Academy cadets to conduct rocket static fire test

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) --  Cadets in the FalconLaunch program here will conduct a fully integrated static test fire of the FalconLaunch-8 rocket's propulsion system Jan. 15 in Jacks Valley, Colo.

FalconLaunch is a two-semester course for cadets to gain hands-on experience, "learning space by doing space."

Over the course of the year, the multidisciplinary cadet team, with faculty mentors from several academic departments, design, build, test and fly a solid-fueled rocket carrying cadet-designed and Department of Defense payloads.

The FalconLaunch-8 propulsion system has a fuel design capable of producing 4000 pounds of peak thrust during a 7.8 second burn duration. The FalconLaunch-8 rocket is designed to support a DOD experimental fin-tip payload that is being investigated for use on future reusable space flight vehicles. The supersonic speeds provided by FalconLaunch-8 will simulate part of the environment the fin-tip will see during the space vehicle's launch phase.

The static firing of the FalconLAUNCH-8 propulsion system will validate the thrust and chamber pressure produced by the motor. It also will test a new data-acquisition system and a head-end igniter. The head-end igniter is a direct response to the static fire mishap the FalconLaunch-6 rocket experienced in November, 2009.

The cadets will analyze and compare the actual thrust and chamber pressure data received from the test against predicted values from simulations to ensure the motor design meets program requirements.

A successful test will lead to a planned launch of the rocket from White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in April. Cadets expect the vehicle to travel faster than Mach 3 for more than five seconds. FalconLaunch-8 will carry the program's first DOD Space Test Program payload: instrumented winglets designed for performance testing at high speeds. The winglets could be used on future reusable space vehicles and other hypersonic systems if they prove successful on the FalconLaunch project.

The previous rocket in the FalconLaunch series, FalconLaunch-7, also was launched from White Sands. That April 2009 launch put the FalconLaunch-7 rocket's boosted dart payload section up to an altitude of 354,724 feet, setting a world altitude record for university-built rockets.