Hungary’s first supersonic research rocket was launched to Hungarian students
The Aerospace team of the BME (Budapest University of Technology and Economics) was formed in September 2021 to combine the knowledge of university students and the most renowned domestic experts to design a supersonic, suborbital rocket – which flies more than twice the speed of sound, does not go into orbit around the Earth, and assemble.
The test launch of the educational research rocket named Aether-S took place on January 26 at 4:05 p.m. at the 0-point firing range of the Hungarian Armed Forces’ Géza Böszörményi Csapatgyakorlótér Command, subject to the necessary permits and compliance with the precautions.
The rocket was operated by a self-developed computer and communication system, and the backup system was assembled by the team from commercially available devices. The team members spent 16,000 working hours on the project from its inception to the competition. Development and laboratory tests took place until the middle of August last year, and assembly followed in the fall. By now, the student team of nearly 30 people includes electrical engineers, IT engineers, vehicle, mechanical and mechatronics engineers, doctors, astronomers, geophysicists, economists, lawyers and graphic designers.
Research astronaut Bertalan Farkas was the guest of honor at the project presentation event held a week earlier in the hall of the BME’s Q building. World aerobatic champion Péter Besenyei personally watched the successful test launch.
The implementation of the project is widely inspected by representatives of the domestic aviation and space industry – universities, research institutes, companies and state actors. The main supporters of the BME AerospaceTeam are the National Media and Communications Authority, the KÉSZ Group, Valkyr Informatikai Kft., Lufthansa Systems Hungária Kft., Aviation Business Solutions Broker Services AG, individual entrepreneur József Szűcs, GépForg 2000 Kft., the They were Varinex Informatikai Zrt. and Macher Machinery and Electronics Zrt.