University of Sydney rocketeers’ successful test launch

Students from the University of Sydney’s rocketry team, the USYD Rocketry team, have their eyes firmly set on gold after successfully launching their 2022 competition rocket in New South Wales’s far west.

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the team will fly to the US in June to compete at Spaceport America Cup, an international student rocketry competition held annually in New Mexico.

The student team’s rocket, Bluewren, soared to a target height of 30,000 feet over the Menindee Lakes, a region near Broken Hill.

The rocket successfully deployed both of its parachutes, safely landing 3 kilometres from the launch site intact.

“We’re absolutely thrilled by the success of this weekend’s launch – it couldn’t have gone better. We feel confident in Bluewren’s design and engineering as we head to the US in June,” said team Executive Director, Bachelor of Engineering and Science student Alison Lockley, who has led the team since 2020.

2022 will also be the first year the team will compete at Spaceport America Cup since the pandemic. In 2019, the USYD Rocketry Team was the first Australian team to ever compete in the competition, with their rocket Silvereye taking out first place in the 10,000ft category. In 2021 Spaceport America Cup held a virtual competition, with the Sydney team winning silver and bronze for their rocket, Firetail, and payload, Tetratheca.

The students have long placed great import on teamwork, camaraderie, and positive competition, for which they were also commended in 2019. They plan to take their good sportsmanship to the 2022 competition.

“The international space sector has long been defined by its collaboration and openness between nations. We want to bring this same approach to Spaceport in 2022 and look forward to meeting other world-renowned student teams,” said Alison Lockley.

The students will fly to New Mexico next month, to compete throughout the week commencing 21 June.