Taiwan's 1st home-grown sounding rocket completes test flight

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's National Space Organization (TASA) successfully launched its first domestically developed sounding rocket on Saturday, completing a maiden test flight that verified key systems including propulsion, flight control and communications.

According to TASA, the "Maraho" rocket lifted off from the Xuhai Research Rocket Launch Site in Pingtung County at 7:10 a.m. It reached a top speed of 408 meters per second and climbed to a maximum altitude of 8.1 kilometers in 49 seconds before completing its 432-second flight.

The rocket deployed a two-stage parachute before landing in the sea. Recovery teams were unable to retrieve the rocket because of high waves and drifting, but all key flight data had already been transmitted to the ground station, TASA said.

Among the mission's main goals was to verify that the sounding rocket could maintain communications with ground stations throughout the flight and transmit flight data in real time.

The test also collected data on its propulsion, structure, avionics, tracking, ground support and recovery systems, according to TASA.

A sounding rocket is a small research rocket designed to carry instruments into the upper atmosphere for a short period, rather than to place a satellite into orbit.

Unlike an orbital rocket, it is designed to fly up and then return to Earth, allowing scientists to collect data on atmospheric conditions and test rocket technologies.

The test was part of TASA's longer-term effort to develop an indigenous launch vehicle. The agency launched its orbital rocket program in 2023 with the intention of developing the capability of placing a 200-kilogram payload into low-Earth orbit by 2034.

TASA Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said repeated test flights would allow the agency's team to verify technologies and gain experience before moving on to larger rockets, helping reduce development risks.

TASA said it plans to use a first-generation suborbital test vehicle in 2029 and a second-generation vehicle in 2031 to further test rocket systems and the complete vehicle, before conducting a test flight of its first orbital rocket in 2034.

Maraho, formerly known as SR400, is named after the broad-tailed swallowtail, a butterfly native to Taiwan known as the country's national butterfly.

The 7.2-meter-long rocket has a diameter of 0.4 meters and uses a hybrid propulsion system fueled by 90 percent hydrogen peroxide and polypropylene.