Taiwan's NYCU carries out 2nd successful domestic rocket launch

Taipei, Oct. 18 (CNA) Taiwan's National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) successfully launched a domestically engineered sounding rocket from the Hsu-Hai Rocket Research Launch Site in Pingtung County early Saturday, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) said.

Named the "Asfaloth Launch-2," the project involved an Asfaloth sounding rocket developed by NYCU's Aerospace Systems and Aerodynamics Research (ASARe) Lab, according to a TASA press release.

A sounding rocket is a suborbital rocket that carries scientific instruments to study the upper atmosphere and space for a short flight.

TASA said that the agency served as the government organization that oversaw the project, adding that the entire project was spearheaded by NYCU's own ASARe, Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC), Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Servo Control Laboratory (MSCL) and the Aerospace Communication and Electromagnetic Sensing Laboratory (ACES LAB).

ASARe was responsible for the integration of the rocket system and the design of the launch tower, while ARRC provided the primary engine for the first stage, the "Serpent Eagle Hybrid Rocket Engine," and MSCL supplied the avionics system.

The rocket successfully took off from the Hsu-Hai Rocket Research Launch Site at 6:32 a.m. on Saturday using a Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) from TASA.

According to assistant professor Tan Zu Puayen (陳竺博淵) who leads the university's ASARe team, the 6.2 meter-long and 198-kilogram rocket hit its maximum altitude in 26 seconds with a height of 2.8 kilometers.

The purpose of the Saturday launch was to verify the integrity of the Asfaloth rocket, the ASARe team said, adding that it was also to simulate the accuracy of a launch, test out the electronics system of the projectile, the quality of its landing mechanism and the dependency of its data transmission capacity.

The Saturday achievement was the second Asfaloth rocket launched from NYCU, following the first launch on July 21, 2024.

The first Asfaloth launch also took place from the Hsu-Hai Rocket Research Launch Site, TASA said, adding that the Saturday blastoff marked the 10th rocket launch from the location since its opening in 2022.