Today we had the first opportunity to launch the stratos. At 4:00 this morning we started with the preparations. Trying to beat the clock and finish faster then we first estimated. At 12:00 we had the second flight readiness meeting with Esrange. The conclusion of this meeting was that it was not wise to launch. Saturday the weather should be better and we can finish our preparations without making too much haste. Rocketry is serious business and working faster then we should with very little rest is not wise. This is why it was decided to launch the next day. We could have launched today but launching tomorrow was safer and with a higher chance to succeed.
 
After this meeting we finished to motors, the recovery system and all primary electronics. Furthermore together with the people of Esrange we finished the cables between the bunker and launch tower. Then we got a phone call, we were only allowed to launch during normal working hours and not in the weekend. This is why the launch is postponed till Monday. At 9:00 we have the first meeting of the day and the first estimate for t = 0 is 12:00 local time.

This weekend will be spend on resting and relaxing. Furthermore we have extra time to finish the secondary systems. The camera and transmitter still need some tinkering. They are nice to have but not necessary during flight.

The Stratos launch has been rescheduled to Saturday, somewhere late in the morning or early afternoon, due to the fact that there are better conditions tomorrow for the launch. The exact launch time will be decided at 9:00.

The ignition system test that was done this morning was succesfull. The final preparations of the rocket will be performed this afternoon. We will keep you updated on this site.

The Stratos rocket is now set to launch today at 14:00. A decision to start launch procedures will be made at 12:00, the countdown will then start at 13:00. At this moment some final tests of the launch system are being performed and the electronics are being prepared for launch. When this is completed the electronics module will be attached to the sustainer section of the rocket. Then if there is a positive decision to launch some final preperations will be made and the rocket will be put into the launch tower. During the countdown some final tests will be performed. At about T minus 1 minute the vehicle team will give the final GO for launch and then the rocket will blast off into the sky at 14:00 to break the European altitude record.

The morning started with a surprise for Mark and Martijn. Esrange needed some extra eyes for the helicopter reconnaissance flight over the impact area before the REXUS 6 launch. Mark and Martijn gladly left their breakfast behind to make use of this kind offer. Two hours after the flight Esrange finally launched the REXUS 6. The launch was a really beautiful sight. Almost directly after the launch we started to prepare the motors. The first of the four booster motors is now ready for flight. We had to stop early with the preparations but we will continue early tomorrow morning at 4:00.

Although the primary flight system works fine we are still busy with the secondary systems. The camera still has some glitches. The MCU can turn the camera off but is not able to start it. Furthermore we can send data with our transmitter but we cannot decode it real-time, only record it. We are working to solve these last challenges before the launch.

Tomorrow at 4:30 the countdown of the REXUS 5 will commence. The planned launch is at 7:00 local time. Shortly after the launch we can continue with our own preparation and if all goes well we will launch tomorrow afternoon.

Late this morning Esrange finally saw the first rocket launch of the campaign: at 11:08 the REXUS 6 left its tower with a set of student experiments onboard.

The closest place where the public could see the launch was on Radar Hill, a nearby hill named for the radar equipment present there. Standing there on same hills of snow the Stratos team had a very good view of the launch. The REXUS 6 is a single stage Improved Orion which reached an apogee of 88 km. The next REXUS launch is scheduled for tomorrow morning 07:00. Then finally Friday in the afternoon we hope to launch the Stratos rocket.

At this moment the capsule sections are assembled. Simultaneously the pyro team is assembling the motors. When that is done the rocket is almost ready for launch.

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Dawn flight engine ready to go

On Thursday the 3th of May 2012, the hybrid propulsion team of the Stratos II project (named Dawn) successfully tested their flight engine. This hybrid rocket engine has been developed based on the research they have done during the whole span of the project. Now finally they are ready to go for the first attempt in the history of DARE to launch a hybrid rocket engine. The team has kept to their original design of an engine with a sorbitol fuel grain and a nitrous oxide oxidizer. To store the oxidizer the tank concept developed during the Spacecraft Engineering Minor [...]