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* * * ROCKETRY & AEROSPACE PROGRAM NEWS RELEASE - AUGUST 2003 * * *

File image of Ascent-class rocket launch [Credit: Abdul Ahad] Ascent 3 sets important new milestones!
Article posted: August 4th, 2003

The non-military (but scientifically "classified") launch of Ascent 3 on Sunday from AA Institute's Northern Rocket Range (NRR) test facility, recorded a number of important milestones:-

  • New altitude record: estimated at 1,000 feet
  • First successful post-landing recovery
  • First full function technology payload
  • Heaviest lift capability to date: 0.083kg integrated mass at launch, delivering 15g of payload mass to 1,000 feet with flawless stability
  • Highest level of launch & tracking support: crew of 3 people
The mission successfully demonstrated new capabilities for pin-point accuracy in recovery, using MicroBeacon's transducer pulsed signals in conjunction with wide field tracking & surveillance (WFTS) operations.

Despite these ground-breaking achievements though, the post-apogee descent was far from perfect. The internal thermal insulation, designed to protect the parachute and the structural airframe of the rocket from hot ejection gases during engine thrust phase, proved partially inadequate. The result was a partially deployed and damaged parachute providing minimal aerobraking and deceleration, which resulted in a steeper than expected angle of ballistic descent and a stronger impact at "touchdown"!

The 1,000 foot drop from apogee was entirely tracked and some in-flight images are published below.


Ascent 3 Mission Parameters

Parameter: Ascent 3 results:
Launch designation: AA-Ascent-3
Launch date/time: 1300 hrs GMT, 3rd August 2003
Launch site: AA Institute's Northern Rocket Range test facility
Ground crew: 3 - inclusive of launch support & tracking
Integrated vehicle mass at launch: 0.083kg , made up of:-
Launch vehicle= 42g
Propellant + motor= 24g
Payload module= 15g (including 12 volt battery)
Parachute + thermal insulation= 2g
Motor class: C-6-5, solid fuel
Ignition system: Wired ignition via 5m umbilical, powered by 4 x 1.2 volt Ni-MH rechargeables
Onboard power systems: - 12 volt DC alkaline cell for MicroBeacon payload module
- Pyrotechnic ejection charge for separation burn & parachute
Trajectory: 90-degree vertical ascent / parachuted ballistic descent
Target altitude: 1,100 feet
Total Mission Time (launch to recovery): 2-3 minutes

The MicroBeacon technology capsule falls to Earth on the end of a pararachute [Credit: Abdul Ahad]

Left: Ascent 3's "MicroBeacon" payload module - the most sophisticated technology package yet flown on an AAI launch vehicle - pictured during terminal descent simulations in July 2003 [Credit: AA Institute]








Ascent 3 utilised a US Army micro-missile powered by a C6 class of solid fuel motor to launch the MicroBeacon technology module during this test flight. Based on results from this mission, the payload lift performance for AA Institute's current fleet of launch vehicles can be projected as follows:-

AA Institute's current fleet of launch vehicles' performance [Credit: Abdul Ahad]


The above projections are modelled on a vertical launch angle, constant drag coefficient (Cd=0.75) and zero cross-winds, discounting all real world atmospheric effects that can potentially cause the flight performance to alter from that simulated in this model.

Ascent 3 mission images


Ascent 3 on the launch pad at the Northern Rocket Range test facility [Credit: Abdul Ahad]
Ascent 3 positioned on the launch pad in the high deserts north of Luton!


After a brief disappearence from view at the end of the powered flight, a ground-based, still digital camera regained visual acquisition on Ascent 3:

This image shows part of Ascent 3's vapour trail and the distant parachute, opening at the start of vehicle recovery phase [Credit: Abdul Ahad]

The below sequenced thumbnail images, captured with a ground based digital camera at a resolution of 3.2 million pixels per frame, show the distant craft extending its parachute during the recovery phase:

Ascent 3 parachuted descent ONE [Credit: Abdul Ahad] Ascent 3 parachuted descent TWO [Credit: Abdul Ahad] Ascent 3 parachuted descent THREE [Credit: Abdul Ahad]


The "Rocketry & Aerospace" program is an aspirational initiative of the AA Institute of Space Science & Technology

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