Students from the Engineering course at St. Stephen’s High School marked a significant milestone in their aerospace education with the successful launch of ICARUS, their student-built CanSat, as part of a collaborative mission with the Sapienza Aerospace Student Association (SASA).
The mission took place at the Piana Aremogna launch site in the Apennine mountains, where the ICARUS CanSat was integrated into the Caronte sounding rocket developed by SASA. After rigorous pre-flight integration and deployment tests, the launch occurred at precisely 14:02:15 GMT+2, propelling the CanSat to an apogee of approximately 850 meters.
Separation and deployment occurred as planned. However, during descent, the CanSat experienced an anomaly with its recovery system. True to the mythological roots of its name, ICARUS descended rapidly—evoking the tale of the Greek figure whose ambition outpaced his Engineering.
Despite the hard landing, the mission was a remarkable learning opportunity and a testament to the dedication, technical skill, and collaboration between high school and university-level students. The team is already analyzing telemetry and mechanical data to inform future flight improvements.
