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Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
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Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is a student-run society within Delft University of Technology with over 200 members. The main focus of the student group is the development of rocket technology on a non-profit basis. All development, from engines to electronics, is done in-house. Although several projects take place in DARE, the group's two flagship projects are Stratos and Project Sparrow. Stratos includes the Stratos I rocket which was launched in 2009 and set the European altitude record for amateur rocketry at 12.5 km. The follow-up of this rocket was the Stratos II+, which was launched on 16 October 2015, reaching an altitude of 21.5 km and setting a new record. In summer of 2018, Stratos III was launched, disintegrating 20 seconds after the launch. Its successor, Stratos IV, was set to launch to 100 km, but never did due to ground systems failures during the launch campaign. Project Sparrow successfully developed a LOX/Ethanol, regeneratively cooled engine, and Stratos V, the latest flagship project, is building a reusable rocket around it. Even though DARE cooperates with the military to safely conduct launch campaigns, DARE's technology is strictly non-military. Approximately 70 percent of members come from the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of Delft University of Technology, with the remaining 30% coming from other faculties, including Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics and Industrial Design. DARE also features a very high number of international students, with about half of the students coming from outside the Netherlands.
DARE alumni have pursued careers across the aerospace industry, joining established companies and founding new ventures such as Dawn Aerospace and T-Minus. As a result, the society has developed a strong reputation for cultivating highly capable engineers, whose practical experience often exceeds that of their peers in traditional academic settings.
DARE was founded in 2001 by six students as a committee of the study association VSV Leonardo da Vinci of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering on the TU Delft. The number of members has increased to over 190 in 2020. Over the years DARE has developed expertise in all three major rocket propulsion technologies (solid, liquid, and hybrid), with multiple conference papers published each year. 2009 marked DARE's Stratos I launch, which set the European altitude record of 12.5 km for student rockets. Afterwards, the development of Hybrid rocket engines was started, resulting in the 8 kN DHX-200 Aurora. This engine powered Stratos II, which after a failed launch campaign in 2014 broke the European altitude record for student rocketry in 2015.
DARE typically conducts two to four launch days each year for small scale rockets that go up to a maximum of two kilometers altitude. These launches take place on a military site near 't Harde in the North of the Netherlands. To go to higher altitudes, DARE occasionally participates in launch campaigns elsewhere in Europe.
The work of DARE takes place at two locations at the TU Delft campus. The first is a manufacturing-orientated workshop in the faculty of Aerospace Engineering's Aircraft Hall. Here, the major parts of rocket production take place, from machining of metallic parts to soldering electronics boards. The other location is the Science Center Delft, where meetings and lectures from more experienced members take place.
DARE has a number of teams working on specific areas of rocket technology, logistics, promotion and sponsor acquisition.
Most rockets of DARE run on solid propellant engines, which are developed and built by the Solid Six team and the Safety Board. The propellants used is either a mixture of sorbitol and potassium nitrate, known as rocket candy, or a mixture of Ammonium Nitrate and Aluminium called Alan-7. The scale of the developed engines ranges from 300 N up to 7000 N.
After the launch of Stratos I, research to Hybrid rocket engines started within DARE. After extensive theoretical research, small scale testing (ranging from 500 to 1100 N) commenced to gain experience with the system and to select the optimal engine configuration. The selected fuel was a mixture of Sorbitol, Paraffin and Aluminium, combined with Nitrous Oxide as oxidizer. This work has resulted in several publications in several different journals including the journal of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Scaled-up versions of this engine are used to power Stratos II+ and III, the flagship projects of DARE.
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Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is a student-run society within Delft University of Technology with over 200 members. The main focus of the student group is the development of rocket technology on a non-profit basis. All development, from engines to electronics, is done in-house. Although several projects take place in DARE, the group's two flagship projects are Stratos and Project Sparrow. Stratos includes the Stratos I rocket which was launched in 2009 and set the European altitude record for amateur rocketry at 12.5 km. The follow-up of this rocket was the Stratos II+, which was launched on 16 October 2015, reaching an altitude of 21.5 km and setting a new record. In summer of 2018, Stratos III was launched, disintegrating 20 seconds after the launch. Its successor, Stratos IV, was set to launch to 100 km, but never did due to ground systems failures during the launch campaign. Project Sparrow successfully developed a LOX/Ethanol, regeneratively cooled engine, and Stratos V, the latest flagship project, is building a reusable rocket around it. Even though DARE cooperates with the military to safely conduct launch campaigns, DARE's technology is strictly non-military. Approximately 70 percent of members come from the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of Delft University of Technology, with the remaining 30% coming from other faculties, including Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics and Industrial Design. DARE also features a very high number of international students, with about half of the students coming from outside the Netherlands.
DARE alumni have pursued careers across the aerospace industry, joining established companies and founding new ventures such as Dawn Aerospace and T-Minus. As a result, the society has developed a strong reputation for cultivating highly capable engineers, whose practical experience often exceeds that of their peers in traditional academic settings.
DARE was founded in 2001 by six students as a committee of the study association VSV Leonardo da Vinci of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering on the TU Delft. The number of members has increased to over 190 in 2020. Over the years DARE has developed expertise in all three major rocket propulsion technologies (solid, liquid, and hybrid), with multiple conference papers published each year. 2009 marked DARE's Stratos I launch, which set the European altitude record of 12.5 km for student rockets. Afterwards, the development of Hybrid rocket engines was started, resulting in the 8 kN DHX-200 Aurora. This engine powered Stratos II, which after a failed launch campaign in 2014 broke the European altitude record for student rocketry in 2015.
DARE typically conducts two to four launch days each year for small scale rockets that go up to a maximum of two kilometers altitude. These launches take place on a military site near 't Harde in the North of the Netherlands. To go to higher altitudes, DARE occasionally participates in launch campaigns elsewhere in Europe.
The work of DARE takes place at two locations at the TU Delft campus. The first is a manufacturing-orientated workshop in the faculty of Aerospace Engineering's Aircraft Hall. Here, the major parts of rocket production take place, from machining of metallic parts to soldering electronics boards. The other location is the Science Center Delft, where meetings and lectures from more experienced members take place.
DARE has a number of teams working on specific areas of rocket technology, logistics, promotion and sponsor acquisition.
Most rockets of DARE run on solid propellant engines, which are developed and built by the Solid Six team and the Safety Board. The propellants used is either a mixture of sorbitol and potassium nitrate, known as rocket candy, or a mixture of Ammonium Nitrate and Aluminium called Alan-7. The scale of the developed engines ranges from 300 N up to 7000 N.
After the launch of Stratos I, research to Hybrid rocket engines started within DARE. After extensive theoretical research, small scale testing (ranging from 500 to 1100 N) commenced to gain experience with the system and to select the optimal engine configuration. The selected fuel was a mixture of Sorbitol, Paraffin and Aluminium, combined with Nitrous Oxide as oxidizer. This work has resulted in several publications in several different journals including the journal of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Scaled-up versions of this engine are used to power Stratos II+ and III, the flagship projects of DARE.
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