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Question:

best blades for auto-rotational landing?

I am currently designing a recovery system for a rocket that uses blades instead of a parachute. The idea is that the blades will auto-rotate, all that in order to slow down the rocket enough for a safe landing.I have been researching a bit on my own, and did a few experiments. However, I have quite a hard time to find the best blades for auto-rotational purposes. If you could give a specific example of blades with details like appropriate pitch angle,etc. which fulfills these properties, that would be awesome. Any background information is also highly appreciated.Thanks in advance.

Answer:

What's auto-rotate in this context? If you mean they are turned by the airstream, then you're on to a total loser. You'd do much better for drag with just a flat stationary disc of the same diameter as the blades.
It just won't work as you hope. The rotor will spin for sure, but so will the whole rocket unless you have very large directional fins to provide some drag for the rotor to oppose. Helicopters can do it as they have the tail rotor to provide resistance and stop the helo from spinning along with the main rotor. Another design would be contra rotating rotors but the design for the deploying mechanism would be something NASA would be proud of, not to mention the weight would mean more power needed from the rocket, (bigger engine, more weight,bigger rotors needed). It becomes a vicious circle that you will never win. Just stick with the parachute if you want your rocket to get off the ground

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