Some great footage of the SDSU Rocket Project Icarus 2 rocket from back in December 2017. Icarus 2 is a boosted dart rocket, where after burnout and separation, the dart coasts to apogee.
The specs of the flight were,
- Launched at FAR on one of their rails.
- CTI L2200G reloadable booster
- Fiberglass and aluminum transition cone
- Fiberglass body with brass nosecone and tailcone and ss fins. 4.9 lb total weight
- 6’2″ tall assembled
- 27,148′ apogee
- Mach 1.95
- ~Mach 1 @ ~25,000 when shockwave reached pressure tap holes and triggered Telemetrum to deploy apogee charge.
- Booster (- transition cone) recovered. Parachute epoxy failed and cone floated away into the hills of the Mojave.
- Dart fully recovered with parachute deployed but reefed and shredded by sharp tail fins.
Boosted darts are not new, in the 50s the Loki-dart was used as a sounding rocket and reached a max altitude of 55km. In 1996, the Reaction Research Society successfully flew their own boosted dart rocket to 80km, there is a great article on the project here and is worth a read for any rocketry enthusiast.
