UNSW Rocketry Team

FROM DESIGN TO MANUFACTURE 🚀

SHADOWFAX is taking shape as our Aerostructures team progresses through composite manufacturing ahead of the Australian Universities Rocket Competition (AURC).

Working alongside our sponsor McConaghy, our members have been manufacturing key composite components while developing hands-on experience with industry-standard composite processes.

A huge thank you to McConaghy Boats for their continued support through their materials, facilities, manufacturing resources and technical expertise. Their support allows our team not only to turn our engineering designs into flight-ready hardware, but also to upskill the next generation of engineers in advanced composite manufacturing.

With each manufacturing milestone complete, SHADOWFAX moves another step closer to launch!

Next stop: Test launch 🚀.

Find Meccha Chameleon at the Foot in the Door Industry Night!!

How many did you get? Let us know down in the comments!

Say hello to our 2026 Leads 🔥

Avionics: Oliver Drozdz
Propulsions: Rayyan Samat and Oscar Wellard
Aerostructures: Nishad Jhuvar and Amanya Fernando
Recovery: Tina Tao
CSE: Justin Prasad
Technical: Amish and Oscar Leo
Operations: Jess Hildebrandt
Manufacturing: Aiden Dollin
Business: Sarah Lawler and Emily Havig

Excited to see what the team accomplishes this year at AURC 👀

Here’s a look ‘behind the build’ at some of our most recent projects! 🚀🪐

Over the past few months, the team has been hard at work preparing for AURC with Project Shadowfax.

Following the successful completion of both our Preliminary and Critical Design Review we’ve made steady progress as Shadowfax moves from design into manufacturing.

Alongside our competition rocket, we’ve also been running LPR workshops, helping team members develop practical rocketry skills while working towards their personal rocketry certifications.

A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and effort over the past few months. We’re excited to keep building on this momentum and can’t wait to share what’s next! 🚀✨

Last week, our team headed out to Whalan Reserve for another day of hands-on rocketry experience, with several team members picking up their LPR certifications along the way!

Whalan is always a great opportunity to get time on the field, practising launch prep, recovery procedures, and building the kind of practical experience that no workshop session can beat.

A big thank you to everyone who came out and contributed to the day. See you at the next one!

Last week, UNSW Rocketry headed out to the April Whalan launch, where our T3 recruits launched their first MPR and several team members completed personal certification launches!

It was a huge day of learning, testing, launch prep, and watching months of design and build work finally take flight. For many of our recruits, this was their first time taking a rocket from concept to launch, and it was amazing to see their hard work come together on the pad. 🚀

A massive congratulations to everyone who launched, certified, helped with setup, recovery, photography, and supported the team throughout the day. These launches are such an important part of developing practical rocketry skills, and we’re so proud of the effort everyone put in.

Last month, our team made the trip to Mullaley, where we successfully launched three rockets. Our first L2 hybrid Juno, Longneck (made by Jonathan), and R2D2 (made by Avionics members Lillian and Oliver). Moments like these are what make all the late nights in the workshop worth it.

Again a huge thank you to McConaghy Boats for their role in Juno’s manufacturing, UNSW Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering for their ongoing support, and Bluesat for joining us on the road trip out.
Stay tuned for updates on our next rocket 👀