A group of students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne in Switzerland have built and begun testing a vertical take-off and landing demonstrator called Colibri.
Launched in 2018, the Gruyère Space Program (GSP) designed and built a 100-kilogram, 2.5-meter rocket hopper powered by its home-developed 1.2 kN F-100 (N2O/IPA) dual-fuel rocket engine. The group completed the first test run of its F-100 engine in May 2022.
In addition to Colibri, GSP has also built a small rocket-shaped UAV called uMouche. The UAV serves as a Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) test platform, allowing the company to test software and hardware that will be used on board Colibri without the significant expense of a full-scale test flight of the rocket crater.
The Colibri rocket hopper was tested for the first time on June 2, 2024. Since then, the group has conducted 22 individual test flights. The longest flight (flight no. 20) took place on August 8, during which the hopper performed several maneuvers in the air during a flight lasting 36 seconds. The highest altitude reached was eight meters, reached during its last test flight on August 13. All 22 flights were conducted with a passive safety harness, which was used during some tests.
While Colibri’s testing is still ongoing, GSP is already exploring possible future applications for its technology. One approach being explored is the creation of a space mobility startup.
