UKZN ASRI commission high-tech rocket launch gantry

Engineers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Aerospace Systems Research Institute (ASRI) have commissioned a new suborbital sounding rocket launch facility at the Denel Overberg Test Range (OTR) in the Western Cape.

The facility was funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and is the first in South Africa regarding its capabilities. It also represents the first significant piece of space launch infrastructure built since the dawn of South Africa’s democracy.

Unlike orbital launch vehicles that can steer themselves, suborbital rockets are unguided. They must, therefore, be launched off a gantry that can be accurately aimed, depending on the required flight trajectory, mission requirements and safety risks.

The new launch gantry has a state-of-the-art aiming and control system that allows the boom to rotate 360 degrees in the horizontal plane while also enabling elevation up to the vertical position. This permits pin-point aiming accuracy in any direction and fast adjustment to account for factors like changes in wind direction on launch days.

When vertical, the boom stands as tall as a six-storey building. However, it can be lowered into the horizontal position during the rocket’s loading onto the rail and the fitting of ground support systems to enable fuelling and the vehicle’s launch.

During the commissioning exercise, UKZN engineers tested the gantry alongside a team from TF Design, the company that built the platform to ASRI’s specifications.

A successful cold-flow propellant test was also run using a Phoenix hybrid rocket loaded on the launch rail to assess the performance of ASRI’s launch control software and ensure that communication between the control room and the rocket was possible once the new structure was in place.

The gantry will launch suborbital rockets built by ASRI, such as Phoenix, but it can also accommodate much larger solid-propellant vehicles of the type operated by NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Suborbital rockets are smaller than satellite launch vehicles and typically fly into the high atmosphere, including space. However, they follow a ballistic trajectory and return to Earth after completing their mission rather than going into orbit.

They are used to flight-test aerospace technologies and to conduct scientific research in the high atmosphere above 80 km in a region that is too high for balloons and often too low for satellites. Some even travel hundreds of kilometres into space on their missions before returning to Earth. Their payloads may include sensors to measure the Earth’s magnetic field, sun strength, atmospheric radiation levels and chemical composition. At the same time, the vehicles can also be used to test out new materials, communication equipment and propulsion systems.

Sounding rockets is a critical step in developing an orbital satellite launch capability. Still, South Africa has had no access to such rockets or a permanent facility from which to launch them. ASRI’s work addresses both of these shortcomings.

The institute’s Space Propulsion Programme develops propulsion systems for rockets and satellites and testing and manufacturing facilities to enable South Africa’s sovereign access to space.

With the commissioning of the new equipment, UKZN becomes the first and only university in South Africa to operate a permanent suborbital rocket launch gantry. The facility will further strengthen ASRI’s capacity for cutting-edge aerospace research and provide a unique training environment for the world-class engineers it produces.