Hungary’s first supersonic research rocket is here
During the flight, the rocket carried out two scientific experiments: a biomedical experiment with living bone cells, and an atmospheric physics experiment measuring the Earth’s magnetism on the device.
The BME Aerospace team was formed in September 2021 to combine the knowledge of university students and the most renowned Hungarian experts to design and assemble a supersonic, suborbital rocket that flies more than twice the speed of sound and does not go into orbit around the Earth.
The test launch of the educational research rocket called Aether-S took place on Thursday at 4:05 p.m. at the 0-point firing range of the Géza Böszörményi Command Training Ground of the Hungarian Armed Forces, subject to the necessary permits and compliance with the necessary 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.
According to the information of the main sponsor of the project, the National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH), the team members spent 16,000 working hours on the implementation of the project from the time it was formed to the competition. Development and laboratory tests took place until the middle of August 2022, and assembly followed them in the fall.