Our Mission Our goal is to provide the most flexible, highest performance flight electronics available off the shelf or semi-custom. We provide hardware and software engineering and manufacturing resources for special use systems targeted at the mid to high end amateur rocketry market, as well as low end commercial customers.  Our modular systems make it easy and economical to provide what ever the customer requires, even up to the FAA Level III limits (150 Km. maximum altitude, suborbital).  Starter systems are competitively priced with other much less flexible and lower performance systems. We use these computers ourselves not only to fly our rockets, but operate our static test stand and control our computer controlled hybrid rocket motors.

These motors use the 6-channel Driver module for a digital Oxidizer flow control system.  When equipped with the required base module, telemetry, high performance GPS, Inertial Sensor and ADC module(s) it provides a complete flight control system for high altitude flight.

What is Black Magic Missile Works?

Black Magic Missile Works is a small development group of aerospace, electronic hardware and software engineers and students dedicated to the idea that rocket technology is available to all who pursue it, and the future is ever brighter for space exploration and development of space transportation in all forms.  With development facilities located in the Paradise Mountain region

of Valley Center (north San Diego County), California we have a complete machine shop and prototype capability for the development of small hybrid rocket motors, the electronics to manage them, and airframes for flight testing.

Facilities Available

With over a 1,000 sq. ft. of shop space, machining capabilities include (from left to right): 13” x 40” Tool Room Lathe, 9” x 42” Vertical Mill and 10” x 16” Horizontal Band Saw.  Other machines available are floor standing variable-speed drill press, belt/disk sander, sheet metal shear and brake, etc.  Mechanical design tools include Solid Works 3D mechanical design software

and RockSim airframe design and simulation software.

Additional tools are available for calculating propellant chemistry.  Fuel mixing and casting facilities are also located in an adjacent building.

Electronics hardware development is performed using high end industry standard development tools, including Mentor Graphics Design Capture (schematic) and Expedition (PCB layout).  Software development is performed with the appropriate compilers/assemblers, development systems, In-Circuit-Emulators (ICE) and various electronic test instruments.

Our current horizontal test stand located at our facilities supports motors up to 2,000 pounds of thrust and provides for 32 high resolution data channels for recording motor thrust, combustion chamber pressure, oxidizer pressure, temperatures, etc.

A new vertical test stand is being developed for the same site that will allow testing of motors in the flight configuration.

For larger motor testing the Mojave Test Area at the north end of Edwards Air Force base is available.  This facility supports motors up to 30,000 pounds of thrust and test flights to 75,000’.  Launches in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada are planned.