Aspire 1 was the first rocket vehicle to be built by AspireSpace members. It was designed by students from four British universities (Bath, Bristol, Cambridge and Kent) with assistance from British Airways, Serco Space, Irvin Parachutes and Reaction Engines Ltd. It was launched in June 1992 in Mourmelon, France as part of an event commemorating International Space Year and carried a camera and electronics payload to an altitude of 3.5km, breaking the British record for an amateur rocket and the sound barrier! Unfortunately, the parachute failed to deploy properly and the vehicle crashed into the ground.