The UCL Rocket Team wins the National Rocketry Championship (NRC)

UCL’s Rocket team is celebrating a historic success after becoming the first team ever to win the National Rocketry Championship (NRC) back-to-back! This victory solidifies their place at the forefront of UK university rocketry – a testament to their hard work and risk-taking mindset.

The NRC is organised annually by UKSEDS and challenges students to design, build and launch a rocket to an altitude of 2,500 feet. The competition is rigorous and attracts 50 teams each year from various UK and international universities.

Following their historic win as the first London-based university to claim the 2023 NRC title, UCL Rocket’s F.I.R.E subteam embarked on the ambitious development of their next Rocket Murphy.

Murphy wasn’t just a rocket – it was a symbol of UCL Rocket’s grit and determination to undertake challenges deemed unfeasible. Central to this was the development of PID-controlled air brakes.

This system allowed the rocket to control its maximum altitude in real-time with remarkable precision. Featuring over 500 lines of code, the algorithm was designed to control the deployment of flaps that slowed the rocket’s velocity. The algorithm processed data from its onboard inertial measurement unit to determine the trajectory of the rocket based on its tilt angle and flight characteristics. Using the data, it was able to correct the trajectory in real-time in just 0.3 seconds, ensuring that the rocket reached its precise target altitude!

Through extensive Computational Fluid Dynamics, as an extension of research conducted by UCL MechEng students, the team optimised the drag coefficient of the rocket. As a result of these simulations, the model was able to predict the apogee with an error of just 0.78% compared to real-world performance, accounting for the observed launch angle.

Success in rocketry is not solely defined by the ascent portion of the flight; it also hinges on recovery. Recovery is often considered the greatest source of error, as it requires the parachute to deploy at the correct time and for the rocket to be in a vast field.

To tackle this issue, UCL Rocket developed their very own parachute ejection system, which utilised live flight data from Murphy’s avionics bay to detect when the rocket reached its peak altitude. An electric signal was then sent up the rocket to ignite a custom-built, sealed canister containing black powder explosives.

To ensure the correct amount of explosives were used in compliance with safety requirements and to generate the necessary pressure to deploy the parachute, UCL Rocket conducted three successful ground tests at the Old Buckenham Aerodrome. These tests ensured successful parachute deployment on the day of the competition.

Adding to the team’s ingenuity was UCL Rocket’s in-house GPS system. UCL Rocket’s avionics team constructed a GPS from scratch. This system used an 869 MHz signal to transmit data in real-time to a ground station fully built by our MechEng students. This system was tested at UCL’s East campus before the competition. On launch day, the GPS located the rocket within 32 meters of its actual landing position – a testament to the team’s meticulous preparation.

Murphy’s success wasn’t just a result of its advancebeforeonics – it also reflected the team’s commitment to reliable aerostructures. The rocket’s fin design was modelled after the NACA 0005 aerofoil, resulting in a configuration that optimised stability and minimised drag. This design was validated in CFD software prior to construction to ensure it was the ideal shape for subsonic flight.

In addition, the airbrakes capsule and fins were subjected to high forces during flight. To address this, the team employed a two-layered airbrakes design to maximise surface area and efficiency, while shielding the gears that could have caused asymmetric flight if exposed to the wind. The design also incorporated threaded inserts to ensure the structural stability of the rocket under high stress.

When asked about the team’s future, Rocket Leader Anthony Le Jeune said: 

“This year, we surpassed all expectations and achieved every goal, even in the face of doubts about our project's feasibility. We retained our title as National Rocketry Champions and successfully hot-fired our first liquid bi-propellant rocket engine, Meliora. We also grew our team by 300%, focusing on recruitment and onboarding to fuel our continued growth"

With a second-place finish at Mach 22, fourth in our category at the 2023 Spaceport America Cup, and back-to-back NRC wins in 2023 and 2024, we’re ready for the next leap forward. Our first-year team is determined to defend our national title, while our solid motor team returns to New Mexico to dominate SAC25. Our liquid engine team aims to make history by producing the UK’s first refractory engine by July 2025.”

Having been established just three years ago, UCL Rocket continues to innovate and push the limits of what’s possible. With the new year beginning, there is no doubt we’ll continue to see great things from this student-led team. The sky is no longer the limit – it’s just the beginning!