University of Sheffield students launch record-breaking rocket

During the course of the past academic year, the students at the University of Sheffield designed and created their own rocket engine - Sunfire III, and the rocket known as Desert Winds which is a liquid-fueled rocket.

Study in UK: A team of University of Sheffield students designed and created a supersonic rocket that has broken a series of European and UK altitudes. The engine used in the rocket is called Sunfire III and the rocket is named the Desert Winds which was created by the team in a limited period of six months time which they built while pursuing their studies at the university.

This team has become the first group of students in the UK to create a liquid-fueled rocket - a propulsion system. Such systems are used by the likes of SpaceX and NASA to launch crafts into space. The rocket was launched from the Mojave Desert in California and it traveled at an altitude of 26,879 feet at supersonic speeds. Since the 1970s, this altitude has not been achieved by any UK team with a rocket of this type.

Fintan Cluskey, Co-Director of Project Sunride and also an aerospace student at the University, said, “It’s been incredible to see how far we’ve come as a team to launch this rocket. From not knowing anything about liquid propulsion last summer to designing and hot firing a liquid rocket engine by March and then launching six months later, has been an amazing experience and shows the passion and exceptional talent in our team."

“The feeling of flipping the switches to open the valves to start the propellant flow, and seeing all our hard work pay off when the rocket lit and accelerated off the launch rail will be hard to top. All the hard work of the team went into that moment of lift-off and the team has absolutely smashed any expectations we had for this year and truly gone above and beyond,” added Fintan Cluskey.

University of Sheffield rocket launch: More details

UK Race to Space competition is all set to be held later this month in July 2024. It is a national education initiative to strengthen the space sector of the country. This competition will see students from all over the country test the rocket engines they have built in over the year.

Dr Alistair John, Deputy Director of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield and academic supervisor for Project Sunride, said: “I couldn't be prouder of the Project Sunride team. In less than a year they have gone from hot-firing their first engine to breaking UK and European records. When the team first asked me to support their dream, I had no idea how far they would come in such a short space of time. Everyone at Sheffield is incredibly proud of them.”

Sam Beaumont, Team Lead for the Desert Winds rocket and an aerospace student at the University of Sheffield, said: “The incredible success of Desert Winds is a testament to the level of engineering capable by university students. With it becoming the highest liquid launch from any UK organisation, including aerospace companies, I am very proud of the team and how efficiently they have worked together on this project. I’m excited to see where the team goes and what else we can do.”

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