Ares — Flight testing
Launches
Three iterations of Ares, each improving on the last, all launched in the Anza-Borrego desert.
01 · Launch 1
30 mph wind, a late parachute
Our first launch was our foray into advanced rocketry, and we were welcomed by 30 mph wind. The rocket went pretty high, but it didn’t counteract the wind as much as we’d hoped.
The parachute charge delay was too long, so it deployed right before the rocket hit the ground.
02 · Launch 2
Calm air, an unstable airframe
There was very little wind, and the rocket likely would have worked if it weren’t so aerodynamically unstable.
It may look like an abysmal failure, but it showed the emergency parachute logic working, and that kept the rocket largely in one piece.
03 · Launch 3 · Success
High wind, held vertical
The wind was so high we had to set up the launchpad behind a large bush. Despite that, the rocket stayed upright because of its active stabilization.
At burnout, with no thrust left to steer, it tipped over and triggered the emergency parachute. This flight showed TVC fighting wind and holding vertical at model scale.