Australian Universities Rocket Competition (AURC): Outcomes and lessons learnt launching Australia’s first university high power rocket competition
- Paper number
IAC-18,E1,3,3,x48449
- Author
Mr. Conor MacDonald, Australia, Australian Youth Aerospace Association
- Coauthor
Mr. Nathaniel Shearer, Australia, Australian Youth Aerospace Association
- Year
2018
- Abstract
The Australian Universities Rocket Competition (AURC) was created by a group of students to improve the Australian indigenous space industry work force by boosting the skills of Australian university graduates in rocketry and space systems, thus providing a pipeline for students to careers to the Australian space industry. Backed by the Australian Youth Aerospace Association (AYAA), and with the support of the local government and the defence industry, three South Australian university students developed the AURC following the 2017 IAC in Adelaide. Initial expressions of interest were sent out to several major universities within Australia to determine any interest in the Australian university student body. The response was surprisingly good, including large positive responses from universities that did not have an aerospace engineering program. Once an interest was determined, local government support was established and the competition framework, rule set, and calendar schedule was created. An organising committee was also formed to manage the competition throughout the year. This presentation will discuss how the AYAA started up the AURC and the steps taken to start the competition from the ground up. Results from the 2018 calendar year, failures and success of the competition will also be discussed, with the intent to provide a framework to create a national tertiary rocket competition in other countries.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)