Inspired by the UAE’s successful space missions, students at a Dubai university recently achieved an impressive milestone by winning the UKSEDS National Rocketry Championship. Competing against 150 university students and 20 teams, the Space Society members at the University of Birmingham Dubai (UoBD) designed and built a rocket from scratch, with support from their UK campus.
Ashton Desouza, the Founding President of the UoBD Space Society and team lead, highlighted the motivation behind their success. “Space has become a priority in the global industry, and the UAE’s milestones inspire us to become a part of this exciting field. Though my team members and I have done mechanical or computer science engineering and not aerospace engineering, we learnt about software designing and manufacturing techniques… all online from our UK counterparts — special thanks to Joseph Ward. We had zero experience before doing this and winning it. This entailed a lot of research, haunting and emailing more experienced people in this field. Ultimately, the payoff was pretty good,” said Desouza.
The UAE student-led rocket traveled approximately 500 meters from the Midlands Rocketry Club in the UK. Desouza explained, “Youth groups from across the United Kingdom go there and launch their rockets as part of the competition. There were many preliminary safety tests to be done before the launch. It had to pass all the checks by the safety range officer.”
The UoBD students won the award with their novel rocket design, successfully demonstrating its launch, recovery, and relaunch on the same day. They were notably the only team to accomplish this feat at the competition.
Another team member, Muhammed Mirza Villantakath, elaborated on their rocket’s features. “Our rocket that weighs 600-700g is a recoverable rocket, which means once you launch it, it has a parachute inside for safe recovery. Otherwise, it becomes ballistic and unsafe. That was one of the requirements of the competition. We prepared our initial design outline and payload preparation in December 2023. The rocket was ready by March.”
The students transported the completed rocket model, which passed all airport security checks. Their UK supplier provided items they couldn’t bring on the plane, such as the phenolic tube, parachute, and rail guides. Arjun Sailesh, the Vice President of the space club and a team member, explained their unique approach. “Conventionally, model rockets use a black-powder ejection charge for parachute recovery. However, due to the need for preliminary safety checks on our recovery system and local regulations prohibiting the commercial use of black powder, we researched and designed an alternative electronic recovery system.”
As a university space club, students engage passionately in various activities, including international competitions, field visits, conferences, and exhibitions, while collaborating with their UK campus.
Meanwhile, another team of six members from UoBD won the UKSEDS Olympus Rover Competition this July. Team lead Sriya Konduparti shared their journey. “Inspired by a visit to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), where we encountered a model of the Mars Rover, then my team and I embarked on designing our six-wheel rover in November 2023.”
After seven months of relentless effort and innovation, they completed the design in May 2024. “As a Computer Science student, I had to dive into new realms, mastering fusion and PCB design along with some other concepts that we required for the same,” she added. Despite the many redesigns and learning challenges, the students’ enthusiasm and perseverance led them to build a 3kg rover that they are proud of today.
Egyptian expat Jana Khalifa highlighted the challenges they faced. “One challenge we encountered was acquiring all the necessary materials. We sourced them from various electronic suppliers in Dubai and Sharjah, assembled them locally, and received some from the university. Transporting the rover to the UK was another hurdle. We had to find a battery that met the airline’s requirements, which meant it had to be under 12 volts and depleted before the flight. Ultimately, it was all worth it when we won,” added the 20-year-old.