HALEX
HALEX
HALEX – High Altitude Launch Experiments is the flagship project of DARE. The project focuses on higher altitude rocket launches with an emphasis on simplicity, reliability, and efficiency. Having successfully launched HALEX 1 in 2024, the team is now developing HALEX II with the goal of surpassing the Kármán line and reaching space in 2027. Â
HALEX II
HALEX II is a student-designed and student-built rocket aiming to surpass 100 km in altitude, advancing the architecture demonstrated by HALEX 1 and incorporating new performance-critical improvements. The two-stage system features a filament-wound carbon-fiber booster designed to accelerate the vehicle beyond Mach 5 before separating and allowing the upper stage to continue its coast into space using the momentum gained during boost. The vehicle has a total mass of just under 40 kg, achieved through aggressive optimization for mass and drag reduction. The booster employs a bespoke APCP propellant formulation developed to provide the high efficiency and specific impulse required for the mission.
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Apogee
>100 km
>330kft
Diameter
12 cm
4.7 in
Average Thrust
24 kN
5400 lbf
Propellant Mass
24 kg
53 lb
max speed
6100 km/h
Mach 5
Dry Mass
16 kg
35 lb
The team behind HALEX II is continually working on the vehicle’s design and development. The dedication of this team is the most valuable aspect of the project, and is the factor that will ultimately propel us to space.
HALEX 1
HALEX I was DARE’s award-winning entry at EuRoC 2024, engineered as a sub-minimum-diameter rocket utilizing advanced composite manufacturing to minimize structural mass and maximize propellant mass fraction. The vehicle incorporated dual-redundant flight electronics that delivered high reliability and, in testing, exceeded the performance of the commercial avionics system required by the competition. Its recovery system used a reefed parachute configuration to reduce drift during high-altitude descent before transitioning to a safer landing speed.
Apogee
7450 m
24450 ft
Diameter
11 cm
4.4 in
Average Thrust
2.3 kN
520 lbf
Propellant Mass
15 kg
34 lb
max speed
2261 km/h
Mach 1.9
Dry Mass
14 kg
30 lb
Playlist
3 Videos
0:56
0:36
0:41
Project HALEX is carried out under the flag of Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering, however it falls under the legal responsibility of Stichting Students to Space.
