Icarus goes to Wallops! Where else would rocket geeks go for Spring Break? Virginia! Markus, Mike, and Ron, with the help of Ron's parents, travelled to the Wallops Island Launch facility. With the full rocket in tow, the team at the range poured over ever every aspect of the vehicle. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment was the finalization of the ignition and payload design. Using two CDI systems provided by Wallops, as well as a safety arm/fire system, both ground and flight systems safety OKed the design. Other achievments include vibration testing of the payload, joint strength testing, as well as just being able to talk in person with the Wallops team. Also, we were able to go out to the pad and see the rail and blockhouse, and hope to interface their ground support systems with ours in order to ease the launch process.

Pathfinder Test LaunchIn December of '05, the Icarus payload was tested on the Pathfinder Test vehicle. Built by the Icarus team for this purpose, the rocket is 90% custom composite. The greatest challenge was the diamond profile fins made from plywood, high-density foam, and carbon. The motor tube was cast from the motor case and made of fiberglass. With an altitude of 12,075 feet, the test was a complete success. The footage from this flight was used to create the Icarus Promotional Video.