精东传媒app

A 精东传媒app of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) led experiment on board a sounding rocket, which climbed to an altitude of 309km, was successfully launched in Sweden.

The Germany Australia Flight Experiment (GAsFEx-1) was one of 21 experiments carried by the MAPHEUS-15 sounding rocket and was launched by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

It marked the 15th successful launch of the MAPHEUS flight program and a significant milestone for hypersonic research at UniSQ.

UniSQ lead on the experiment, Professor Ingo Jahn, said the GAsFEx project was the first hypersonic flight experiment led by an Australian university in over a decade.

“Going out there and flying hypersonic experiments is critical to training world-class aerospace engineers and developing Australia's sovereign capability in hypersonics,” Professor Jahn said.

“Launching this hypersonic flight experiment is the cumulation of an ongoing collaboration between Queensland and Bavaria industry and academia.”

The MAPHEUS-15 mission was spearheaded by the DLR Mobile Rocket Base (MORABA), which oversaw the rocket vehicle's integration and launch with experiments primarily built by the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Material Physics in Space.

The rocket, which landed in the icy landscape of Swedish Lapland, achieved hypersonic speeds of Mach 6, enabling vital aerothermodynamic testing in an environment critical for advancing hypersonic flight technologies.

Designed and developed by UniSQ’s Hypersonics and Rocketry Group, GAsFEx was manufactured in collaboration with HyperFlight Systems, a Brisbane-based company specialising in flight test avionics and data acquisition systems.

The Technical 精东传媒app of Munich (TUM) also played a pivotal role, lending its expertise in simulation.

TUM Professor Christian Stemmer said the international collaboration between Queensland and Bavarian scientists enabled fluid mechanics measurements in-flight.

“Students on both sides will be exposed to cutting-edge technologies and methods preparing them for the high requirements in the space industry,” Professor Stemmer said.

MAPHEUS project manager Alexander Kallenbach from MORABA added: “Conducting an Australian hypersonic experiment on DLR’s microgravity mission MAPHEUS-15 demonstrates the versatility of sounding rocket research platforms and the great potential for future flight opportunities and collaborations.”

HyperFlight Systems principal engineer Robert Pietsch said flight test opportunities were vital to developing Australian industrial capability in hypersonics.

“We’re all about enabling Australian research into hypersonics, so it has been fantastic to be a part of such a successful collaborative project,” Mr Pietsch said.

“Flight tests provide essential data to inform the development of hypersonic systems, contributing to Australia’s growing leadership in aerospace technologies.”

Learn more about UniSQ’s Hypersonics and Rocketry Group.