Compass is the subscale demonstrator rocket for N₂ORTH, which was launched within the scope of the second participation of HyEnD in the DLR STERN project. The following picture shows the schematic structure of the Compass rocket.
| Nominal Thrust | 800 N |
| Length | 2.45 m |
| Diameter | 122 mm |
| Tank Volume | 5 L |
| Dry Mass | 10 kg |
The launch of Compass took place at the Truppenübungsplatz (military training area) Heuberg. Compass was able to reach an altitude of more than 3200 m / 10,000 ft above ground and an initial acceleration of more than 6.5 g. During ascent, all systems performed nominally. Drogue and main parachutes were ejected– however, the main parachute was not able to unfold, and the rocket landed with a descent rate of about 20 m/s. This resulted in some damage to structural components and the fluid system. The following video shows the launch of different perspectives, including the beautiful onboard footage.
More details about the rocket’s design and launch can be found in the corresponding paper, which was published during the 2nd International Conference on Flight Vehicles, Aerothermodynamics and Re-entry Missions & Engineering (FAR) in Heilbronn:
If you want to get some impressions of the launch preparations, take a look at our aftermovie and the pictures below.
