Monday, the 31st of August: A date that for most students in the Netherlands signifies the last day of their summer break. However, at 09:00 in the morning, the launch crew of the Stratos II+ rocket could already be found on campus. The reason for this gathering was the first of a series of 3 launch rehearsals that are planned as part of the preparation for the launch campaign coming October. The goal of these rehearsals is to prepare the team for the procedures they will have to perform leading up to the actual launch. With every passing one, we try to increase the level of realism and refine our procedures. This should result in smooth, well drilled operations when we are actually on the pad in Spain.
The goal for this first rehearsal was to practise the assembly of the rocket and re-familiarise ourselves with the routine of raising the tower with the rocket attached. So after a short briefing at nine, the crew members all went to work on their respective tasks.
Since integration of the flight-electronics was not yet required for this first dry-run, our electronics team used the day to further the flight-readiness of their subsystem. In the meantime, the launch tower was constructed inside the D:Dream hall, and the capsule and propulsion hardware were prepared for assembly and subsequently joined together. This meant that around 15:00 we were in possession of one fully assembled launch tower and one assembled rocket, though without integrated electronics.
Ralph and Bob installing the antennas of the flight termination system in the engine control module.
To make sure that our new team members knew their roles to play in tower operations before we risked the rocket in the tower, we first practised raising, securing and lowering once using an empty tower. Once satisfied everybody knew what to do, we decided to proceed and go for the real deal. At around 15:30 the Stratos II+ entered the launch tower for the first time. Other than a bolt in the rocket that turned out to require a bit more tightening, the entire loading procedure was quite uneventful. The actual raising of the tower with rocket also went smoothly, thanks to the practice run that had preceded.
And so, at about 15:45, we all got to finally admire the Stratos II+ standing proudly in the tower. Now I can imagine you would like to see a picture of this pretty sight, but I will have to disappoint you. The rocket will be unveiled on the 3rd of September at the faculty of Aerospace engineering of Delft University of Technology, and until that time, we would not want to give too much away. We would not want to spoil the surprise after all… But for another sneak-peek, you can go to our Facebook page and look at Monday’s post about the application of the sticker by Omnimark.