The end of Tuesday.  There were two main themes today. Finalizing the concept launcher and the TU Delft press release. So first what did we do with the concept launcher? We put 6 kg of lead in the capsule, so instead of 9 kg it weighs 15 kg right now. Normally you take such drastic measures when there are serious problems; we put it in on purpose.  One of the main things we want to learn is whether or not our system is strong enough. At this moment, there are no payloads, the nose cone is not made as strong (and heavy) as to withstand the forces when flying Mach 5 and there is definitely not a solid metal thermal protection system to absorb the generated heat when flying 5000 km/hour. Friday we will fly to 1 km and only reach a speed of roughly 600 km/hour. In other words, the capsule will be too light. To simulated the mass of all these missing systems, we replaced them with ordinary lead which you can buy at every do it yourself shop.

So the second theme was the press release. It was a bit stressy just before the TU Delft released it because I forgot to gather some pictures and illustrations. Ooops… but just on time we were able to find the right material. You can find the news item on the homepage of the TU Delft or here. You sometimes forget, but this project would not be possible without the TU Delft.  They provide us with workplaces, server space, help with PR, wind tunnel time and there is always an expert available. We can ask questions about aerodynamics, propulsion, electronics, finance, media attention, law and so on….I am proud to be a TU Delft student!