On Sunday 12 September, UT-students from the study association Space Society Twente successfully launched their first rocket. With the launch, the students wanted to gain valuable experience with their rocket – called Finkers-1 – for the international student championship rocket launching, next year in Portugal.
The launch took place in a field in Baarlo, at one of the launch days organized by the Dutch department of the Rocketry Association Tripoli. The students tried to launch their black and orange rocket at least five hundred meters into the air. “It was a really exciting day. We’ve launched several smaller rockets, but this by far our biggest rocket yet”, says Ivan Ouderkerk, project lead of the rocket launch.
Gaining experience for Portugal
The launch was used to test some new things, like whether the rocket can withstand the motor force. “We added several electronics to gather information about the rocket and its location”, says Ouderkerk. The launch is excellent preparation for the European Rocketry Challenge in October 2022 in Portugal. “There is a very strict selection process and we want to be optimally prepared”, explains Ouderkerk. The launch not only gave them lots of information but also means they received the level-1 certificate. This certification allows them to launch bigger and stronger rockets.
Space Society Twente
“Space Society Twente is a student association for everyone who has an interest in space exploration, astronomy, space engineering and space policy.”, says president of Space Society Twente Egor Tamarin. Finkers-1 was launched by the flagship project team called AzimUT, the rocket team of the association.
More information on Space Society Twente can be found on their website.
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