Dubai students build rocket from scratch, beat 20 teams in UK design championship

Students at a Dubai university achieved an impressive milestone by winning “Not just Avionics by Jacobs”, one of the awards at the UKSEDS National Rocketry Championship. They showcased a rocket design inspired by the UAE’s successful space missions.

This accomplishment reflects the dedication and skill of the Space Society members at the University of Birmingham Dubai (UoBD), who learned to design a rocket from scratch with support from their UK campus.

Priority in global industry

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ashton Desouza, the Founding President of the UoBD Space Society and the team lead, explained that the UAE’s space programmes have motivated students across disciplines.

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“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, yet 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 an award. This entailed a lot of research, haunting and emailing more experienced people in this field. Ultimately, the payoff was pretty good,” said Desouza.

Clearing safety checks

The UAE student-led rocket soared approximately 500 metres from the Midlands Rocketry Club in the UK.

“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 range safety officer,” added the student who recently completed Mechanical Engineering from UoBD.

The UoBD students won the Not Just Avionics by Jacobs award out of 150 university students and 20 teams with their novel rocket design, which they successfully demonstrated through its launch, recovery, and relaunch due to having a second motor on the same day.

Notably, they were the only team to do this at the competition.

600g recoverable rocket

Another team member, Muhammed Mirza Villantakath, said, “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 through all airport security checks, while the rocket engine was bought and installed in the UK due to regulations.

Arjun Sailesh, the Vice president of the space club and a team member, explained their USP. He said, “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 competing in international competitions, field visits, conferences, and exhibitions, while collaborating with their UK campus.

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