WARR

After the successful testing of our engine in stand-alone test rig tests configuration, WARR Rocketry successfully wrapped up the integrated test for project "Nixus". In this test, we assemble the entire rocket and test it in flight configuration. This was also the first time our primary flight computer was in charge of controlling the vehicle. We are happy to announce that all systems worked together flawlessly. All the hard work during the last year in designing, manufacturing and testing the individual systems paid off, leading to a straightforward integrated campaign. During this campaign, we fired the engine for 10 seconds at a nominal thrust of 3.5kN. With this test, we further paved the way for EuRoC 2024 and can now proceed with the final launch rehearsals.

Exciting news: we shipped the next WARR hardware to go to space!   Thanks to an opportunity provided by OroraTech GmbH, we have designed and developed STONCS: our testing platform for the next generation MOVE hardware and software.   STONCS, which stands for Student Technology on CubeSat, enables us to test critical components for our CubeSat MOVE-III, including CDH, OPS, and power distribution. The main purpose of the project is to test the following components: 1. Sun sensors:     The board includes 3 in-house developed sun sensors, two of which are developed by WARR MOVE members. They are low-cost, medium accuracy, open-source alternatives to what is available commercially. This mission allows us to iterate and learn how to improve their performance in a space environment for the MOVE-III satellite. 2. Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU):     The IMU is a COTS part, which was used on previous MOVE-III Balloon test missions. With the flights proving to be successful, we are now taking the next step towards getting space heritage for the part. 3. Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM):     The MRAM on board is also a COTS part. The main test consists of writing a known data sequence into memory, and monitoring the data, as it degrades over time. 4. Software for the STM32L4R5 microcontroller:     We will test our self-developed Operating System DOSIS (Distributed Operating System Initiative for Satellites) for operating sensors, managing data and communication. The moveloader, our brand-new bootloader written in Rust, enables us to do reliable in-orbit software updates. After a year of full-time development and testing, the team has learned a lot about integrating and testing space hardware, working together, managing and distributing workload, as well as the limits of human caffeine intake. A huge thank you to OroraTech for their incredible support, and to all WARR MOVE members for their dedication and hard work that makes this mission possible!

Following successful coldflow tests to ensure the integrity and accuracy of our propellant flow systems, WARR Rocketry is pleased to announce the completion of the hotfire test for "Brunhilde" as part of project "Nixus". This engine, powered by bi-liquid propellants—liquid oxygen (LOx) and ethanol—produced a thrust of 3.5 kN during the test. The entire operation was thoroughly controlled and monitored from our control room using our newly developed test rig control hardware and software. The next critical step in our engine development program will be integrating Brunhilde into a vertically assembled rocket for further testing on our test rig. This will allow us to validate the engine’s performance in a fully integrated system, bringing us closer to our launch objectives.

One major part that contributed to the success of our WARR Rocketry project WESP's two-stage launch at SAC, was our self-developed staging mechanism consisting of two fitted components. The great specialty of this mechanism lies in its upper element. This part does not just ensure the alignment of both rocket stages before stage separation, it is also designed in such a way that it is able to take the loads occurring during staging and transfer the thrust to the remaining structure of the rocket. This time, all good things come in fours, as this component also acts as an aerodynamic boattail. The combination of these four functions – while being as lightweight as possible – was only possible with SLM 3D printing and the outstanding support of Craftcloud (www.craftcloud3d.com), who took care of not only the printing of the part, but also its post-processing.

Take a look at this great blog post by one of our members at MOVE.

On 21.06.2024 WARR Rocketry successfully launched the rocket EX-1E of project WESP at the competition "Spaceport America Cup". The rocket is the first two stage rocket launched by rocketry and since the flight was fully nominal, it also is the first successful launch and recovery of a German student built two stage rocket. Flying a payload from our sister project D.I.N.O. labs, the sustainer (2nd stage) of the rocket reached 7.8km AGL in altitude after which it performed a successful recovery. The booster (1st stage) of the rocket was similarly recovered successfully, while utilizing an unorthodox sideways recovery system. The launch itself was a culmination of countless hours of work put in by the wider team around project WESP and the Launchcrew, with the sustainer being manufactured in the span of less than two months being preceded by countless hours of development and a test launch on 21.04. in Straubing, Germany. The launch included many firsts for WARR Rocketry, as this was our first ever Two-Stage Launch, it included our first ever staging system, it marked the first time we developed an utilized a topology optimized metal 3D printed structural parts and last, but not least, it included the aforementioned sideways recovery system, which underwent it's first successful deployment during this flight. The team will now strive to improve the system, with the official commencement of the development EX-1Evo we hope to improve the current rocket and see how high and how fast it can truly go. EX-1E, however, was not the only competition launch planned for this year as in October the project Nixus will attempt to launch at the European Rocketry Challenge with the EX-4B, the improved version of the EX-4. #rocketry #soundingrockets #SpaceportAmericaCup2024 #WESP

Louis Wiench, our project manager from Nixus WARR Rocketry, recently took the stage as a guest at TUM Entrepreneurship Day organized by UnternehmerTUM. He participated in the panel discussion titled “TUM @ New Space - The Sky is No Limit” alongside esteemed guests like Chiara Manfletti (Prof. at Space Propulsion Chair), Daniel Metzler (CEO of IsarAerospace) and Luisa Buinhas (Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer at Vyoma). This event delved into the exciting frontiers of space exploration and innovation, as well as the spirit of entrepreneurship in space technology. During the discussion, Louis shared insights from WARR Rocketry's projects: a bi-liquid rocket (Nixus) and a solid sounding rocket (WESP), highlighting how they are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in student rocketry. We are grateful that we were able to be a part of this great discussion. Underscoring the rapid advancements in space technology and how entrepreneurial ventures are fueling this progress. Let’s keep up the good work!

For commissioning our new flight engine, Team WARR Rocketry has taken the first testing steps to flush the cooling channels, to get rid of any remaining debris that could be left from the manufacturing process. Afterwards the fully assembled engine’s flow paths are characterized to validate our calculations and to calibrate our load point calculation tools. All of these tests were successfully performed with our new in-house developed test rig control hardware and software.

Over the past few weeks we have been manufacturing and integrating our new flight engine. It is always a pleasure for the entire team to get the hardware into our hands after weeks of preparations. At this time we still had the post-machining flange attached to our nozzle, which is later removed just in time for hotfiring. We are very satisifed with the result. Once again, we want to express our gratitude to Isar Aerospace and 5AXperformance GmbH for manufacturing our combustion chamber, as well as to Der Fachverband Metall Bayern for manufacturing our faceplate. The injector dome has been manufactured in house by our talented Andrea Cataldi.

We have rendered a sneak peek for you, into the inner workings of our new flight engine. You can see the inconel combustion chamber, copper faceplate and stainless steel injector dome all contributing their part to achieve our thrust goal. Thanks to the generous manufacturing support by Isar Aerospace, 5AXperformance GmbH and Innung München Metall, we already have the displayed hardware manufactured and mounted on our test rig. Stay tuned for our real world footage of the hot fire coming soon! 🚀