CU Spaceflight
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CU Spaceflight is a student-run Cambridge University society founded with the aim of achieving cheap access to space. It is supported by the Cambridge-MIT Institute.[1]
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[edit] History
The project was founded in the summer of 2006, with the specific goal of launching a rocket into space for less than GBP£1000.[2]
As of November, 2007, CU Spaceflight has launched five unmanned high altitude balloons, of which two were not successful:[3] Nova 2 was blown into the North Sea and Nova 5 failed to ignite the Martlet 1 solid rocket motor, but landed in a reusable state.
CU Spaceflight is a participant of the UK High Altitude Society.
[edit] Owlstone Photography Prize
On 27 June 2007, CU Spaceflight won the Owlstone Photography Prize, having submitted an unenhanced photograph from the Nova 1 flight, displaying the curvature of the Earth as seen from Near space. The entry was entitled "Earth from 32km". CU Spaceflight won a cash prize and 25-hours of workshop time.[4]
[edit] Projects
As of 2007, Cambridge University Spaceflight has three projects which it is pursuing; all three are critical to the long-term goal of successfully launching a rocket into space and retrieving it.
[edit] Nova
Nova is CU Spaceflight's first project and has the objective of launching high altitude balloons on test flights to near space. The lifting gas used is helium.
[edit] Missions
[edit] Nova 0
Nova 0 was a prototype for the Nova programme, and never flew, despite being capable of doing so.[5]
[edit] Nova 1
The first Nova flight, Nova 1, was launched from Cambridge, UK, on 9 November 2006. It reached an apogee of 32 kilometres (105,000 feet) - roughly four times the height of Mount Everest, and landed by parachute 3 hours later.[1]
Following recovery, 857 still images were downloaded from the on-board cameras.[6]
[edit] Nova 2
Nova 2 was launched on 19 November 2006, ten days after the successful Nova 1 flight. The near spacecraft suffered a mechanical failure and was blown off into the North Sea by high winds. All contact was lost and it has yet to be recovered. Nova 2 was the first unsuccessful mission in the Nova programme.
[edit] Nova 3
Nova 3 launched on 21 January 2007. It was originally intended to carry a UK High Altitude Society payload consisting of several modules, but electronic failures prevented this from being the case. Nova 3 served as a test flight for a cutdown mechanism, and was located in Germany on 23 January 2007. The payload was arranged to be sent back to CU Spaceflight.
[edit] Nova 4
Nova 4 launched on 7 March 2007, as a concept demonstrator for a launch platform for the Martlet 1 rocket. The payload carried included all components necessary to fire a rocket except the rocket itself. The mission reached 20 kilometres, and landed at 8 m/s.
[edit] Nova 5
- Further information: CU Spaceflight: Martlet 1
Nova 5 was launched on 24 March 2007, from the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, into overcast cloud. It was launched in front of a crowd at the Cambridge Science Week (as part of CU Spaceflight's outreach programme). It was intended to fire the Martlet 1 rocket, but the igniter failed and the rocket never left the balloon. Both vehicles were recovered on 12 April 2007, in a fully reusable state.
Following the unsuccessful mission, CU Spaceflight announced they would be working towards their next Martlet launch with the MIT Rocket Team, an MIT student society also aimed at cheap space access.
[edit] Meteor
Meteor is a project designed to provide a landing system for falling body to a 100 metre accuracy, from any point within the Earth's atmosphere. The Meteor project will use a paraglider to land objects.
[edit] Martlet
Martlet is the project aimed at the development of a small rocket and launch system which can be launched from a Nova balloon in the upper atmosphere.
CU Spaceflight aim the final Martlet rocket to be less than 1 metre long, weigh 3.5 kilograms, and carry a 0.5 kg payload. The intended cost per launch is less than GBP£1000. The rocket will be a solid-fuel rocket. Its objective is to reach suborbital space - i.e. reaching altitudes in excess of 100km (the boundary of space).
The idea of a balloon-launched rocket - a rockoon - is not new, but is rarely practised. The incentives for air-based launch are that the altitude the balloons reach are in the near space region - which is above 99% of the atmosphere - thus resulting in significantly less atmospheric drag, requiring far less rocket fuel.
The first Martlet test flight was launched atop the Nova 5 balloon on 24 March 2007, but failed to ignite the rocket engine although it made a soft landing in a fully reusable state.
CU Spaceflight is currently working jointly with the MIT Rocket Team toward their next Martlet launch.
[edit] Missions
[edit] Martlet 1
Martlet 1 was designed as a concept demonstrator, and launched atop the Nova 5 balloon on 24 March 2007. The mission suffered telemetry difficulties which indicated that the rocket had fired from an altitude of 24 kilometres, however this was not the case. The balloon and rocket were recovered on 12 April 2007, and despite the mission's failure both vehicles were deemed fully reusable.
[edit] SEDS Innovation Challenge
On 16 October 2007, Cambridge University Spaceflight announced on their website that they would be participating in the SEDS Innovation Challenge 2008.[7] The challenge is an international competition scheduled for October 2008. To win, a student team must launch a rocket from a high altitude balloon at 75,000 feet, with the rocket reaching an extra 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the altitude it is launched from.
CU Spaceflight will enter jointly with the MIT Rocket Team.[7]
In November 2007, CU Spaceflight travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, for the 2007 SpaceVision conference. During the visit they had their first face-to-face meeting with the MIT Rocket Team.[3]
[edit] Sponsorship
CU Spaceflight is supported by several sponsors donating money, equipment, and expertise. In exchange, Cambridge University Spaceflight displays the sponsor's logos on its website, and depending on the sponsorship level other forms of advertising such as displaying sponsor's logos on Nova balloons and Martlet rockets. As of November, 2007, the current sponsors are:[8]
[edit] Silver
[edit] Bronze
- Cadsoft Online
- Garner Osborne
- DE Shaw & Co
- Central Desktop
[edit] Press coverage
Since its inception, Cambridge University Spaceflight has been covered by several major news sources, including The Guardian[9] and BBC News.[10]
[edit] Recognition
Following the success of Nova 1 and the announcement of the Martlet and Meteor projects, CU Spaceflight has received interest from the university's Department for Atmospheric Chemistry and the British Antarctic Survey on the results of its work.
[edit] Outreach
CU Spaceflight has performed talks in secondary schools in and around Cambridge, UK, and continues to offer to do so, hoping to raise the profile of engineering and aerospace in particular.
During the Cambridge Science Week, CU Spaceflight launched their Nova 5 balloon in front of a large crowd.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Nova Press release
- ^ CU Spaceflight Home page
- ^ a b CU Spaceflight News page
- ^ Owlstone Photography Competition at the Department of Engineering winning image. University of Cambridge (2007-06-27). Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ Nova programme page
- ^ All 857 photos from Nova 1
- ^ a b CU Spaceflight Information Booklet (2007-10-16). Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ CU Spaceflight Sponsorship page
- ^ "To the edge of space for £1,000", The Guardian, 2006-09-19. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ "Low-cost space flight for camera", BBC News, 2006-09-18. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
