“Rocket science is tough, and rockets have a way of failing.” - Sally Ride
We are the Queen Mary Aurora Initiative, a society built to design, construct and launch competition rockets from scratch. We founded this organisation with the aim of providing committed students across all schools of QM a way to enhance their experience at university. Currently a team of close to 100 students, we have already completed design and construction of our first test rocket and are aiming to launch it in early february. This year we intend to compete at Mach23' in the UK and the European Rocketry Challenge 2023 in Portugal.
Divisions
The society is comprised of two divisions, engineering and operations, each essential to the completion of our mission.
Engineering
Payload
Responsible for researching and developing their own experiment to fit inside the payload compartment of the rocket.
Avionics
Responsible for the Flight computers, sensors and all communication to and from the rocket. They will be designing their own flight computers, PCB’s and ground station communication equipment along with choosing the components of the avionics module on the rocket
Airframe and Propulsion
Responsible for the fuselage of the rocket along with the selection of and installation of the engine
Software
Works closely with the avionics team to lead the software aspects of the rocket along with simulations, testing and programming the brains of the rocket
Recovery
Responsible for making sure we not only reach our intended apogee but also get back in one piece. With only 2 out of 30+ rockets getting back properly in last years competition, recovery is one of the most difficult aspects of any rocket design to get right.
Operations
Social Media and Events
Responsible for the public image of aurora and all its social media outlets along with organizing events for our members to partake in.
Finance and logistics
Responsible for acquiring funding to make the manufacturing of the rocket possible, establishing relationships with companies and procuring any parts or materials the team will need. They will also be responsible for the logistical aspects of the project such as planning the transportation of our rocket and other components to Portugal.
Applications
Do not buy a membership unless you have already conducted an interview with us and have been selected to join.
Aurora is a completely open society, we welcome poeple from all courses, schools and paths of life. Whether you do Engineering, Political science, Biology or film theres always more room on the rocket (metaphorically speaking, in a literal sense those things are pretty packed). There are no strict requirements for joining, with the nature of the project, no matter what course you're doing, everything should be fairly new (as long as QM doesnt start a rocket engineering course that is). All we expect from our members is a commitment to learn on the job.
If you are interested in what we do and would like to join, more information can be found on our website (www.qmaurora.com).
