ADV1 (AspireSpace Development Vehicle 1)

Following the launch of Aspire 1, the founder members of AspireSpace decided on the ambitious goal of launching a 10kg payload to an altitude of 100km in a reusable launch vehicle. This would be Aspire 2. However, it was soon realised that it would be very difficult, if not impossible to make the giant leap from 3.5km to 100km, without a series of smaller rockets to test individual components, gather aerodynamic data and provide AspireSpace with experience of launching and recovering rocket vehicles. ADV1 was the first of these test rockets.

ADV1 had a hand-built glass fibre composite airframe, a hand-sewn parachute and was powered by a British made solid rocket motor with approximately 1250 Ns total impulse. The payload consisted of avionics for measuring the flight characteristics (including a full motion CCD video camera) and a telemetry system for obtaining the data on the ground while the rocket was in-flight.

Unfortunately, ADV1 was destroyed at an altitude of approximately 50 metres due to an overpressure in the combustion chamber. The avionics, CCD video camera and the motor section of the airframe were completely destroyed. However, two sections of the airframe and the recovery system were salvaged and some components have since been re-used on other AspireSpace rocket vehicles.