• By Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNA

A National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) research team at 6:06am yesterday launched a rocket from a site in Syuhai Village (旭海) in Pingtung County.

It was the first test of a Tsua-Ing hybrid rocket engine, and the sixth sounding rocket to take off from the launch site established by the National Science and Technology Council.

NYCU’s Aerospace Systems and Aerodynamics Research (ASARe) Lab launched the rocket, named Asfaloth after a fast white horse in The Lord of the Rings, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) said in a statement.

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Space Agency

It was 5.2m long, with a diameter of 26.5cm and weighed 190kg, the agency said.

The Asfaloth produced 1,000kg of thrust for five seconds, with a burn time of 10 seconds and reached an altitude of 3km, TASA said.

The team plans to launch a full-size rocket with the aim of reaching an altitude of 10km, said Tan Zu Pua-yen (陳竺博淵), an ASARe Lab adviser and assistant professor in mechanical engineering at NYCU.

The rocket was jointly built by the university’s ASARe Lab, the Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC) and the MEMS Servo Control System Laboratory (MSCL).

The ASARe Lab integrated the rocket’s systems and designed the launch pad, while the ARRC provided the Tsua-Ing hybrid rocket engine and the MSCL provided the avionics system, Tan Zu said yesterday.

Wang Ming-hao (王明皓), a student from NYCU’s mechanical engineering department who oversaw the system engineering, said integrating the systems was the most difficult part of the project due to the complexity of rocket systems.

NYCU has three research teams that are developing different types of rockets. The Advanced Rocket Research Center aims to develop scientific sounding rockets with guidance and control systems that can reach an altitude of 100km or more, the ASARe is developing rockets without guidance and control systems that can reach an altitude of less than 100km, and its Formosan Fox Rocket Team focuses on building model rockets for contests.

Meanwhile, a National Science and Technology Council official said that TASA has initiated its Launch Vehicle Program, which aims to ensure that Taiwan is self-reliant in satellite launch technology.