Phobos

2022

Project Leads

• Team Lead: Peter Chronas
• Chief Engineer: Ben Van Der Veer
• Systems Engineer: Joshua Allchin

Project Description

Phobos was ARES’ first competition rocket, launched at the 2022 Spaceport America Cup (now International Rocket Engineering Competition) in the 10,000 ft commercial-off-the-shelf category. Phobos was unique in that it launched on an L2 motor instead of a typical L3, due to the team’s lack of access to an L3 flyer of record at the time. Launching on a lower-power motor required the implementation of an aerodynamic transition to minimise drag while allowing a full-sized scientific payload. Phobos was an enormous challenge for ARES to tackle in its infancy, both in terms of engineering complexity and logistical challenges in transporting a rocket to the United States. The rocket’s aerodynamic transition was chosen as a topic for a podium presentation at the competition. Phobos was launched successfully to an altitude of 10,802 ft but suffered a recovery failure leading to moderate damage of the airframe on landing. This placed ARES 29^th out of 98 teams, a commendable effort for a first competition. Additionally, ARES was awarded the Charles Hoult Award for Modelling and Simulation for the team’s work analysing and manufacturing Phobos’ aerodynamic transition.