A.S.A.T.’s Rocketry Project is the first of its kind in Greece. It was established in October 2016 by students of the Technical University of Thessaloniki of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, who were seeking knowledge in the field of Experimental Rocketry and Aerospace. As time went by, the experience that had been gained laid the groundwork for the consolidation of our Project’s two biggest goals.
The first one is the desire to promote and develop this field within the academic community, as well as on a national level. This way the creation of a network of individuals, groups, and partners around A.S.A.T.’s Rocketry is encouraged.
Our second goal is to proactively promote the research being done in the aerospace sector in Greece. This also includes the participation in the student lead competitions like the Spaceport America Cup (S.A.C.), which is the largest student rocketry competition worldwide, or the European Rocketry Challenge (Eu.Ro.C.), the biggest student rocketry competition in Europe.
Throughout the years, ASAT’s rocketry department participated in various categories mainly in the 10,000ft/3,000m COTS/SRAD solid motor category, gaining valuable lessons and technical expertise along the way. All of the above lead to the team being awarded the “Team Award” and the conquering the 3rd place amongst all the other European teams, during the 2023 edition of EuRoC.
Our latest high power rocket, “Eclipse”, is the most advanced project to ever existed, incorporating multiple automatic control systems, an all new avionics bay and antenna system and multiple redundant systems to ensure a safe flight and recovery phase. Project Eclipse was meant to fly at an altitude of around 4,000 m using an SRAD M-class solid rocket motor. In order to reach the desired altitude of around 3,000 m, the rocket incorporates an automated Airbrakes system that, when fully deployed, can limit the maximum altitude to around 2,300 m. Project Eclipse, weighs around 32 kg and sits at a height of 3m.
During the past years, A.S.A.T.’s Rocketry Project has managed to broaden its activity field through various projects that have been carried out. Upcoming launches, static tests of SRAD motors, participation in social events and R&D projects are some of our team’s activities. Technical progress has been made by manufacturing many SRAD unities, such as a flight computer assisting on the detection of apogee and the recording of data and the rocket’s dynamic performance during flight. Other examples of our technical activities include the ejection mechanism which releases the parachutes, the body tubes of scale rockets, the fins and the testing motors.
