Students of the Kyiv Aviation Institute revived the NAURocket project and conducted test launches of the Phobos and Deimos missiles at a test site under military supervision. How were the tests conducted and what is the goal of the project?
Students of the Kyiv Aviation Institute revived the NAURocket project and conducted test launches of the Phobos and Deimos missiles at a test site under military supervision. How were the tests conducted and what is the goal of the project?
According to the head of communications at KAI, Oleksandra Nakonechna, none of the missiles reached a vertical trajectory, and the first one followed a ballistic trajectory. However, NAURocket considers the tests successful and notes that telemetry and onboard systems were operational.
NAURocket was created by 10 enthusiastic students. Among them are Artem Kovalenko and Hryhoriy Bandevich, who last year became fellows of the KAI and FUIB engineering project support program. The goal of the project is to develop guided missiles with guidance systems and machine vision .
Deimos and Phobos are amateur unguided rockets powered by solid caramel (sorbite) fuel. They are 2 meters long and contain an Arduino with several sensors and an automatic parachute system on servo drives. The tests were aimed at bringing the rockets to 700–1000 meters to check the operation of telemetry systems, parachute braking at apogee, and GPS beacons to find the rockets after landing.
According to Artem Kovalenko, head of the NAURocket Design Bureau, both rockets launched successfully, but strong winds and technical nuances affected their flight trajectory. One of the rockets followed a ballistic curve, the other deviated. The parachute systems did not work, but the on-board electronics and telemetry worked correctly.
«The main achievement is that the KAI administration managed to get students admitted to the test site and the launches took place under the control of the military. Of the successes, both missiles flew, everyone who launched them remained unharmed, and nature was not harmed,» commented the test, scientific consultant and sponsor of the SKB, Serhiy Pipko.
NAURocket is currently planning new test launches and expanding its team. You can find out what vacancies are open and apply at the link .
