Last Friday, an experimental rocket was launched from Kibbutz Beit-Nir. This is an unclassified, unique launch, one of the few made in our region
The members of the rocket club for outstanding students from the Hebrew University launched an experimental rocket from Kibbutz Beit-Nir last weekend. This is the launch of a medium-sized rocket, for the first time in a long time in Israel, in an unclassified, informal manner and for civilian purposes - one of the few test launches conducted so far in Israel. The rocket managed to reach a record height of about 720 meters, and a speed of 430 km/h, which is about half Mach. The rocket then landed safely on the ground. During the rocket's stay in the air, the ground crew performed an experiment and telemetry of flight measurements was transmitted from the rocket to a ground station.
About 30 members of the university rocket club came to witness the launch of the rocket along with dozens of other spectators, including representatives from academia and industry, as well as a company 'Zik Dinor' that there was belief in the pyrotechnic side of the rocket launch. After the successful launch, the rocket was returned to the ground using a parachute that stopped the speed of its fall - to prevent damage to the sensitive equipment and electronics installed on it. "The important achievements for us have been achieved. We climbed to the required height, we were able to open the parachute and we were able to receive telemetry in real time. The information from the telemetry from the experiment and from the rocket's memory will be deciphered later. Soon, a long process of analyzing the results will begin", the rocket club further stated.
The rocket club also notes that the purpose of the launch was first and foremost to balance even a little the negative connotation of the word 'rocket', and to remind that there are positive uses of rockets such as advancing science and technology. The rocket is named RAM-1: RAM or "Ram" after the location of its assembly, the Hebrew University's Safra campus in Givat Ram. High, also because the rocket is expected to fly high, to a high place. Also, the initials of Ram are research rocket. And the number 1 - because this is the first rocket of its kind. The rocket was painted pink, a color chosen by all the members of the club in order to raise awareness of breast cancer, since the launch was planned to happen during the disease awareness month.
The entire project takes place with the assistance of a large number of companies, organizations and associations, among them Condor Pacific, Rafael, the Aerospace Industry, the Technion, C.S.S. Precision, B.A. microwaves From the Comite group and the Anat and Amnon Shashua Foundation - which provided the students with various content experts and advanced equipment such as an inertial measurement system, transmission and reception systems and training in the establishment of a ground station.
This year is the third year in which the club's enrichment program has been delivered at the Rakah Institute of Physics, which is at the Hebrew University. The activity is open to any full-time student at the university and every discipline is reflected in the annual activity of the rocket club, from public administration to chemistry, physics, business administration and education. Prof. Ram Sri, a member of the club's steering committee and head of the research and development authority at the Hebrew University, added and said regarding the project: "The tools that the students purchase at the beginning of their journey are critical for the rest of the way, but if so, the exposure to the uses of these tools is not possible due to the intensity of the demanding degrees at the university. Such a club allows for a slightly less formal interaction, and to hear from researchers and content experts about themselves about the research and experiments they perform. In addition, the students experience teamwork and bring the diverse knowledge they acquired during the degree to expression in a way to solve a real engineering problem. "
