A group of students from South East Technological University’s (SETU) Aerospace Engineering programme showcased their own built rockets at the university’s Carlow campus on Friday. The students are currently in year three of SETU’s Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Aerospace Engineering and make up the first cohort to undertake the new module “Introduction to Space Engineering”, taught by Dr Ashish Vashishta, lecturer at the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at SETU.
The module aims to provide students with a solid foundation in space environment, spacecraft design, orbital mechanics, space propulsion and space industry standards to impart skills and knowledge in the growing space-industry in Ireland. Students gained hands-on experience in the design, development, and launch of small to medium sized rockets with an aim to collect flight data to inform their learning. This resulted in an exciting demonstration of their models at SETU’s South Sports Campus. The model rockets were built by the students during practical laboratory work this semester.
Speaking about the launch, Dr Frances Hardiman, Head of Faculty of Engineering at SETU in Carlow, commented, “We are delighted to be able to support our aerospace students on a practical level as they advance towards the use of new technologies and a changing landscape in the space sector.”
The rocket launch practical was conducted and supervised by Colin Fitzsimons from the Irish Rocketry Society who is looking forward to facilitating and developing a future inter-university student team that can compete at the annual European Rocketry Challenge competition organised by the Portuguese Space Agency. Speaking about the launch, Colin commented, “It's exciting to see SETU leading the way in such an ambitious project. Partaking in such endeavours only helps to secure SETU's leading academic programme in aerospace.”
Head of Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at SETU in Carlow, Dr Cathal Nolan, indicated the importance of the practical development of students’ skills: “This is an excellent example of the practical aerospace experience students get from studying at SETU. We are grateful for the support from the Irish Rocketry Society, and from our staff like Ashish, who bring their applied knowledge into the classroom”
The global space sector is predicted to grow by approximately €1trillion by 2030. In 2019, Ireland’s Department of Enterprise Trade and Economics (DETE) released its National Space Strategy setting out plans to develop ‘an economically sustainable and expanding space-active industry, delivering quality jobs for the economy of tomorrow’. The strategy outlines goals such as doubling space-related revenue and employment in Irish space companies by 2025.
As a leading provider in aerospace education, SETU’s specialist courses focus on design and development of all types of aircraft including airplanes, helicopters, satellites, and spacecraft. With the DETE’s National Space Strategy front of mind, the university’s aerospace course was recently restructured for current aviation and space industry needs. This was done with the introduction of modules related to space systems.
For more information on SETU’s Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Aerospace Engineering, click here.