Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Space
  • /
  • Cranfield students competing in rocket engineering competition

Space Events

Cranfield students competing in rocket engineering competition

Students from Cranfield University are designing their own space rocket, which they hope to launch into the skies above the US later this year.


Courtesy Cranfield University

Members of the University’s CRANSeds society (which stands for Cranfield Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) are taking part in an extracurricular project to design and develop a rocket for the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), which will take place in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in June.

Advertisement
ODU RT

The team – which comprises 15 people, all of whom are studying either the University’s MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design or its MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering – must visualise and build a rocket capable of carrying at least 8.8lb to a height of 10,000 feet above the ground.

If successful, they will compete against their peers at the IREC during the week of 17 June, launching their design into the skies above New Mexico.

Daniel Sieradzki, aged 23, is one of the students involved in the project. He said: “It’s an ambitious project. Although some of us in the team have been involved in rocket development before, none of us have ever done anything on this scale. So there is a lot of learning going on.”

The team are hoping their efforts will inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

Magdalena Grzybek, aged 33, said: “When I left school in Poland, my parents told me they wouldn’t let me study space as there was no future in it. Now here I am studying my passion at Cranfield University and entering a global competition that is inspiring the next generation of space engineers.

“In the past few years, we have seen things that no-one thought would be possible back then. Space has always been a very conservative industry, but in recent years we’ve seen a real change, with reusable rockets and commercial drivers democratising access to space and making it more affordable. Now anything seems possible.”

As the UK's most business-engaged University, Cranfield have long-term relationships and close commercial partnerships with many companies in the sector including Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

Its education, research and consultancy is enhanced by facilities such as the National Flying Laboratory Centre – a unique national asset which provides a hands-on, flying experience, along with flight deck simulators and industrial-scale gas turbine engine test facilities used for performance and diagnostic studies. The Aerospace Integration Research Centre, a £35 million innovative centre built in partnership with Airbus and Rolls-Royce, fosters collaboration between industry and academia.

Advertisement
ODU RT

A new £65 million Digital Aviation Research and Technology (DART) Centre is now being built at Cranfield to spearhead the UK’s research into digital aviation technology.

Notable Cranfield alumni include Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce plc and Ralph Hooper, who attended the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield in 1946 and went on to become one of the UK’s most important post-war aircraft designers, creating the Hawker Harrier jump jet.

The CRANSeds students need to raise around £15,000 to enable them to take part in the competition and are looking for donations from businesses and individuals to help them achieve their aims.
 

For more information, visit their fundraising page: https://www.gofundme.com/the-intercollegiate-rocket-engineering-competition .


 

Advertisement
General Atomics LB
UK Moonlight team expands

Space Events

UK Moonlight team expands

18 July 2025

Viasat, SSTL and MDA Space have announced they are working together to develop designs and proposals for a lunar orbiting communications satellite system around the Moon, called Moonlight.

MDA Space UK to prime ESA and UKSA regenerative 5G D2D comms from LEO

Space

MDA Space UK to prime ESA and UKSA regenerative 5G D2D comms from LEO

16 July 2025

MDA Space Ltd today announced that it will prime SkyPhi, a new mission funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the UK Space Agency (UKSA) that will enable regenerative 5G direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications from Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

University of Surrey launches Space Institute

Space

University of Surrey launches Space Institute

16 July 2025

With the UK's £19 billion space economy surging, government and industry urgently need faster research, innovation and skilled talent – yet more than half of space organisations report critical shortages, a challenge now being tackled by the newly launched Surrey Space Institute at the University of Surrey.

Pioneering programme to develop horizontal space launch

Space

Pioneering programme to develop horizontal space launch

15 July 2025

Ahead of the UK Space Conference (Manchester, 16th-17th July 2025), Frazer-Nash has announced it is leading a new research programme, known as INVICTUS, to develop a comprehensive concept design for a vehicle and its integrated systems, with the goal of building and flying a Mach 5-capable aircraft at the edge of space by early 2031.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Celestia UK starts building world’s first Ka-band multi-beam gateway

Space Events

Celestia UK starts building world’s first Ka-band multi-beam gateway

15 July 2025

Celestia UK is announcing at the UK Space Conference 2025 (Manchester, 16th-17th July 2025) that it has commenced the preproduction stage of a new generation of ground station gateway.

Bright Ascension launches strategic plan with new leadership team

Space

Bright Ascension launches strategic plan with new leadership team

14 July 2025

Bright Ascension Ltd has announced the appointment of a new CEO and the launch of its five-year strategic plan.

Advertisement
DSEI 2025