Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) is a non-commercial student rocketry team at TU Delft, founded in 2001 under Stichting Students to Space. It designs, builds, and launches hybrid and solid-propellant sounding rockets — currently developing Stratos V with a reusable Firebolt engine for EuRoC 2025 — while educating engineering students and running CanSat competitions for Dutch high schools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersDelft, Netherlands
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering does
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) is a student rocketry team at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, founded in 2001 and operating under the legal umbrella of the Stichting Students to Space foundation. The organization pursues a two-part mission: providing engineering students with hands-on multidisciplinary rocket development experience and attempting to reach space (100 km altitude) with a fully student-built vehicle. DARE's portfolio centers on the Stratos sounding-rocket family (Stratos I through the current Stratos V) and supporting demonstrators including the Aether supersonic testbed and HALEX II. Across more than two decades the team has set the European student altitude record twice, currently standing at 21.5 km.
DARE's technical scope is vertically integrated. In-house propulsion includes the DHX-200 Aurora hybrid engine (nitrous oxide / sorbitol-paraffin-aluminium fuel, 180 kNs total impulse) and the Firebolt reusable engine developed under Project Sparrow (up to 11 kN thrust at 30 bar), alongside solid systems such as the DXS Icarus (7,100 N thrust). Flight systems span a custom 7-PCB avionics stack, canard-based active aerodynamic stabilization, a four-thruster nitrous-oxide roll-control system, and pyrotechnic hot-gas parachute deployment. Recovery systems are developed by a dedicated Parachute Research Group using in-house tools ParSim and TumSim. Composite structures are produced via filament winding in partnership with Plastic Omnium and Airborne, with oxidizer tanks overwrapped in aluminum-carbon and sealed with FEP o-rings.
DARE is not a commercial entity and generates no product revenue. Its operating budget is assembled from corporate sponsorships (Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands, TNO, XSENS, Fokker Services, Plastic Omnium, Teijin Aramids, DLR Trauen, INTA, Eurocircuits, Exactmetal, Precimax, Airborne, NEMO, ESERO), institutional support from TU Delft, and public crowdfunding campaigns (notably for Stratos IV). Pricing models are non-applicable; instead, value flows outward through educational programs (Small Rocket Project for first-year students, CanSat competition for Dutch high schools), research publications (including IAC 2018), and public launch demonstrations. The go-to-market model is event-driven: technology validation through launches and competitions rather than product sales.
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
- Legal name
- Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
- Website
- https://dare.tudelft.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) is a non-commercial student rocketry team at TU Delft, founded in 2001 under Stichting Students to Space. It designs, builds, and launches hybrid and solid-propellant sounding rockets — currently developing Stratos V with a reusable Firebolt engine for EuRoC 2025 — while educating engineering students and running CanSat competitions for Dutch high schools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Student Aerospace Rocketry
- NAICS
- Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts Manufacturing (336415), Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336419), Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (3364)
- SIC
- Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Launch Vehicles & Orbital Rockets (IMABACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Rocket Engines (Liquid) (IMABADAE), Rocket Engines (Solid) (IMABADAF), Spacecraft Integration, Assembly & Test (IAT) (IMABACAK), Propulsion Test, Integration & Certification Services (IMABADAN)
Keywords
Where Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Delft
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Research and Development: DARE is a TU Delft student society operating as a research and educational organization. Revenue is generated through research projects, educational programs, and technology demonstration rather than commercial product sales.
- Sponsorship and Grants: Funding from industry sponsors (Airbus, TNO, XSENS, etc.) and institutional support from TU Delft for rocketry research and development activities
- Crowdfunding: Public crowdfunding campaigns for specific projects like Stratos IV, with individual donor support
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is a non-profit student rocketry team at TU Delft that designs, builds, tests, and launches student-built sounding rockets and supporting subsystems (propulsion, avionics, recovery, structures, simulations) as research and educational projects. Its flagship Stratos program progresses toward reaching space (100 km altitude) with a fully student-built vehicle, supplemented by the Aether supersonic demonstrator, HALEX II, CanSat launcher, and the Small Rocket Project for first-year students.
Product overview
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) is a student rocketry team at TU Delft offering a portfolio of rocket launch vehicles and subsystems for research and educational purposes. The product lineup centers on the Stratos rocket family (Stratos I through V), progressing from 12.3 km solid propellant rockets to the current Stratos V targeting space. Additional launchers include the Aether supersonic demonstrator and HALEX II. Core propulsion includes the Firebolt reusable engine and DXS Icarus solid motor. Supporting subsystems encompass parachute recovery systems (Parachute Research Group), active roll control, modular flight electronics with custom PCBs, and in-house simulation tools. The portfolio represents a vertical integration of rocketry capabilities from educational Small Rocket Projects to space-capable vehicles.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Stratos: Flagship launcher project series aimed at reaching space (100 km altitude). Includes Stratos I, II+, III, IV, and V.
- HALEX
- PRG (Parachute Research Group)
- Solid Propulsion Team
- Aether
Products and services
- Stratos V Rocket Current flagship student-built sounding rocket designed to reach space (100 km altitude). Powered by the reusable Firebolt hybrid engine generating up to 11 kN thrust at 30 bar chamber pressure. Targets the EuRoC 2025 launch competition.
- Stratos IV Rocket 8.3 m sounding rocket designed to break records and reach space. Features the DHX-400 Nimbus hybrid rocket motor, seven custom PCBs flight computer, dual parachute recovery system with hot gas deployment, and active roll control using nitrous oxide monopropellant thrusters.
- Aether Supersonic Technology Demonstrator Supersonic technology demonstrator rocket for future DARE space flight. Features modular rocket design, supersonic active stabilization using steerable canards, high-speed parachute deployment, and DARE's largest solid rocket motor (DXS Icarus).
- Stratos II/II+ Rocket First large hybrid launcher built by DARE. Stratos II+ reached 21.5 km altitude in October 2015, setting the European student altitude record. Uses the DHX-200 Aurora hybrid engine with nitrous oxide oxidizer and sorbitol/paraffin/aluminum fuel.
- HALEX II Rocket
Quantifiable outcome
- European student altitude record: 21.5 km achieved with Stratos II+ (2015)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature10 records
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Airbus Defence and Space NetherlandscoreMain sponsor for Stratos II project; provided support for development of hybrid rocket technology and large-scale rocketry programs
- Fokker ServicescoreWelding services for oxidizer tanks; provided expertise in aluminum welding for pressure vessels
- Plastic OmniumcoreCarbon fiber winding of oxidizer tanks in Belgium; composite manufacturing partnership
- AirborneminorPost-cure oven facilities for composite tank manufacturing
- XSENScoreMTi-100 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sponsorship; provides attitude sensors for flight control systems
- T-Minus EngineeringminorProvided launch tower equipment for CanSat launch day operations
- TNO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast wetenschappelijk onderzoek)coreStatic test facilities at Rijswijk for hybrid rocket engine testing; 14 test fires conducted
- DLR Trauen (German Aerospace Center)corePropulsion test facilities in Germany for additional static fire testing of hybrid engines
- INTA (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial)coreSpanish National Institute of Aerospace Technologies; launch site provider at El Arenosillo Test Center for Stratos launches
- ASK 't Harde (Dutch Military Base)coreDutch Ministry of Defense launch range for CanSat and experimental rocket launches
- Copenhagen SuborbitalsminorDanish amateur rocketry team; collaborative wind tunnel testing sessions at TU Delft Open Jet Facility
- Teijin AramidscoreAramid fiber materials sponsor for parachute research and testing at Open Jet Facility
- Caroline Suits & Rigging ServiceminorParachute testing support and rigging equipment for recovery system development
- Stichting Students to SpacecoreLegal entity overseeing DARE projects including Stratos; Board of directors includes Hanrahan, Alan (Chairman), Welters Sébastien José (Secretary), Sanchez Miguel Oubiña (Treasurer)
- Delft Aerospace Structures and Materials LaboratorycoreAcademic partner providing filament winding machine setup for composite combustion chamber production
- NEMO Science MuseumminorDutch science museum partner for CanSat competition organization and educational outreach
- ESERO (European Space Education Resource Office)minorESA education office partnership for CanSat competition and space education programs
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Copenhagen Suborbitals: Danish non-profit amateur rocketry team building crewed suborbital spacecraft on a volunteer basis. DARE has an explicit mutual partnership with them on wind tunnel testing at TU Delft, making them the closest analog: volunteer-driven, non-commercial, ambitious altitude/space goals, similar European geography.
- EPFL Rocket Team (Spacecraft Systems Association): Swiss student rocketry team at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne competing in EuRoC with hybrid and solid propulsion projects. Same European student rocketry category, similar competition circuit (EuRoC), and similar talent pipeline from a top-tier technical university.
- Manchester SEDS / UK Student Rocketry: UK-based student rocketry teams under the UKSEDS umbrella competing in EuRoC. Similar volunteer/student model targeting sounding rocket and altitude records within the same European competition circuit.
- HyEnD (Stuttgart Hybrid Engine Development): German student team at University of Stuttgart developing hybrid rocket engines and competing in EuRoC. HyEnD previously held the European student altitude record (32.3 km) before DARE's Stratos III attempt, and both teams compete in the same EuRoC/European student hybrid propulsion space.
Broad incumbents
- PLD Space: Spanish commercial launch vehicle developer building the Miura family of rockets. Same Iberian launch ecosystem as INTA's El Arenosillo where DARE launches; DARE alumni could feed into PLD's propulsion and avionics teams.
- Nammo / NAMMO Raufoss: European aerospace and defense company producing solid rocket motors and space propulsion. Represents the commercial/industrial endpoint of the rocketry supply chain DARE interacts with, including oxidizer tank and propulsion technologies.
- Orbex: UK-based commercial micro-launch vehicle developer. Represents the European commercial launch path that DARE alumni often join, contrasting DARE's non-profit student model with a venture-backed European launch company.
Others
- Teijin Aramids: Materials supplier (aramid fibers) that sponsors DARE's parachute research. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than competitor — illustrates the corporate sponsor network DARE operates within for advanced aerospace materials.
- Reaction Engines (SABRE engine): UK-based advanced propulsion company developing the SABRE air-breathing engine. Not a competitor but a reference point for the type of advanced propulsion IP that DARE alumni could feed into; uses similar hybrid-class engine design philosophies.
Regional players
- T-Minus Engineering: Dutch commercial launch services provider that supplied DARE with launch tower equipment. Same Dutch aerospace ecosystem and works with student rocketry, but operates commercially and provides professional launch services rather than volunteer R&D.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering social profiles
Digital presenceDelft Aerospace Rocket Engineering financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
What does Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering do?
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is a non-profit student rocketry team at TU Delft that designs, builds, tests, and launches student-built sounding rockets and supporting subsystems (propulsion, avionics, recovery, structures, simulations) as research and educational projects. Its flagship Stratos program progresses toward reaching space (100 km altitude) with a fully student-built vehicle, supplemented by the Aether supersonic demonstrator, HALEX II, CanSat launcher, and the Small Rocket Project for first-year students.
Is Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering a public or private company?
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering founded?
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering was founded in 2001. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering based?
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is headquartered in Delft, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Research and Development is the primary driver. The others are sponsorship and Grants and crowdfunding.
Who are Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Copenhagen Suborbitals, EPFL Rocket Team (Spacecraft Systems Association), Manchester SEDS / UK Student Rocketry and HyEnD (Stuttgart Hybrid Engine Development). Broad incumbents are PLD Space, Nammo / NAMMO Raufoss and Orbex. Others are Teijin Aramids and Reaction Engines (SABRE engine). T-Minus Engineering is listed as a regional player.
Does Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering have an API?
No public API is recorded for Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering.
What industry is Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering in?
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering's product category is Student Aerospace Rocketry. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABACAA, Launch Vehicles & Orbital Rockets, with a secondary code of IMABADAE, Rocket Engines (Liquid). Its NAICS code is 336414 and its SIC code is 3760.