ARIS rocket wins third place at Spaceport America Cup 2021 with HUBER+SUHNER RF connectivity solutions

ARIS has been awarded third position in the most difficult competition category at Spaceport America Cup 2021. Having successfully built its first sounding rocket made to fit a hybrid-propellant engine, it was judged for its performance in real-life conditions against 14 other entries from universities across the world.

The entry from ARIS, named Project PICCARD, demonstrated that a rocket with a 4-kilogram payload can be launched 30,000 feet into the air with all parts safely recovered after flight. Its performance represents both an ecological and economical future of space exploration as all the parts can be reused.

The rocket was made possible with the support of sponsors to provide RF connectivity for the telemetry and avionics systems of the rocket. As the main sponsor to provide radio frequency (RF) connectivity solutions, HUBER+SUHNER supported ARIS’ rockets trajectory and accuracy during the launch and flight, as well as the rocket’s safe recovery.

Xeno Meienberg, Project Manager PICCARD at ARIS said: “We are delighted that ARIS’ students have been recognised for their technical innovation, which has reached new heights for the aerospace industry. Like all of the competition entries, our rocket would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors, such as HUBER+SUHNER, our main provider of RF technology components and expertise.”

Roman Buff, Vice President of Aerospace at HUBER+SUHNER commented: “We take great pride in sponsoring the efforts of tomorrow’s engineers to develop further innovation and new capabilities in aerospace. This is essential in helping the emerging launch system market to thrive in Europe. Our team of engineers worked closely with the ARIS team to share their knowledge and expertise with the students, as well as provide them with customized RF connectivity solutions to build the rocket.”

HUBER+SUHNER is a silver sponsor of Project PICCARD and provided ARIS with coaxial and RADOX cables, as well as adapters, connectors and other solutions from its industry-leading RF product portfolio.

ARIS is a student association of ETH University in Zurich, Switzerland. A team of over 50 volunteer students from various universities across Switzerland worked on developing the rocket project PICCARD, named after the Swiss explorer, inventor and physicist Auguste Piccard.