ascent.

Lets talk about the launch sequence of the vehicle. At around an hour before the launch, everything is loaded into the transportation vehicle for it to be driven to the launch site. The pad will be ready about twenty-five minutes prior to the launch and the vehicle will go vertical soon after.

At T- 10 seconds, the vehicle will enter its terminal count, and no restrains will abort it after then. At T 0, the fuse will ignite, and then we will be commited to flight. At T+ 16 seconds, the OR-1 engine on the first stage will ignite. For this flight that engine will be a V3 engine which is EN28. Then the vehicle will liftoff at T+ 17 seconds. The vehicle will then have ECO or engine cutoff, at T+ 21 seconds. Then it will coast up to apogee and then fall back to the ground before its destructive touchdown as the vehicle is not equipped with a parachute.

After the flight, we will go and recover the vehicle, and begin inspecting the footage. Hoepfully it doesn't burn anything down, and good luck VTF-2!

What Will The Outcome of VTF-2 Be?

• Fully Successful
• Partial Success
• Failure