It's rocket science, you know!
Meet Shradha and Charlie, University of Adelaide students from the Adept Rocketry Program who successfully launched a rocket to an altitude of 4145 ft/1263.52m. The rocket was still in good shape after reaching a maximum speed of 200 m/s and plummeting back to Earth.
Shradha smiling through pre-launch nerves 
“You can feel the anticipation all around you during the T-minus countdown,” says Shradha, who is pursuing a double degree in Engineering and Mathematical and Computer Sciences, describing the moments before launch. “At T-zero, you’re holding your breath and the nerves are kicking in, because there’s a very real possibility that it might not work. Then, you hear a super cool, ‘zeeeeoooom’ sound as it zips through and reaches the sky before you’ve even blinked. 5 stars. Highly recommend.”
Engineering students in the Adept Rocketry Program design, build, and launch high-powered rockets - an incredible feat considering how little leisure time they have.
“The main challenge we faced was our time constraint - we only gave ourselves around a week to build the rocket, from start to finish,” says Charlie, in his second year of a double degree in Engineering and Computer Science. “That meant dedicating a large chunk of the mid-semester holidays to getting a finished rocket to launch. Another challenge the team faced was the launch location. Because of regulations in South Australia, we had to drive to Victoria Rocketry Association’s Serpentine launch site, near Bendigo.”
Charlie is psyched for his future in aerospace!
The thrill of launching a rocket wasn't the only factor that made the dream work; teamwork was also crucial.
“I got to develop my teamwork skills, learn about how rockets are built, and from being around more experienced people I got a glimpse of what I’d be doing in the future,” says Charlie. “I also got to make connections with amazing people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met.”
For Shradha, the Adept Rocketry Program is helping to make her aerospace engineering dream a reality.
“I got selected for space industry work experience at Lot Fourteen in 2019 and had just come back from an educational training trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre where I watched a rocket launch. The combination of these events was pivotal in exposing me to the possibilities and I remember thinking that someone my age will get to do this when they’re older, and then realising, I can become that someone.”
Interested in the Adept Rocketry Program? Contact Luke Bruno via email: luke.bruno@adl.adept.org.au