Almost two weeks after its test launch in Koonibba, Australia, the commercial launch vehicle from a German start-up is on its way back to Germany. After the flight, she returned to the vicinity of Koonibba as planned and almost unscathed with her parachute, a spokesman for the HyImpulse company said.
According to the company based near Heilbronn, the payload was also recovered intact. The rocket will now be shipped to Germany, where it will be examined in detail.
The twelve meter long rocket took off at the beginning of May. This was the first time in decades that a German company had launched a commercial launch vehicle. According to the start-up, the SR75 launch vehicle is powered by paraffin (candle wax) and liquid oxygen. It can therefore transport a payload of 250 kilograms and, according to co-CEO and co-founder Christian Stricher, is also capable of flying into space.
According to Streicher, the company wants to use the launch vehicle to make a particularly flexible offer for small satellites.