What we do:
In addition to developing a CubeSat, we have set ourselves the goal of developing, building and operating our own experimental rockets.
The focus is on deepening the theoretical knowledge that is taught in lectures at the TU Darmstadt and expanding it to include a practical part. The complex overall system „rocket“ is not only ideally suited to imparting content to our members, but also the indispensable cooperation in an interdisciplinary team. The work should ultimately lead to breaking the European altitude record of 32 km for rockets developed by students.
Current Rocket Developement:
The Fantastic Rocket of Darmstadt Origin FRoDO is our newest Rocket generation. Our goal with the FRoDO Rockets is to take part at international student rocketry competitions such as the European Rocketry Challenge (EuRoC). At EuRoC, which is promoted and organized by the Portuguese Space Agency, the competing student teams launch their rockets to heights between 3000m and 9000m.
The FRoDO Rockets use solid propellant rocket motors and are designed to carry several payloads such as Cansats. The first demo rocket of this generation – FroDO-H1 – did two sucessful flights to 400m in end of 2022.
The currently developed FRoDO-J1 will be a more sophisticated version with a stronger motor, capacity for three payloads and a completely updated avionics and recovery concept. It is planned to be launched to a height of 1000m in September 2023.
To achive this goal, we are always looking for motivated students of all disciplines and semesters!
So far:
The Athena 0 Project was our first rocket generation. Powered by a water jet accelerated under a pressure of 20 bar from the tank into the environment, Athena 0 mainly served as a test vehicle. At low costs, we researched and tested avionics/telemetry, recovery by parachute, attitude stabilisation and pressure tank construction. We have launched our Athena 0.1 and Athena 0.2 rockets in 2021 and 2022.
Long term project:
The long term goal of the rocket team is the developement of an experimental rocket powered by a specifically developed liquid propellant rocket engine. The propellants used are ethanol and nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. These represent a suitable compromise between performance and easy and safe handling. The engine is designed to develop a thrust of 2 kN at a combustion chamber pressure of 21 bar. Thus, the composite tanks are required to withstand an internal pressure of about 40 bar and an oxidant temperature of -70°C. The Propulsion Subsection is currently working on the engine developement for that rocket.
Curious?
Then just drop by one of our meetings without obligation. Our weekly project meeting takes place every Tuesday at 6:00pm in our workshop or on our Discord Server. If you have any questions, please contact our sectionleads Jonas, Manu or Julia.