UBC
Rocket
The Mission
Rocket science is commonly used as a way to describe something beyond comprehension.
For a group of students at UBC, not only do they comprehend it, they do it everyday.
UBC rocket is a student lead team centered around the construction and launch of rockets.
The team is hard at work in the lead up to a huge competition.
The Spaceport America Cup
The Spaceport America Cup will take place in New Mexico in June. All the teams are made up of students from universities across the world. Over 110 teams from 11 countries competed in 2017. Students launched a variety of different rockets in competitions to reach 10,000 feet and 30,000 feet.
Last year the UBC team has successfully launched three rockets. While this year they are looking to only launch one.
Cypress, the rocket pictured, won in its category and is now suspended in air in one of the buildings at UBC.
Ben Maquignaz
Project Lead
Lauren Lee
Composites Lead
The Team
Olly Ye
Payloads Lead
Nick Jaeger
Co-pilot Lead
Connor Ingram
Recovery Lead
Sam Allan
Avionics Lead
Below we feature the department heads of the rocket team. Between them they manage 120 students. They delegate work, manage projects and designs and recruit new team members all while completing their own studies at UBC.
The Heartbreak
Last year after spending countless hours on one of their rockets named "Blacktusk", it took a sharp right turn midair before plummeting towards the ground. The team described this as a gut wrenching experience, but they used it as an opportunity to learn.
The team managed to recover majority of the rocket which was scattered across a kilometer of desert in New Mexico.
The Motivation
“We have 120 people on the team and they’re all incredibly committed. They’re in the shop at 10 o’clock on a Friday night because they want to be there. I don’t know how you can’t enjoy being surrounded by those kinds of people”
To listen to the full documentary click here
aboutUS
Nick Empey
Nick is a journalist at BCIT with a background in video production. He enjoys telling stories that highlight human accomplishment and make people smile.
Kenneth Pittman
Kenneth is a guy that loves telling stories. From the way we tell them, to what they're about. He is always open to hearing people share their stories and experiences.