Due to the past heavy rains, an abundance of grass has grown around FAR Site and the surrounding region. With a long period of no rain, these grasses have dried out creating a severe fire hazard. This hazard is not a problem with the launch of the rocket. The hazard is associated with rockets failing to deploy their recovery parachutes and crashing into the ground thus crushing its batteries. Once the Li-Ion or Li-Polymer batteries are crushed they start a fire and catch the adjacent grass on fire. The following is an attempt to reduce the potential for causing a fire through the proper selection of batteries.
Permitted Batteries
- LiFePO4 batteries are allowed in any form factor and in any casing (plastic or metallic).
- Alkaline (Nonchargeable) batteries are allowed in metal casing and any form factor.
- NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) batteries are allowed in metal casing and any form factor.
- Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries are permitted, if installed in a device by the manufacturer or recommended and supplied by the manufacturer. (e.g., Featherweight GPS, Missleworks RRC3, Altus Metrum, or GoPro cameras).
- Other Li-Ion batteries are permitted, if packaged in a cylindrical metallic casing.
- Lithium primary coin cell batteries in metal casing are permitted.
Prohibited Batteries
- Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries are not permitted due to fire hazard.
- Li-Ion batteries in a rectangular form factor and/or with plastic casing are prohibited.
- Wet cell lead acid batteries.
- Nuclear batteries.