A brief history of Space Team Aachen

Nov. 2018
Very first team meeting

In late 2018 a handful of students came together for the first time to discuss their shared passion for rocketry. Space Team Aachen was not yet born but outlined for the first time.

30.03.2019
First launch: MORA takes flight

MORA (Modell Rakete) was the first rocket ever to be launched in the context of Space Team Aachen activity. It was launched multiple times and reached a maximum apogee of 349.6 m.

07.08.2019
Founding of Space Team Aachen

Space Team Aachen is officially founded following the board’s majority vote according to chapter § 3 of the association statute.

07.09.2019
Launch: Double trouble as FRODO and Duhnsen Brenner launch in Zülpich

While Frodo was the first Space Team Rocket to feature multiple solid rocket motors, the Duhnsen Brenner was to be the first to incorporate staging. Sadly, both launches ran into trouble. FRODO only made it a few meters off the ground.

07.12.2019
Launch: FRODO 2 launches successfully

The second iteration of FRODO reached an apogee of 494.69 m and had a successful recovery.

24.10.2020
Launch: First competition rocket CARL launches at EuRoC

Space Team Aachen participated at the inaugural edition of the European Rocketry Challenge and launched its first competition rocket CARL to 1,973 m.

10.06.2021
STAHR joins the DLR STERN program

Space Team Aachen’s first hybrid rocket is selected to be part of STERN III, setting the path for Space Team Aachen to launch a hybrid rocket in 2024.

14.10.2021
Launch: CARL II launches at EuRoC

The second competition rocket of Space Team Aachen launches at the second iteration of the European Rocketry Challenge. Sporting many upgrades compared to CARL, CARL II reached an apogee of 2848 m. 5th out of 19 teams.

13.12.2021
TRACE joins the REXUS program

Space Team Aachen’s reentry capsule, the transpirtation cooling experiment TRACE, is selected for REXUS cycle 14, becoming Space Team Aachen’s first REXUS experiment.

18.01.2022
Launch: Alpha launch campaign, Thrust vector controlled rocket

Alpha was Space Team Aachen’s first attempt at designing an actively stabilized rocket. Five launches were conducted, sadly without achieving a stable flight.

04.02.2022
First cold flow test – Space Team Aachen’s engine test bench is operational

In preparation for the first hot fires of the demonstrator engine DETLEF for project STAHR, two cold flow tests were conducted, inaugurating the Space Team Aachen rocket motor test stand.

23.03.2022
First hot fire – Space Team Aachen is on fire

Successful in the first attempt: The demonstrator engine DETLEF for project STAHR burned for around seven seconds in the association’s first hot fire test.

Dez. 2022
IB-1 test Campaign: Full scale engine for project STAHR

First test campaign with the battleship version of the INES engine used for the hybrid rocket STAHR. Five tests with burn times between five and ten seconds at the M11 test stand at DLR Lampoldshausen.

22.01.2023
Launch: The passively stable version of Alya flies in Zülpich

First flight of Alya. Investigation of the flight behavior that is to be replicated by an engine gimble in the passively instable version.

22.04.2023
Launch: The passively stable version of Alya flies again in Zülpich

Second flight of Alya. Investigation of the flight behavior that is to be replicated by an engine gimble in the passively instable version.

29.04.2023
Launch: Test flight of Aquila in Straubing

Aquila spreads its wings in preparation for the Spaceport America Cup using a smaller motor to keep within the local altitude restrictions. Successful recovery under the drogue parachute.

May 2023
IB-2 test Campaign: Full scale engine for project STAHR

Second test campaign with the battleship version of the INES engine used for the hybrid rocket STAHR. Incorporation of mixing disc for additional thrust.

25.05.2023
Roll-Out: Aquila is presented in Aachen

Presentation of Space Team Aachen’s third competition rocket and the first German rocket to fly at the Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico.

22.06.2023
Launch: Aquila becomes first German rocket to launch at SAC

Aquila flies in America. First Space Team Aachen rocket to go supersonic. Apogee probably above 7500 m although the commercial flight computer ejected the nose cone after motor burnout, so no reliable data was gathered.

August 2023
IB-3 test Campaign: Battleship engine tested in blowdown

Third test campaign with the battleship version of the INES engine used for the hybrid rocket STAHR featuring a new nozzle design. First time to test the full duration burn in blowdown mode.

05.12.2023
First hot fire of small sat thruster ARI

First test of Space Team Aachen’s vacuum arc thruster ARI (Aachen Research Ion Thruster) to be used to de-orbit the AQUIS satellite at the end of its mission.

30.01.2024
Roll-Out: TRACE is presented in Aachen

The Transpiration Cooling Experiment for REXUS 31 is presented in Aachen, the third free flight experiment worldwide on the topic and the first one made by students.

March 2024
STAHR is exhibited at JEC World In Paris

Space Team Aachen exhibits at a trade fair for the first time. The structure of the hybrid rocket STAHR is exhibited in the JEC World Mobility Planet.

14.03.2024
Launch: TRACE launches on REXUS 31

The re-entry experiment on transpiration cooling launches out of Esrange on REXUS 31, becoming the most complex experiment to date to ever launch in the scope of the REXUS program. TRACE is ejected from the nose cone section of REXUS 31 at an altitude of 78.5 km.

March 2024
IF-1 test Campaign: Full scale engine for project STAHR

First test campaign of the STAHR hybrid rocket motor using multiple possible engine casings which can be used in flight.