The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has refueled the launch of TALA, the first high-power hybrid rocket developed in the Philippines by homegrown space technology researchers, students, and their mentors from St. Cecilia’s College-Cebu.
Tala Hybrid Rocket
A cost-effective 10 feet hybrid-propellant rocket developed by high school students from Cecilia’s College – Cebu.
Features:
Flight sensors
GPS
Dual parachute deployment
Payload system to bring a Can satellite up to approximately 5 kilometer into the atmosphere
Technical Specifications:
Length: 10 ft/3 m
Weight: 15 kilogram
Approximate altitude: 3 to 5 kilometers
Rocket propellant: Hybrid (liquid oxidizer and solid fuel)
Recovery system: Dual Deployment
Tala uses both solid and liquid fuel. Separating the substances makes shipping, handling, and storage much safer. This technology also lowers the cost of manufacturing rockets.
Mission:
Lunch and deploy Can Satellites (CanSats) 5 km. into the atmosphere.
Why?
“CanSats are simulated satellites the size of soda cans developed and used in educational settings to remotely gather environment data through built-in sensors. Researchers in the country deploy CanSats through drones. Sending CanSats to higher altitudes via hybrid-propellant rockets is a cost-effective way to further enrich space R & D
TALA update:
Today’s scheduled launch of the TALA hybrid rocket was postponed due to unfavorable environmental conditions during the launch window early this morning.
Local weather systems, which include temperature, wind velocity, humidity, and precipitation, impact the launch and performance of rockets.
The teams of TALA and PhilSA Space Technology Missions and Systems Bureau are working together on getting the hybrid rocket set for another attempt tomorrow, Saturday, 20 May.
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