Even if not strictly a startup, this is the entrepreneurial team with the highest (pun intended) ambitions – trying to establish human space travel with private and crowdfunded investments.
Copenhagen Suborbitals managed this weekend to make a successful testlaunch of the Sapphire rocket, an active guided rocket.
Just as previously the testlaunch was in the sea outside southern Sweden, an a costume-built launch platform. The aim of the test launch was to get data and see if the concepts for the active guiding of a rocket works. This is important for further development, as future rockets must have the ability to correct any deviations from it’s planned path.
Kristian von Bengtsson, the initiator of the project, blogged about it on Wired. The launch did go almost perfect – with important data being gathered and the hieght of over 8200 meters being achieved. Top speed: 344 m/s.
The only bigger problem was that the parachute did not deploy as planned, and the rocket crashed into the ocean instead of a soft landing as a result. However, as the main aim was to collect data the launch was deemed a great success, even if the landing was “hard”.
For more information about the rocket and facts check out this article.
Kristians says it himself:
We have entered a new era and from now on things will become big, powerful and crazy. I love this project and the people I am working with.
We will, as always, continue to see what happens with the team at Copenhagen Suborbitals in the future!
