Space Dart 1 hull attached to tail-fins. |
The collaboration project with the SunRide student amateur rocketry society at Sheffield University, in the UK, is continuing according to plan. We have now obtained the necessary materials for the testing and construction of four booster, one for static testing, two for the flights, asnd one spare. The first dart's hull is nearly complete (see picture) and the internal components, that is, the avionics for communication, imaging and measurements, are in constuction. A ground station has been completed and initiial range testing carried out. We are expecting to be able to launch Dart 1 in July, at a site in Romania. The plan is that the first dart will attempt an ascent to 50 km. It will be launched at an inland site, and we will attempt to recover it. Ideally, it will fall back within the range boundary, but if not, it should be easy to recover it from the surrounding agricultural land. The second flight will, we hope, take the dart over the Von Karman line (100 km). |