![US Air Force Academy FalconLaunch Test](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/US_Air_Force_Academy_FalconLaunch_Test.jpg)
FalconLaunch is the name of a former small
sounding rocket development program at the
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...
. The program falls beneath the purview of the Academy Department of
Astronautics
Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field.
The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astron ...
. The program has two basic purposes: first, to educate
cadets in the practice of space
systems engineering; and two, to produce a sounding rocket each year. The original technological goal of the program was to develop a light (~100 lb) sounding rocket capable of delivering a small (~5 lb) payload to the edge of space (~100 km). Senior-level cadets handle most aspects of the program.
This program is similar in concept to another USAFA Astronautics program,
FalconSAT
FalconSAT is the United States Air Force Academy's (USAFA) small satellite engineering program. Satellites are designed, built, tested, and operated by Academy cadets. The project is administered by the USAFA Space Systems Research Center under ...
.
History
2002-2003: FalconLaunch-1
2003-2004: FalconLaunch-2
2004-2005: FalconLaunch-3
2005-2006: FalconLaunch-4
2006-2007: FalconLaunch-5
2007-2008: FalconLaunch-6 - Exploded during test firing on 4 November 2009.
[FalconLaunch 6 test fire ends with a 'bang'](_blank)
/ref>
2008-2009: FalconLaunch-7 - Test launched from the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...
in April 2009. It successfully delivered its payload section to an altitude of 354,724 feet, setting a world altitude record for university-built rockets.
2009-2010: FalconLaunch-8 - Scheduled for test launch in April 2010.
References
{{USAFA
United States Air Force Academy
Rockets and missiles