A team of mechanical engineering students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) successfully test launched the first of two new Phoenix hybrid test rockets this week.
The Phoenix-1D, carrying experimental sensors and cameras as part of the mission, was launched on Monday at the Denel Overberg Test Range in Arniston, in the Western Cape.
The higher-altitude rocket was launched out over the Indian Ocean, unrecovered, and tracked by radar from lift-off to ocean impact, says the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI).
Funded by the DSI, the sub-orbital sounding rocket project is an initiative of UKZN’s Aerospace Research Institute (ASRI), formerly the Aerospace Research Systems Research Group (ASReG), as part of its Phoenix Space Propulsion Programme (SPP).
The department notes ASRI is pursuing the development of sub-orbital sounding rockets (Phoenix) and orbital liquid rocket engine technology under one integrated SPP.
To date, UKZN is the only South African university pursuing an applied rocket propulsion programme, helping to produce graduates with skills in advanced manufacturing, aerospace systems design, rocket launch operations and computational analysis, states the DSI.
Hybrid sounding rockets are rocket-propelled launch vehicles that carry experimental payloads to the upper reaches of the atmosphere or into space.
The rockets are developed as a technology demonstration platform from which future commercial sounding rocket programmes can be developed.
In 2010, UKZN initiated the flagship Phoenix sub-orbital sounding rockets programme in response to government's call for skills and resource development in space-related research.
The project was started within the School of Engineering's ASReG, based at the university's mechanical engineering department.
The past few years saw the development of sounding rockets, such as Phoenix-1A, Phoenix-1B Mark II, Phoenix-1B Mark IIr, Phoenix-1D and Phoenix 1C.
The first, the Phoenix-1A, was flight tested in 2014, but experienced a nozzle failure that limited its altitude. The second launch, in 2019, of the Phoenix-1B Mark II, was unsuccessful because of a software fault.
The Phoenix-1B Mark IIr was the third rocket variant to be developed by ASReG. It was successfully launched in March 2021, travelling 17.9km into the air, which was described as a “new African hybrid-rocket altitude record”.
Speaking ahead of the launch, DSI minister Dr Blade Nzimande praised the Phoenix hybrid rocket programme for its focus on skills development of suborbital launch vehicle design and testing.
He added the space industry is envisaged to be one of the key drivers in addressing SA’s national priorities of job creation, poverty eradication, resource management and rural development.
“The continued advancement and sustainability of the industry will also present opportunities to turn South Africa into a knowledge-based economy, to promote human capacity development and a launching capability, in particular, and to play a key role in implementing an African space policy and strategy.
“To ensure the long-term progression and sustainability of the South African space industry, the South African space programme must unlock dedicated investment for exploring the country's space capabilities.”
The Phoenix-1D and Phoenix 1C include design changes to the airframes and onboard systems that make them structurally more efficient, and form a critical part of ASRI’s mission to develop larger, orbital launch systems, according to the department.
As part of the next phase of the test launch, the UKZN team is preparing for the second and final test for the campaign of the Phoenix 1C.
Phoenix-1C is a low-altitude rocket that will be launched with experimental payloads for the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and South African National Space Agency.
It has a target of 5km to 10km, and is expected to recover its nose cone under a parachute, states the DSI.
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