Mission operations took place at Spaceport Nova Scotia which is owned and operated by Maritime Launch Services (MLS). The Barracuda single-stage rocket is 4.5 meters long, 200mm in diameter and is propelled by a solid R-class impulse motor. Both the rocket and the motor were designed and manufactured by T-Minus Engineering. Its payload compartment measures 1,000 millimetres and is capable of carrying payloads of up to 40 kilograms to altitudes of approximately 120 kilometres. On this flight, the payload was provided by Stories of Space and is their 3rd mission – Mission 03. Beyond Blue Aerospace joined the MLS operations team to perform Range Safety duties during the mission.
Preparations for the flight involved monitoring the weather, the airspace, and the waterway within the flight path to ensure it was safe to launch. This involved close coordination with Transport Canada, Nav Canada, as well as launching a weather balloon prior to the flight. Operations started the night before so that the team was ready to launch shortly after daybreak.
The rocket and operations team were ready as planned then went into a hold for several hours until the ballistic zone was clear of marine traffic. Once cleared then final preparations were completed and the rocket launched. Liftoff occurred at 11:54 AM (ADT) with a nominal ascent until about 10s into the flight when the vehicle temporarily experienced some instability. The rocket quickly regained stability, continued the parabolic flight, and splashed down into the North Atlantic as planned. A lot of energy was lost during the instability and so the target altitude was not achieved. Regardless, it was an important milestone for the MLS team in advancing the operational readiness of Spaceport Nova Scotia for subsequent suborbital and orbital missions.
It was a pleasure to have been part of this team of professionals to help ensure a safe and successful mission. If you are interested in learning about Spaceport Nova Scotia’s inaugural launch, follow this link.
It is also worth mentioning the tremendous support provided by Transport Canada on site staff to assist in ensuring the ballistic zone was clear of traffic and going above and beyond to extend the launch authorization window.
A special shout out needs to go to Dave and Ann Marie for hosting the operations crew at the nearby Seawind Landing Country Inn. They really made us feel welcome and at home during our stay !
Ad astra per aspera