National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
07/22/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/22/2024 02:00
New Milestone in Space Exploration: NYCU ASARe Team Successfully Launches Sounding Rocket in Taiwan for the First Time
Translated by Chance Lai
______
______
In a groundbreaking event for space exploration efforts from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), Aerospace Systems & Aerodynamics Research (ASARe) Lab successfully launched its Asfaloth sounding rocket system on the morning of July 21 at the Pingtung Syuhai Research Rocket Launch Site. The rocket, powered by a 1000-kilogram thrust engine, burned for approximately 10 seconds with a total impulse of around 50,000 Newton seconds, reaching an altitude of about 3000 meters. This marks the NYCU's first rocket launch in Taiwan, signifying a new milestone in our journey toward space exploration.
Asfaloth Sounding Rocket Achieves Successful First Flight Test. (Photo credit: Taiwan Space Agency)
From 2020 Onwards: ASARe Lab Establishes Space Exploration Links with Multiple Rocket Teams
Since 2020, Assistant Professor Zu Puayen Tan of the Mechanical Engineering Department at NYCU has established the ASARe Lab, forging connections through various aerospace missions and the broader field of space exploration.
NYCU currently boasts three rocket teams developing different types of rockets: the Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC) focuses on guided research rockets with a target altitude of 100 kilometers, the ASARe lab specializes in unguided research sounding rockets with an altitude of under 100 kilometers, and the Formosan Fox team is dedicated to competition rockets. (Read more: In June, the Formosan Fox team successfully launched and recovered their rocket at the 2024 Spaceport America Cup in the desert).
The scientific-sounding rocket "Asfaloth" (named after the elf horse in "The Lord of the Rings"), standing 5.2 meters tall with a diameter of 26.5 centimeters and weighing 190 kilograms, was the centerpiece of this launch mission. The mission involved around 25 team members from ASARe, ARRC, and the Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Servo Control Laboratory (MSCL).
From 2020 Onwards: ASARe Lab Establishes Space Exploration Links with Multiple Rocket Teams
Since 2020, Assistant Professor Zu Puayen Tan of the Mechanical Engineering Department at NYCU has established the ASARe Lab, forging connections through various aerospace missions and the broader field of space exploration.
NYCU currently boasts three rocket teams developing different types of rockets: the Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC) focuses on guided research rockets with a target altitude of 100 kilometers, the ASARe lab specializes in unguided research sounding rockets with an altitude of under 100 kilometers, and the Formosan Fox team is dedicated to competition rockets. (Read more: In June, the Formosan Fox team successfully launched and recovered their rocket at the 2024 Spaceport America Cup in the desert).
The scientific-sounding rocket "Asfaloth" (named after the elf horse in "The Lord of the Rings"), standing 5.2 meters tall with a diameter of 26.5 centimeters and weighing 190 kilograms, was the centerpiece of this launch mission. The mission involved around 25 team members from ASARe, ARRC, and the Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Servo Control Laboratory (MSCL).
ASARe led the rocket system integration and launch tower design, ARRC provided the primary HTTP-3A stage hybrid rocket engine, "Snake Eagle," and MSCL supplied the avionics transmission system. Notably, this mission marked the first flight test of the Snake Eagle hybrid rocket engine, serving as a precursor to the HTTP-3A two-stage rocket flight test.
ASARe's First Rocket Launch: Overcoming Challenges and Paving the Way for Future Missions
Assistant Professor Zu Puayen Tan of the ASARe team noted that this flight test used only one-third of the full rocket's fuel, achieving approximately 5 seconds of propulsion and an altitude of about 3000 meters. Future full-scale rocket launches are planned to have 15 seconds of propulsion, reaching an altitude of 10 kilometers.
Student Ming-Hao Wang, responsible for systems engineering, stated that the mission's greatest challenge was the rocket system's complexity, where small issues could lead to larger problems, making system integration the most difficult task.
This flight test showcases NYCU's technical capabilities and paves the way for future missions and scientific exploration. The ASARe team announced that the next flight test mission is expected to carry a scientific payload named AsyncELF, designed to break the sound barrier (ELF coincidentally means elf).