We are an engineering student design team at the University of British Columbia dedicated to the design, manufacture, and launch of suborbital rockets. During the 2022/23 academic year, we iterated on Tantalus’ design to produce our most advanced rocket yet: Beauty and the Beast, a two-stage, solid motor rocket with a target altitude of 30,000 ft. After earlier test flights of individual stages in Alberta, B&B had its maiden flight at the Spaceport America Cup 2023, where it flew to a height of 11,120 ft due to a stage separation failure. The root cause of this failure was the avionics board responsible for second stage ignition; the team rapidly diagnosed and resolved this issue ahead of our second competition of the summer, Launch Canada. We are extremely proud that at Launch Canada 2023, the launch of Beauty and the Beast became the first successful multistage launch at a Canadian rocketry competition, achieving an apogee of 21,500 ft, perfect recovery of both stages and winning the competition! This is a huge accomplishment for the team and will be the engineering foundation for a new two-stage rocket during the 2023-2024 academic year.
If you are looking for a fast-paced team with ambitious goals and are willing to get your hands dirty, this is the team for you. Want to see more pictures, news and stories? Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Are you interested in joining UBC's largest engineering design team? Do you have a passion for breaking the bounds of space exploration and working with one of North America's most prominent university rocket teams? Applications to join our team open at the start of each term. See more information here!
Check out our recruitment posters around campus!
01.
During the 2022/2023 academic year, we iterated on our first two-stage rocket "Tantulus", which launched in the inaugural Launch Canada 2022 competition in Cochrane, Ontario, Canada. Beauty and the Beast is UBC Rocket's second two-stage, solid motor rocket.
We incorporated a two-motor propulsion and staging system and implemented the lessons we learned from our Silvertip rocket, which we launched during the 2022 Spaceport America Cup - Intercollegiate Rocket Competition in New Mexico, USA. Minor issues resulted in a partially successful launch for B&B.
After the important lessons learned at the 2023 Spaceport America Cup, we flew Beauty and the Beast once more at the 2023 Launch Canada competition where B&B achieved a successful launch and perfect recovery!
UBC Rocket's first two-stage rocket, launched in 2022 at the first Launch Canada competition. Photo credit from Launch Canada organisers.
Silvertip on display at the 2022 IREC competition in New Mexico.
02.
This project was UBC Rocket's latest COTS competition rocket, a single solid motor rocket named "Silvertip", and competed at IREC 2022. This rocket incorporated latest in-house built components and payload, and competed in the 30,000 feet COTS category.
This team is ideal for students starting out in engineering who are looking to become intimately familiar with all of UBC Rocket's design, manufacturing and testing processes.
Watch Silvertip's launch and on-board footage on our YouTube channel!
03.
We are on our way to the edge of space! UBC Rocket is currently in the process of designing and building a liquid-fuel rocket that will reach an altitude of 100km above sea level (the Kármán line). This rocket is competing in the Base11 Space Challenge for a $1 million dollar prize!
This is by far the most audacious project we are currently working on. We have recently hot-fired our heatsink liquid engine on our in-house built test stand and are currently working on the recovery, avionics, and airframe for the rest of the Whistler-Blackcomb rocket. Follow us on social media to keep up with our progress!
The Whistler Blackcomb team is ideal for very committed members who are passionate about rocket propulsion and are able to commit a very significant amount of time to the team.
3D rendering of our liquid-fuel heat sink engine.
Applications for joining our team for the 2023/2024 academic year are now closed, however we often consider applicants throughout the year. If you are still interested in joining, email us at hello@ubcrocket.com!
If you have any questions about openings on the team throughout the year feel free to email us at hello@ubcrocket.com.
2019 IREC
Faq
Our recruitment for the 2023/2024 academic year will be open at the start of each term. For term 2 or Summer recruitment, please send us an email with your resume and information.
The team holds weekly meetings during the regular semester which all members are expected to regularly attend. As deadlines approach, the pace and workload will naturally pick up and additional commitment will be required during the week. Teams are currently meeting for about 2-10 hours a week and this is expected to continue into the fall semester.
Yes. The team is open to all UBC students, including non-engineers! All you need to bring is positivity and a willingness to learn and contribute regularly.
A massive thank you to our
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