System Overview of the STAJe- 1 Payload

Abstract

The STAJe flight program is the latest implementation of a university based supersonic and hypersonic flight test program in Australia. In the first flight, which is the subject of this study, the focus is on evaluating the suitability of commercial off-the-shelf electronic hardware, 3D printed internal payload structures and a long range communications technique in the challenging environment presented by flight at high supersonic Mach numbers. These items can significantly reduce the cost of a flight experiment and, thus, lower the threshold for flight experimentation. The scientific objectives of this flight are to collect pressure and temperature data on the whole trajectory to compare to numerical models, to optically measure the temperature of composite fins mounted on the payload and to eject the flight module from the rocket assembly and track its location for subsequent recovery.