Final testing, pre-launch activities, launch and post-launch analysis of a sounding rocket made by students in Spain

This paper summarizes the final launch preparation tests, the operations before, during, and after the launch, and the results of the launch of a supersonic sounding rocket developed by university students in Spain with the collaboration of INTA (National Institute of Aerospace Technology). The students are part of the Cosmic Research association, based at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia ESEIAAT, and the rocket is called Bondar. INTA is a Public Research Organization under the Spanish Ministry of Defense dedicated to scientific research and development of systems and prototypes in the fields of aeronautics, space, hydrodynamics, security, and defense. The staff of the El Arenosillo Experimentation Center (CEDEA) collaborated in the Bondar mission with their knowledge and launch capabilities. The launch of the rocket took place on the 30 th of November of 2021. Two students from BiSky, a rocketry team from the University of the Basque Country, also participated in this project, specifically in the development of the on-board and ground-based avionics subsystems. The paper presents information on the mission systems, the operations before, during, and after the countdown to the launch, the documentation required by INTA-CEDEA for the launch, and the results of said launch. In short, the systems developed by Cosmic Research for the launch are: the rocket, the launch pad, the rocket transport box, the flight simulator, and the ground-based rocket tracking station. The documentation required by INTA includes: a detailed description of the systems, a ground risk assessment, a flight risk assessment, structural analysis, aerodynamic analysis, and a list of countdown operations. Launch post-analysis activities evaluate the performance of systems and operations during the most critical phase of the mission. The Bondar Mission, due to its technical and operational complexity, was the most ambitious project ever developed by students in Spain in the field of rocketry. After a successful launch, Bondar became the highest-flying Spanish student-made rocket, with its apogee around 8 km AGL (Above Ground Level)