Students build rocket for spaceport
The German Industry Association announced over four years ago that it intended to participate in the commercialization of space travel. Students have been building a rocket named "Aquila Maris" (Sea Eagle), which is 3.6 meters long, for over a year. However, they had to postpone the test launch due to missing documentation from the authorities.
Originally, the striped rocket was supposed to launch from the North Sea, but now it is stored in an old industrial hall in Aachen. The "Aquila Maris" team, consisting of 22 students from the RWTH and Fachhochschule Aachen, have built one of several rockets for the German Offshore Spaceport Alliance (Gosa), which plans to build a spaceport on the water.
Germany, however, will not receive a spaceport like Cape Canaveral in the USA or Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Instead, a floating launch platform and a special ship with a ramp are planned. The ship's homeport is planned to be Bremerhaven, and it will enable the launch of European microlaunchers - mini-rockets - from the floating platform and transport satellites into space. The launch site will be located in the so-called Exclusive Economic Zone, where Germany still has certain sovereign rights.
German Economy Plans Spaceport
The initiative for this project was started by the German Industry Association (BDI) at its first space congress over four years ago. In a statement at the time, it was said that the increasing commercialization of space travel, known as New Space, presented a great opportunity for Germany.
However, the testing phase has been repeatedly postponed and was supposed to finally begin this summer. However, at the end of June, the launch was canceled again due to the need for additional documentation from the authorities. A spokeswoman for the involved Bremer Space Company OHB confirmed that there were no issues with the technology. Instead, the necessary documents from the authorities, which are expected to be available only in the next summer, are missing.
Initially, a suborbital demonstration mission is planned. Suborbital means that the Earth's orbit is not reached. The student rocket was supposed to launch from a ship at twice the speed of sound, reach an altitude of ten kilometers, and then land in the sea. Swimming wings were supposed to keep the rocket from sinking and provide a GPS signal for its recovery. At least that was the original plan.
Uncertainty about whether the team will witness the launch
"It's really disappointing that, after a year of work by 20 people, we couldn't launch the finished rocket," said team leader Lukas Freiheit. He and his colleague Johann Schepke have been leading the team. Their team is part of a student association founded in 2019, which has already built several rockets.
The rocket can only be launched from the sea in the summer, and in the winter the sea is too rough, Freiheit explains. It is still unclear whether the team will participate again next year. They worked independently without professors and sometimes alongside their studies.
They wanted to use student freedom to experiment and gain experience, Freiheit said. "It's much simpler and with much less pressure than later in a job." Now, the team will first "write exams and enjoy the summer."
- The German Offshore Spaceport Alliance, comprised of students from RWTH and Fachhochschule Aachen, is building the "Aquila Maris" rocket for space tourism, with the aim of contributing to Germany's participation in commercial space travel.
- In contrast to renowned spaceports like Cape Canaveral or Baikonur, Germany is planning a floating launch platform and a special ship with a ramp, which will enable the launch of European microlaunchers and transport satellites into space.
- Despite the challenges and multiple postponements, the team from University of Aachen continues to work on the "Aquila Maris" project, hoping to launch the rocket and gain experience in the field of space tourism and commercial space travel.
