Concordia students send Starsailor rocket flying and enter the history books
Students from Concordia University cheered and whistled as the Starsailor rocket lifted off on Cree territory marking the first of its size to be launched by a student team.
At 5:34 a.m. the rocket blasted off in a flash of light, captured in a livestream posted to YouTube, from a base camp about 250 kilometres north of Mistissini, in northern Quebec. The mission is a collaborative effort between the Space Concordia Rocketry Division and members of the local Cree community.
"This is insane," said student Shua Kalmanson looking up at the cloud of smoke created by the rocket's separation.
The students hoped Starsailor would enter space, past the Kármán line which is at an altitude of 100 kilometres. But, the rocket separated earlier than expected, potentially stifling its ascent.
Concordia professor Hoi Dick Ng said the team will only find out whether the rocket actually made it into space once it retrieves and analyzes the debris.
Hannah Halcro, who's been involved with the project since its inception seven years ago, told livestream audiences that despite the setback, "everyone is pretty darn happy."
"We haven't been able to test the structure itself, we can only do simulations and simulations are not reality, so now we know."
Over the next couple of days, the recovery team will be working on finding and recovering the rocket with the help of local helicopter pilots.
Originally built for a science competition, the rocket was left without a contest after the event was cancelled, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the team, made up of 700 members, pressed forward with the goal of making history and launching the biggest student-built rocket.
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