Vehicle 79

First flight of Vehicle 79 Dominator III on an Aerotech F12-3J RMS composite motor, northeast Switzerland, July 30, 1999. The rocket measured 938 mm in length and 57 mm in diameter; the payload carried consisted of a Missile Works RRC2 altimeter and a 31.5 mm custom piezo locator.

The ascent phase of the flight was perfect, but upon recovery, only the drogue chute deployed fully while the main parachute failed to unfold. The resulting hard landing caused significant damage to the nose cone, one cracked fin epoxy fillet, and slight damage to the payload section. Nonetheless, Vehicle 79 flew twice more that day and was later fully repaired.