University of Waterloo students aim for the stars with Canada’s first-ever liquid rocket

Students at the University of Waterloo have set a new standard by designing, building and launching the country’s first liquid-powered rocket.

The Borealis’ bi-propellant design is also capable of breaking the speed of sound.

“[It’s] not like an aerospace company or some kind of government-funded thing,” said Tessa Pugh, team lead and a third-year mechanical engineering student. “It’s a bunch of 22-year-olds from Waterloo, Ontario.”

Team members say it is superior to solid motor rockets.

“It would be like those model rocket kits you could buy at any of your model hobby stores, where you just light a spark and it will go up and it will burn,” explained Matthew Gordon, operations lead and also a third-year mechanical engineering student. “This one is actually being filled with nitrous oxide and ethanol alcohol.”

The Borealis’ maiden launch happened on Aug. 20 at the Launch Canada Challenge in Timmins, Ont. There it reached an altitude of 19,212 feet and a top speed of 1,646 km/hr.

The UW team earned first place in the advanced category.

“Seeing that year of really intense hard work come together and really soar into the sky was beautiful,” Gordon said.

Still of UW's liquid rocket taking off. (Source: Waterloo Rocketry)

The team explained that only a handful of universities across the globe have ever created a rocket of the same design. It’s a testament to the hard work put in and the support offered at UW.

“I’ve been to conferences where other universities are talking about trying to support their teams in similar ways to what Waterloo does,” said Andrew Milne, team lead and a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering at UW. “The space we give them, the support we give them, the students here have gone on to work for Bombardier and Space X.”

As for the team’s plan for next year, they have their sights set on a bigger and better rocket.

“It’s really hard to say how high we can go,” said Gordon.