T-minus and counting - Monash rocketeers lift off to Spaceport America Cup

A Monash University student team is off to New Mexico to compete in the 2022 Spaceport America Cup, June 21-25, where they’ll put their in-house manufactured rocket to the test against the world’s best student rocket scientists and engineers.

The students, whose team is named Monash High Powered Rocketry, have designed, built and successfully tested their sounding rocket ‘Project Aether’ and will launch it in the competition’s 30,000 ft commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solid propulsion category. There, they will be judged on their project technical report, design implementation and the flight performance of the rocket at launch.

The Spaceport America Cup is the world’s largest intercollegiate rocketry competition and conference and will bring together over 120 teams from universities in 20 countries. Monash High Powered Rocketry is one of five Australian teams to be taking a shot at first place, and aim to beat their second placing in the 10K COTS category at last year’s virtual competition.

Features of Project Aether include:

• A launch vehicle with a transition section that tapers from a 6” diameter forward tube down to a 3.89” minimum diameter rear tube with four surface-mounted fins.
• A 4kg 3U CubeSat experimental payload integrated within the forward body tube that is designed to investigate aerodynamic heating throughout the flight with the use of thermochromic paint.
• A single-bay, dual event recovery system that consists of a separation event at apogee, and a main parachute release at 1,000 ft upon descent.
• A 6-degree of freedom trajectory simulator, SATURN, to influence design choices and guarantee a high level of competitiveness in the 30,000 ft category.

“Attending the Spaceport America Cup has been a long-term goal of the team,” said Monash High Powered Rocketry team lead Isaac Sims. “Project Aether represents a large body of work by many students, past and present, and we are excited to see it launch.”

“We’re thrilled that the team will get the opportunity to back up their 2nd place in 10,000 ft COTS and also their award for Modelling & Simulation that they won in the virtual competition last year,” said team academic advisor and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dr Callum Atkinson. “After missing out on more than 12 months of launch activities thanks to COVID-19, I know the team will be itching to get this rocket into the skies over New Mexico. When they do, I hope they take a moment to reflect on what they have achieved together and what they might achieve in the future.”

“We wish Monash High Powered Rocketry every success in the Spaceport America Cup,” said Interim Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Chris Davies. “We’re delighted to support our students to develop the skills, experience and global connections and perspective needed to become the next generation of space industry leaders in Australia.”

About Monash High Powered Rocketry

Monash HPR (High Powered Rocketry) is a student team dedicated to the design, analysis and construction of high-powered rockets. Formed in conjunction with the Australian Youth Aerospace Association’s announcement of the inaugural Australian Universities Rocket Competition (AURC), Monash HPR designs and constructs high-powered rockets to compete in the 10,000 and 30,000 ft categories.

Find out more about Monash High Powered Rocketry via their website and Facebook page.