USYD Rocketry Team Public Media
Where rockets come alive through real-world storytelling
We don’t just build rockets – we document the people, ideas and late-night tests behind them. Our media team captures launch footage, build diaries and competition recaps that showcase what student engineers can achieve. Explore our photos, videos and articles to experience the USYD Rocketry Team from the workshop to the edge of the sky.
Pardalote – IREC 2025: Pushing New Horizons
Pardalote marked our inaugural venture into hybrid propulsion, representing a bold step forward in what the USYD Rocketry Team can achieve. Over the span of two years, more than 100 dedicated student engineers collaborated tirelessly to design, manufacture and test this rocket. The team’s efforts culminated in a historic victory—securing first place overall at the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), as well as first place in the 10k Student Researched and Developed Hybrid/Liquids category.
Wattle – A Hybrid Engine Project
Wattle is the result of over 18 months of developing our permanent engine test facility and a new hybrid engine. Across 16+ cold flows and 3 hot fires, it delivered over 1400 N of peak thrust and 12,300 Ns of total impulse – the most powerful SRAD engine USYD Rocketry Team has built at the time. Our fully student-designed test stand, with blast shielding, thrust cell, fluids systems and dense sensor coverage, lets us safely test current and future engines with minimal setup. This milestone was made possible by our team, sponsors, and the support of AMME, ACFR and the Arthursleigh farm, and has laid the groundwork for our next major challenge.
Rosella 2023 – Testing to the limit
After a journey of many months, marked by unwavering dedication and an unyielding pursuit of excellence, our team embraced new methods of designing, manufacturing, and testing. We pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible, testing our projects and components to their limits. With meticulous attention to safety protocols and comprehensive documentation, we ensured that our journey into the Australian outback and the launches were executed with precision and care. This would not have been possible without the continuous support of all our sponsors and partners, helping us to launch Rosella twice at Tolarno Station.
Bluewren – Spaceport America Cup 2022: Mission Accomplished
Bluewren was our most ambitious project to date, with over a year’s worth of design, manufacturing, and testing work. Over 70 student engineers worked tirelessly to build an award-winning 30,000ft rocket and space-junk capture demonstrator payload for Spaceport America Cup 2022. We took home 1st place in the 30,000ft COTS Category, the SDL Payload Challenge, and the Overall Spaceport America Cup. We can’t wait to start our next projects and showcase where our team goes from here.
Bluewren 2022 – Tolarno Test Launch
We are so excited to bring you the footage of our test launch at Tolarno Station! It was an incredible trip for our team and there were high expectations, being our first launch in almost three years. Everything went smoothly and our rocket Bluewren and its payload Callistemon landed safely with barely a scratch after reaching just over our target altitude of 30,000 ft.
Firetail 2021 – Directors Cut
We’re excited to finally share the director’s cut of our 2021 Virtual Spaceport America Cup Presentation! Firetail is USYD Rocketry Team’s first 30,000 ft rocket project. During the 2021 Virtual Spaceport America Cup, our rocket proudly came 2nd in the 30,000 ft COTS Category. This shows the dedication of our team members who made it all possible. Despite the ongoing pandemic, our team has remained positive and we can’t wait to launch when it is safe to do so.
Project Silvereye – A Year in the Making
We take you on a journey from our first launch all the way to Spaceport America Cup. Project Silvereye was culmination of 1.5 years of systems engineering design work from our team of over 30 students, taking out 2nd place at AURC and 1st place at Spaceport America Cup for the 10,000ft COTS category.
USYD Rocketry Team – Spaceport America Cup 2019
On 18th of June, USYD Rocketry Team headed to New Mexico to become the very first Australian team to compete at Spaceport America Cup. After successfully launching and taking out first place for the 10,000ft COTS category, this became the team’s biggest milestone to date. Check out how it all unfolded.