WARR (TUM)

WARR-Ex2 mounted to the launch rail

Existing since the foundation of WARR in 1962, the department for rocketry is the oldest project group of WARR. With the launch of the first German hybrid rocket in 1974, WARR achieved its first major success, which was promptly followed by the construction of multiple test engines. In 2009 the development of its next rocket began, called WARR-Ex2, powered by the in-house developed hybrid engine HYPER-1 with solid HTPB fuel and nitrous oxide as oxidizer. The rocket was successfully launched on 20th of May 2015 from the missile base CLBI on the Atlantic coast of Brazil and reached a maximal altitude of approximately 5 km.[17] Even before the launch of WARR-Ex2, WARR had begun working on its successor, WARR-Ex3, as part of project STERN[20] (STudentische Experimental-RaketeN) (German abbreviation for “student experimental rocketry”), organized and financed by the German Aerospace Center. As the given objectives of STERN were already reached within WARR-Ex2, it was decided to build a larger rocket, which should break the European altitude record for student rockets, counting 21.5 km for now. To reach this goal, the WARR-Ex 3 uses liquid oxygen instead of nitrous oxide, while maintaining the use of HTPB.[14]

Rendering of the bus of MOVE-II

Since the cubesat First-MOVE was primarily developed by doctoral candidates from the institute of astronautics at the TUM, the involvement of students was intensified during the development of its successor MOVE-II. To make use of WARR’s existing infrastructure, a new project group was founded, where the members could work on all subsystems. In 2012, development of a mission profile was started. After approval by the German Aerospace Center in 2015, launch of the satellite is expected in 2017.[13]

MOVE-II is a 10x10x10 cm big satellite (1U-Cubesat). It consists of a bus on the one side, which is responsible for power supply, communication and attitude control. Its Mission is to educate Students and Test some prototype Solar Cells. MOVE-IIb is an almost exact copy of MOVE-II launched in 2019.

WARR Space-Elevator is developing climber robots since its founding in 2005, and also organizes corresponding competitions. The first climber was developed for the JSETEC2009 competition and reached the targeted 150 m in the shortest time.[21] In 2011 the European Space Elevator Challenge (EUSPEC) was established, which also focused on energy efficiency.[22] Following that year the competition was repeated with increased cable length of 50 m.[23]

Rendering of the Dragonfly-Probe: This concept won the Project Dragonfly Design Competition

The WARR Interstellar Flight Team (ISF) is working on concepts for interstellar travel.[24] The goals of WARR ISF are:

• Research on manned and unmanned interstellar travel
• Utilization of methods from engineering sciences, especially interdisciplinary system engineering
• Publication of results on international conferences and journals
• Presentation of research findings to the public

In May 2013 the “Ghost Team” of WARR ISF participated in Project Icarus.[25] The name “Ghost” derives from the sudden appearance of the team in the competition and resulting in confusion of the other participants. WARR presented its concept at the British Interplanetary Society in October 2013 and was awarded for the best design among 4 international teams.[25]

In October 2014 begun development of a laser propelled interstellar probe for the Project Dragonfly Design Competition, held by the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (I4IS). The WARR team could prevail in this competition against international competitors, too.[25]

In August 2015 the project group Hyperloop was founded to participate in the Hyperloop Pod Competition sponsored by SpaceX. In January 2016, WARR’s was one of 30 international teams selected (from a pool of over 700 initially participating[26]) to build a functional prototype for the final phase of the competition in summer of 2016.[19]

As of June 2016, the prototype developed by WARR was intended to feature an electrodynamic suspension system to levitate and an axial compressor to minimize aerodynamic drag from the residual air inside the tube.[27]

The WARR pod was the fastest in the January 2017 competition which was run on the SpaceX Hyperloop test track—or Hypertube—a mile-long, partial-vacuum, 1.83-meter (72.0 in)-diameter steel tube purpose-built in Hawthorne, California for the competition. In December 2018, WARR Hyperloop was rebranded to TUM Hyperloop. Since this time it is managed by an separate organisation, called NEXT. [28][29]