The ASRI Small Sounding Rocket Program (SSRP) was initiated in the mid-1990s to provide Australian educational institutions from universities to primary schools with a high-acceleration rocket payload launch service at very low cost. Some years ago, the SSRP was made available to individuals, companies and foreign universities. More recently, the SSRP has expanded to provide launch management and operation services for non-commercial organisations seeking assistance to launch their own vehicles.

ASRI is proud to provide the SSRP service to the Institution of Engineers, Australia and Kistler Aerospace Corporation as first prize in the annual Kistler Space Endeavour (KSE) competition.

Refer below for information about building a payload and having it launched on an ASRI small sounding rocket.

For information about having ASRI provide launch management and operation services, please contact ASRI.

The SSRP currently utilizes two types of launch vehicles, both of which are based on surplus-to-requirement military rocket motors. To ensure safe operation, these motors are managed under a Surveillance and Service Life Program.

Sighter Launch Vehicle The Sighter vehicle consists of a solid fuel motor 1.4m high and 83mm in diameter to which ASRI has designed and attached various fins and nosecone modules. With a payload of 3kg, the Sighter has an apogee of 5.9km in about 40 seconds, experiencing a vicious 55g and 491m/s (Mach 1.4) during the flight. Sighter Image Library

Zuni Launch Vehicle The Zuni vehicle consists of a solid rocket motor 130mm in diameter and 1.6m in length. ASRI has designed and constructed custom nosecones and payload recovery mechanisms for the ZUNI. The Zuni has similar altitude/speed characteristics to the Sighter but can deliver a considerably heavier payload. Zuni Image Library

SSRP launch campaigns are usually conducted twice a year from ASRI's launch facility at Launch Area 9 in the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA), South Australia, which is located about 500 km north of Adelaide.

Launch operations are conducted under the auspices of a Range Usage Agreement between ASRI and the Commonwealth of Australia and in accordance with the SSRP Safety and Operations Plan (SOP).

	The SSRP Firing Log details the actual historical launch details, time, payloads etc as well as further technical details on the Zuni and Sighter Motors.
	The SSRP Impact Map details the impact points of motors and payload from Sighter and Zuni launches conducted by SSRP. Note that the map is big (PDF 2.8 Mb) and slow to display. Locations appear last.
The trial specifications and reports detail the activities planned for, and conducted, at each launch campaign.
	July 1998 Post Trial Report
	October 1998 Post Trial Report
	October 1999 Post Trial Report
	July 2000 Post Trial Report
	October 2000 Post Trial Report
	July 2001 Trial Specification
	July 2001 Post Trial Report ... coming soon!
	October 2001 Trial Specification
	October 2001 Post Trial Report ... coming soon!

Technical Requirements

Payloads built for launch aboard an ASRI sounding rocket must satisfy certain basic requirements, including, but not limited to:

• fitting in the cylindrical payload module,
• meeting mass constraints, and
• being constructed to withstand launch acceleration.

ASRI is able to provide payload developers with reasonable assistance and is currently developing a Payload Users' Guide (PUG). This guide will include interface standards, safety requirements and a preparation and notification schedule.

Launch Service Fees

ASRI charges a fee for each payload launch, the fee amount depending on the type of organisation. The current fee schedule is shown in Table 1 below. These fees cover ASRI's expenses in:

• running launch campaigns,
• maintaining appropriate Public Liability and launch crew insurance coverage,
• the upkeep of the payload module fleet, and
• ensuring that the testing and inspection requirements of the Surveillance and Service Life Program for the rocket motors are met.

Further Information

For further information about building a payload and having it launched on an ASRI sounding rocket, please contact ASRI.

	ASRINews 2, Sighter Rocket Project, Payloads Wanted
	ASRINews 4, QUT Sighter Rocket Project Launch
	ASRINews 6, Queensland Sighter Trials
	ASRINews 6, School Rockets get SA Go Ahead
	ASRINews 6, Sighter Rocket Payloads
	ASRINews 6, Woomera Sighter Trials
	ASRINews 6, Zuni Rocket Program
	ASRINews 8, Separation System for Sighter Rockets
	ASRINews 9, Zuni Static Firings
	ASRINews 13, July 1998 Campaign Post Trial Report
	ASRINews 13, Trial Specification October 1998 Trial Campaign