The Polish suborbital rocket ILR-33 Bursztyn 2K reached space. This is a historic achievement for Polish engineers and an important moment for the Polish space industry and the entire space-related sector. The Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation was the institution that developed the project.

The “Bursztyn” (eng. Amber) rocket is an environmentally friendly project developed by the Lukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation. A hybrid engine with a hydrogen peroxide oxidiser and solid fuel engines powers it. It moves at a speed of nearly 1.4 km/s and is intended, among other things, to carry out technology tests for the space industry and scientific research. The solutions used in it are pioneering.

“With this project and its technologies, we want to prove to the world that elements of sustainable, environmentally friendly transport are possible in space,” said the institute’s director, Dr Paweł Stężycki, before the test flight.

A Polish suborbital rocket has taken off from the Andoya base in Norway and reached a cosmic level. Its designers assumed that it could reach an altitude of 100 km. As the test carried out proved, this value was achieved.

The technical details of the flight are currently being worked out and will be made public in the coming days.

Photos: X @AviationPoland, @POLSA_GOV_PL

Tomasz Modrzejewski