HEAT 1X Tycho Brahe was the first rocket and spacecraft combination built by

Copenhagen Suborbitals Copenhagen Suborbitals is a crowd-funded human space program. It has flown six home-built rockets and capsules since 2011. The organization successfully launched its Nexø II rocket in the summer of 2018. Its stated goal is to have one of its me ...

, a Danish organization attempting to perform the first

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

suborbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one orbital revolution, will no ...

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

. The vehicle consisted of a motor named HEAT-1X and a spacecraft Tycho Brahe. Its launch location was a floating platform named Sputnik. The rocket was test launched twice: In 2010 a power shortage caused a valve to freeze shut, which prevented launch. In 2011 the rocket was successfully launched, reaching an altitude of before the engine was remotely shut off due to a wrong trajectory.

Micro Spacecraft Tycho Brahe

The Micro Spacecraft (MSC) had a steel pressure hull, and room for one passenger designed and built by Kristian von Bengtson who co-founded

. The passenger was able to view the outside through a

perspex Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bran ...

dome. The occupant flew in a half-standing/half-sitting position, in order to decrease the diameter of the spacecraft. The passenger sat in a specially designed seat, and would have worn anti-G trousers to avoid blackout. The heat shield was made of floor

cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. Life support would have consisted of a diving rebreather derived CO₂ scrubber and breathing O₂ system. Another compartment contained both the high-speed drogue parachute and the low-speed main parachutes for deceleration. The sheer volume of the MSC provided the buoyancy in the water. Pressurized nitrogen would have been used for attitude control. The attitude thrusters were part of the non-pressurized volume of the spacecraft. The first MSC was christened "Tycho Brahe 1" and its first flight was uncrewed using a

crash test dummy A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researc ...

. The human-rated Tycho Brahe would have maintained the 640-mm diameter. The ship was named after

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...

, a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive planetary and other astronomical observations, such as the 1572 supernova.

The rocket HEAT 1X

Copenhagen Suborbitals HEAT 1X Tycho Brahe in flight 20110603

Copenhagen Suborbitals HEAT-1X test bed 1

The actual rocket development resulted in numerous successful tests of the solid fuel

epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...

and the liquid oxidizer

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

, which was used in their

hybrid rocket A hybrid-propellant rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor that uses rocket propellants in two different phases: solid rocket propellant, one solid and the other either gas or liquid rocket propellant, liquid. The hybrid rocket concept can be tr ...

HATV (''Hybrid Atmospheric Test Vehicle''). The HATV rocket was only 1/3 size of the final rocket, HEAT.http://copenhagensuborbitals.com/ Copenhagen Suborbitals homepage. Retrieved 9 February 2010. This HEAT rocket (''Hybrid Exo Atmospheric Transporter'') with

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen, sometimes abbreviated as LOX or LOXygen, is a clear cyan liquid form of dioxygen . It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which is ongoing. Physical ...

and

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane term ...

, would carry the MSC (''the micro-spacecraft'') above the 100 km boundary and into space. The MSC was named after Tycho Brahe, and the combination was known as the HEAT-1X TYCHO BRAHE.

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

would then pull the MSC back to the atmosphere, where the MSC landed on water using parachutes. The first HATV rocket was tested in a test stand on 8 March 2009. Originally HEAT was to have been fueled with

paraffin wax Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and melting poi ...

but a ground test 28 February 2010 revealed that some of the paraffin wax only partially melted, instead of evaporating. The result was that HEAT-1X had less power than expected. A ground test firing of HEAT-1X-P (P for polyurethane) was conducted 16 May 2010. Stabilization of the rocket was by rollerons, a rather simple mechanism also used by missiles.

Static rocket engine tests

Rocket

Texan Ben Brockert, rocket builder of Armadillo Aerospace and formerly of

Masten Space Systems Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research s ...

, prefers the

in HEAT-1X over the

Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate, which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and opera ...

's rockets.Jensen, Mette Buck
Rocket safety
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. The first version of the HEAT hybrid rocket booster, was built from ordinary construction steel, with the exception of the cryogenic liquid oxygen tank, which was made of AISI 304 stainless steel. The fuel was a polyurethane synthetic rubber, and the oxidizer was liquid oxygen. The oxygen was pressurized with helium gas. The booster could be (and was) shut down by radio signal from earth. Total cost was around $50,000. Lead-acid batteries were used as weight was not an issue on first launch, and proven robustness were deemed more important the low weight of LiPo. Four 12V 7 Ah batteries were divided into two banks; two in parallel supplying 12V circuits redundantly, and two in series for the 24V Weibel radar transponderNyboe, Flemming
Construction pictures
''Ing.dk'', 2 August 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. sending to a

Continuous Wave A continuous wave or continuous waveform (CW) is an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency, typically a sine wave, that for mathematical analysis is considered to be of infinite duration. It may refer to e.g. a laser or particl ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

on the deck of Hjortø. The combination of transmitter and radar meant that several objects could be tracked in motion as well as being stationary. The budget did not allow for an

inertial measurement unit An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is an electronic device that measures and reports a body's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the Orientation (geometry), orientation of the body, using a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, an ...

to compensate for ship movement, but an

infrared camera Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared im ...

on the radar allowed operators to track the rocket.Djursing, Thomas
Mission depends on radar
''Ing.dk'', 4 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.

Offshore launch attempts

The permission to launch was given by Danish authorities, but the first option, the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, was a possibility that the Danish Civil Aviation Administration (''Statens Luftfartsvæsen'') opened, but it was rejected in 2009 by the Danish Maritime Authority (''Søfartsstyrelsen''). They preferred another area and then gave a formal and written permission to launch from a

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Launches have been performed from a platform built for the purpose.

2010

The first full-scale test-launch to was planned to be off the coast of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

sometime between 30 August and 13 September 2010 depending on the weather. The launch carried a crash test dummy "Rescue Randy" instead of a human pilot, since crewed flight is still some years away. Success criterion was stated to be completing the sea voyage and counting down - launch and recovery being bonuses.Andersen, Kasper Brøndgaard
Experienced rocket builder doubts success
''Ing.dk'' (Danish), 31 August 2010. Retrieved: 31 August 2010. On Tuesday 31 August 2010, the UC3 Nautilus pushed the launch platform Sputnik carrying the rocket and spacecraft from Copenhagen towards the launch area near Nexø,

.Jensen, Mette Buck
Reaching Nexø
''Ing.dk'' (Danish), 1 September 2010. Retrieved: 1 September 2010
Pictures
A launch attempt was made on Sunday 5 September 2010 14:43

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, 12 UTC+02:00,
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. but this was a failure due to a stuck liquid oxygen, LOX valve. A test flight was attempted on 5 September 2010, using the HEAT-1X rocket. The vehicle on board launch platform Sputnik, sometimes pushed by homebuilt submarine UC3 Nautilus and sometimes towed by M/V Flora, moved from Copenhagen on Tuesday 31 August 2010Bengtsson, Madsen, Foldager
From Copenhagen to Nexø
''Ing.dk'', 31 August 2010. Retrieved: 2 September 2010. to Nexø on Wednesday 1 September 2010.Bengtsson & Madsen
Calm before the storm
''Ing.dk'', 2 September 2010. Retrieved: 2 September 2010. Launch was initiated Sunday 5 September 2010 from Home Guard vessel Hjortø at co-ordinates: The oxygen tank was filled, and the rocket was nearing launch.Jensen, Mette Buck
Launch within 45 minutes
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. First attempt did not fire, attention was focused around oxygen valve and electronics.Jensen, Mette Buck
Rocket didn't fly
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. The oxygen valve jammed. It had not been tested, the previous one was stolen along with the oxygen tank at the construction yard in June 2010.Jensen, Mette Buck
Fateful theft ruins launch
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. The next launch attempt was pushed to June 2011, beyond the launch window ending 17 September 2010, because the rocket might have needed to be taken apart to check the LOX valve, and ignition rods and LOX needed to be replaced.Djursing, Thomas
Distant prospect of next launch
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010. Power to the hairdryer was supplied by Nautilus until the platform was evacuated, but the 20 minutes from then to launch drained the batteries and left the LOX valve unheated so it froze.Djursing, Thomas
Powerless hairdryer stopped rocket
''Ing.dk'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.

2011

The new launch attempt was on 3 June 2011. Hjortø was once again used for Mission Control. The submarine was left behind as the Sputnik had been outfitted with its own diesel engines during the winter 2010–11. After again experiencing a technical problem with the auto-sequence, the rocket and spacecraft went up in the air. After lift-off, HEAT 1X Tycho Brahe achieved supersonic speed but its flight path deviated from the vertical, so Mission Control had to shut the engine off after 21 seconds. Maximum altitude was estimated to 2.8 km and the

ground track A satellite ground track or satellite ground trace is the path on the surface of a planet directly below a satellite's trajectory. It is also known as a suborbital track or subsatellite track, and is the vertical projection of the satellite's ...

was 8.5 km. Booster and spacecraft separated but a parachute was torn off the booster due to excessive air drag. Tycho Brahe's parachutes didn't unfold correctly either, so the spacecraft received a large bulge at the 26 G impact. It is reported that it was water-filled when it was salvaged. The booster sank to a depth of 80–90 meters in the Baltic Sea A film of the launch from the pilot's point of view has been released.

Goal

A crewed launch was at the time estimated to be 3–5 years away, but if successful, Denmark would be the 4th nation to launch humans into

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, after the USSR (Russia), USA, and China.Danish Volunteers Build Manned Spacecraft
Retrieved 25 August 2010

In November 2010, an experimental liquid rocket engine called XLR-3B exploded during its 12th ground test. A similar liquid rocket named TM-65 Tordenskjold (''Thunder Shield''), after the Dano–Norwegian naval hero

Peter Tordenskjold Vice-Admiral Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskiold (28 October 1690 – 12 November 1720) was a Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officer. Born in Trondheim, he travelled to Copenhagen in 1704 and eventually join the Dano-Norwegian navy, rising to the rank ...

, with thrust was constructed,Andersen, Kasper Brøndgaard
Liquid rocket exploded
(in Danish) ''Ing.dk'', 22 November 2010
Video
Retrieved: 22 November 2010. however this design failed and caused a fire during its final static test in 2014. As of December 2014, work on a third design concept is underway at

,http://copsub.com/ Copenhagen Suborbitals homepage. Retrieved 6 December 2014. while an alternative program more similar to HEAT-1X has been started by the original designer Peter Madsen.http://raketmadsen.dk/ Raketmadsen support community homepage. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

Micro Spacecraft Tycho Brahe

The rocket HEAT 1X

Static rocket engine tests

Rocket

Offshore launch attempts

2010

2011

Goal

Related

See also

References

External links