UVic Rocketry

09/01/2021

UVic is transitioning back to in-person classes for the Fall 2021 semester and we can't wait to welcome all the future new Rocketry members to the team!

This fall we're putting our energy into recruitment and getting new members up to speed with skills and projects. If you're a UVic student that's keen to help design and build high-powered rockets, send us a message or check out our table at the UVSS Clubs Days (Wednesday Sept 15 & Thursday Sept 16, 10am-4pm in the SUB). Only prerequisites to joining are interest and being a UVic student, no experience required.

08/25/2021

UVR will be attending rainhouse's annual engineering showcase. Here we will be showcasing all our innovations during the pandemic.

At the event we will be showcasing air brakes, JAM jar, and other exciting projects. This is a great time to meet a couple of the admins and learn more about the projects we've been creating.

The event is on the 24th of September from 12pm to 5pm at the roundhouse carshop, 253 Esquimalt Rd. You can get your FREE tickets at rainhouse.com/events/engineering-showcase-2021/

**Proof of one vaccination required**

06/05/2021

05/05/2021

Welcome back to a new term! UVic Rocketry is still active and busy with projects.
Are you a CSC or SENG student looking to boost your portfolio with relevant skills for co-ops and your career? We're starting a multifaceted new project management app development project and need lots of help. We keep projects social and rewarding through collaborative work sessions and biweekly coding workshops on our team Discord server, and regular meetings over Zoom. Message us if you'd like to get involved!

01/18/2021

Here's our meeting times for the Winter 2021 semester! This week is a "Week 1" week, next week is a "Week 2" week, and the following weeks will alternate similarly.

If you're a UVic student that likes rockets, you're welcome to join just to attend meetings and hear about the cool stuff we work on, even if you don't think you have time to participate in major projects! Check out the Team section of our website for subsystem descriptions if you're interested: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/rocketry/team/

No experience or skills needed - only prerequisite to joining is interest in rockets and learning. Send us a message for more info on how to join 🚀

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Week 1 meetings: Payload at 6pm and Propulsion at 7pm on Mondays. Recovery at 7pm on Tuesdays.
Week 2 meetings: Propulsion at 7pm on Mondays. Avionics at 6pm and General Meeting at 7pm on Tuesdays. Flight Dynamics at 7pm on Wednesdays. Aerostructure at 7pm on Thursdays.

01/11/2021

Happy start-of-term, UVic students!

If you've been considering joining Rocketry, now's a great time to check us out. Send us a message for details about attending our start-of-term info session at the end of the month!

An update about what remote-work Rocketry is like:

While we are continuing project work despite campus being closed, working remotely has had an impact on our club culture that has traditionally been very social. Whereas new members could previously immerse themselves in the Rocketry hustle-and-bustle in our club room or our favourite engineering computer lab on campus, building connections between members now relies on virtual meeting attendance and our team's communication channels through Slack and Discord.

Our design work is largely unchanged, and involves technical activities like 3D modelling, PCB design, and programming. Our Business, Outreach, and Media support subsystems are also staying busy with non-technical rocketry activities. Members occasionally hold social group work sessions over Zoom, especially to help introduce new members to projects. We also try to arrange a few virtual social activities each term as a break from Rocketry and course work.

We have lots of things to do in preparation for two (!) summer competitions. New members are always welcome regardless of skill level or experience - the only prerequisite to joining is interest in what we do!

12/29/2020

Victoria may be cool, cloudy, and wet these days, but we're looking forward to Spaceport America Cup 2021 next summer in the hot, sunny, dry New Mexico desert!

Check out our guide to safe rocketry in the New Mexico desert!

(Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZfCxUtBYISA)

11/10/2020

Testing when campus is closed means our team members have to get creative with making cheap at-home testing equipment. This is our recovery subsystem's "Blast-o-Bowl 550", a DIY vacuum chamber made with a mixing bowl, silicone baking sheet for sealing, and some simple tubes and fittings! It can hold a maximum vacuum pressure of about -10 psi.

This year we want to characterize the pressure output of our system used to puncture our drogue ejection CO2 canisters at apogee to ensure that our system will still work at 30,000 ft. This vacuum chamber allows us to simulate the 4.4 psi pressure conditions at apogee, and is cheap enough that we feel comfortable with detonating tiny explosions under it without incurring major financial losses if it gets damaged during testing.

11/03/2020

Knock knock - delivery! What does a collaborative manufacturing and testing phase look like when campus is closed and everyone's working from home?

For us, it looks like members with personal 3D printers helping to print and safely deliver parts to other team members to measure and assemble. Here are a couple of our payload members and some parts for our scientific payload module.

Other team members across the province are also getting manufacturing help from their friends and families with home shops and equipment like laser cutters and 3D printers. Slowly but surely, we're working to assemble as many of Hyak-3's components separately before we can eventually safely meet in person to bring it all together.

11/02/2020

Our Flight Dynamics subsystem handles the design and analysis of our rocket's aerodynamic profiles. Recently our more experienced members have started helping newer members learn the basics of Computational Fluid Dynamics to collectively develop some killer design and analysis skills for future rockets.

If you're a UVic student interested in developing skills with CFD and aerodynamic design, you're welcome to join us and start learning the basics so you can eventually do some cool projects like optimizing nosecone and fin shapes! Flight Dynamics holds their CFD tutorials biweekly on Monday nights at 8:30pm PST virtually over Zoom. Tonight is Tutorial #2 - send us a message if you'd like to join in 🚀