Taipei: Tamkang University successfully launched its fourth research rocket, “Tamkang-2,” from the Hsu-Hai Rocket Research Launch Site in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County. The launch occurred at 6:46 a.m. on Sunday and saw the rocket ascend to an altitude exceeding 7 kilometers.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) stated that the rocket, which measures 222 cm in length and 14 cm in diameter, and weighs 52.3 kg, was developed by the university’s Department of Aerospace Engineering Space Technology Lab. The rocket was powered by a thrust of 2,765 newtons and an impulse of 26,000 newton-seconds, with a burn duration of 13 seconds, reaching its peak at the 38-second mark.

TASA further detailed that the rocket maintained stable data transmission until it soared beyond its transmission range, verifying the university lab’s avionics system performance. Project leader Wang Yi-ren, a professor at the department, expressed pride in the team’s achievement in developing an avionics system capable of real-time data transmission under challenging conditions.

Wang emphasized that the previous rockets developed served distinct purposes: “Tamkang-1” focused on propulsion system verification, “Jessie” on composite strength, and “Polaris” on the damping system. The lab’s next project will involve working on attitude control systems.

Hung Chien-chun, head of the department, highlighted the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration in rocket development. He noted that the Tamkang-2 project received guidance from faculty across various fields, with all team members being undergraduates.

TASA, commissioned by the National Science and Technology Council to support academic research in rocket development, aims to advance domestic rocket technology through such initiatives. The agency’s Hsu-Hai Rocket Research Launch Site has facilitated 12 scientific sounding rocket launches to date.