Oryx Digital sponsored workforce wins gold at Worldwide Rocketry Problem

The Ridgeway Rocket Membership workforce of Ben Wigley, Sanjay Bala and (my son) John Brice, gained the Worldwide Youth Rocketry Problem on the Paris Airshow final week. After beating 180 different UK groups at UKROC to qualify, they then beat the very best groups from the USA, France and Japan. I sponsored and mentored the workforce this 12 months and the 12 months earlier than. The workforce positioned ninth total within the UK at their first try, final 12 months. Airbus was the principle sponsor for UKROC and their journey to Paris.

The rocket was designed and constructed from scratch by the workforce, with numerous 3d printer and laser reduce parts. The highest tube is a Pringles can (sturdy, low cost and stuffed with yummy pringles)! We used a Cesseroni F Basic stable gas motor for the launch.

The outcomes had been scored on a mix of flight (60%) and technical presentation (40%).

The flight mission was for the rocket to succeed in 850 toes, cut up into 2 sections and land the nostril part in 42 to 45 seconds with an intact uncooked egg. The UK workforce managed 872 toes top and ~38 seconds period with an intact egg. A French policewoman unintentionally elbowed the rocket on the way in which to the launch, so it was job they made the fins tremendous sturdy!

The UK workforce received a powerful 58 out of a attainable 60 factors on the presentation.

I’m very pleased with what the boys achieved and it was such a tremendous expertise. VIP every little thing and the workforce received to satisfy and shake arms with the French Primer Minister, numerous French cupboard members and 5 astronauts, together with NASA astronauts Charley Duke (who walked on the moon and commanded the lunar module on Apollo 16) and Mike Bloomfield.

They managed to get Mike Bloomfield to signal a rocket fin earlier than the launch. In addition they received to satisfy a load of different attention-grabbing individuals from rocketry, aerospace, the US armed forces and from the opposite groups. One other spotlight was a private tour of an Apache gunship helicopter by the US Military (I’m so glad we’re on the identical aspect!).

That is our onboard video from the launch:

Yesterday we received to enter the home of commons to point out off the rocket and the workforce met numerous individuals together with: area scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, our member of parliament and the Minister of State for Schooling. There can’t be many individuals who’ve taken a rocket into the home of commons!

Subsequent month they’ve a VIP tour of the Airbus manufacturing facility at Stevenage. The workforce has additionally been interviewed by the native BBC radio station.

Earlier than getting concerned in UKROC my son needed to do one thing technical, however he wasn’t positive what. Now he has determined he desires to do Aerospace engineering at College. Ben can be contemplating an aerospace profession. Sanjay desires to be a company lawyer, possibly for an aerospace firm. I’m positive it has additionally received numerous different individuals considering aerospace careers. So a particular consequence for the sponsors. A giant thanks to everybody who makes the UKROC and Worldwide Rocketry Problem competitions occur, together with: ADS Group, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, NAR, AIA and all of the volunteers.

In case you are within the UK, USA, France or Japan, why not enter a workforce in 2024? It’s a improbable approach to get youngsters concerned in a difficult STEM venture. And if you’re trying to make use of a rocket engineer a couple of years from now, drop me a line!