stratos ii newsletter march 2014

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Dear reader, here is the second DARE newsletter that we present to you. As with the last we will try to give you, in these four pages, an overview of the progress within DARE and specifically within Stratos II. We will zoom in on the launch site selection for the project, and about the hybrid rocket motor test campaign. But first: We will take a look back 5 years ago, towards Stratos 1. On the 17th of March 2009 the Stratos 1 rocket liſted itself out of the tower at Esrange in Kiruna. It soared through the sky, breaking the record for amateur rocketry, setting it at 12.5km. A record still in place. e Stratos 1 was a two-stage rocket that flew on a sugar based propellant, oſten referred to as “rocket candy”. 2010 till 2012, DARE focussed itself mainly on the development of other, more advanced propulsion types. In that time new formulations of solid propellant were experimented with, the first hybrid rocket was fired and last year DARE fired its first liquid propellant rocket engine. In November 2012 the decision was then made to fly Stratos II on a big hybrid rocket engine. A singe stage rocket design using N 2 O and sorbitol as propellants. ings really started rolling from that point on and now, at the start of 2014, we can inform you that a launch site for Stratos has been finally selected and we are going into the production phase. Enjoy the read. Rob Hermsen, Team manager Project Stratos II R E A C H I N G B E Y O N D P R O J E C T S T R A T O S . N L 50 KM Delſt Aerospace Rocket Engineering, the Stratos II newsletter March 2014 NEWSLETTER MARCH 2014 Now we are five years further and a lot has happened. Aſter Stratos 1 was launched the team realized that the typical “rocket candy” was just not powerfull enough to get much higher without going to enormous rocket sizes. erefore, from Image credit: SSC

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The Stratos II newsletter for March 2014, published by Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering.

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Page 1: Stratos II newsletter March 2014

Dear reader, here is the second DARE newsletter that we present to you. As with the last we will try to give you, in these four pages, an overview of the progress within DARE and specifically within Stratos II. We will zoom in on the launch site selection for the project, and about the hybrid rocket motor test campaign. But first: We will take a look back 5 years ago, towards Stratos 1.

On the 17th of March 2009 the Stratos 1 rocket lifted itself out of the tower at Esrange in Kiruna. It soared through the sky, breaking the record for amateur rocketry, setting it at 12.5km. A record still in place. The Stratos 1 was a two-stage rocket that flew on a sugar based propellant, often referred to as “rocket candy”.

2010 till 2012, DARE focussed itself mainly on the development of other, more advanced propulsion types. In that time new formulations of solid propellant were experimented with, the first hybrid rocket was fired and last year DARE fired its first liquid propellant rocket engine.

In November 2012 the decision was then made to fly Stratos II on a big hybrid rocket engine. A singe stage rocket design using N2O and sorbitol as propellants. Things really started rolling from that point on and now, at the start of 2014, we can inform you that a launch site for Stratos has been finally selected and we are going into the production phase.

Enjoy the read.

Rob Hermsen, Team manager Project Stratos II

REACHING BEYOND

PROJECTSTRATOS.NL

50 KM

Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering, the Stratos II newsletter March 2014

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2014

Now we are five years further and a lot has happened. After Stratos 1 was launched the team realized that the typical “rocket candy” was just not powerfull enough to get much higher without going to enormous rocket sizes. Therefore, from

Image credit: SSC

Page 2: Stratos II newsletter March 2014

DARE STRATOS I I LAUNCH SITESELECTION

Since May 2013 the propulsion team has performed 5 full scale tests of the Stratos II hybrid rocket engine at the TNO test fa-cility in Rijswijk, with varying success. A final test in the facility was performed in February this year. The engine will still be tested further in the coming months dur-ing a more intensive, one week test campa-

The hybrid engine test ing at a DLR facility in Trauen, Germany.

The test campaign at TNO has been an amazing experience for all involved, an example for good cooperation between companies and students, and very benifi-cial for the project overall. We thank TNO for their help.

Image credit: Ralph Huijsman

Page 3: Stratos II newsletter March 2014

LAUNCH SITESELECTION

Since a little more than a month Stratos II has made an agreement with the Spanish launch site of El Arenosillo, part of the INTA. This launch site, used in the past for sounding rocket experiments and currently being used for military practice, is located in the Southwest of Spain. Launches take place in the direction of the coast and launch over part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Stratos II launch from El Arenosillo is schedulled for the second half of September 2014.

Launch site: El Arenosillo

Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial

Image credit: Google Earth

Page 4: Stratos II newsletter March 2014

Sponsor and advisorIn our highlight category in this newsletter we want to elaborate on our cooperation with APP BV. As one of the few organisations in the Netherlands that is actively involved with production of propellants and rocket motors, DARE of course has a special connection with APP.

The cooperation we have together with the company involves, apart from a financial contribution to Stratos II, also a technical cooperation on technical designs. For example, we have been able to identify and analyse the causes for propellant grain failures in the hybrid engine by performing a root cause analysis together with experts from APP. Finally, APP has been kind enough

to also support the Stratos project with raw materials that can be used for construction of the flight version of the rocket.

As mentioned, a lot of our DARE members who are involved in rocket engine development share a common interest with APP on this subject and we therefore hope that this cooperation will continue to be fruitful in the future.

Our other partners who accepted the challenge: