The AQUASONIC³ is the third sounding rocket built by students at the HSB as part of the STERN program by the DLR ( German Aerospace Agency).
For a safe recovery of the rocket after flight a revovery system is needed. For the AQUASONIC³ this consists of one drogue parachute and one main parachute. The drogue chute is erleased shortly after reaching the apogee, the highest point in the trajectory, in about 8 km altitude and slows the rocket to a speed of 31 m/s (112 km/h). Following that the rocket drops to an altitude of 750 m where the main chute is released. Now the rocket is slowed down further to 6.6 m/s ( 24 km/h). With this speed the rocket then touches down on the ground.
To test this system severeal tests were performed at the Ganderkesee airfield.
