MARS breaks altitude record for flight in UK

MARS Break altitude record for UK amateur rocket again !

April 1999 and MARS break the verified altitude record for a UK non-professional rocket launched within the UK. The 2-stage rocket, Phobos 1, launched in North England, blasted off to a verified altitude of 13,737 feet, reaching a peak velocity in excess of Mach 1. The MARS Flight Crew and members responsible pulled out all stops for this flight.

As with the previous UK altitude record, held by MARS, both stages of the rocket were recovered intact, with only a few scratches to the paintwork. The distance the stages landed downrange was only 1/2 a mile and 1 1/2 miles respectively.

MARS hybrid launch attempt.

On the same day as the MARS record breaking altitude flight, another launch was attempted of a MARS amateur hybrid rocket. The rocket motor ignited successfully, but the rocket failed to lift off due to a leak in an oxidiser flow line.