'UTM Rocketry Team' Creates History By Reaching IREC 2025 Finals

Barnama

a day ago

JOHOR BAHRU, June 13 (Bernama) -- A group of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students created history by launching their homemade rocket "RIMAU-1" in the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) 2025, currently taking place in Midland, Texas, in the United States.
UTM said in a statement that this achievement makes the university the first Malaysian team to advance to the final stages of this prestigious six-day competition, organised by the Tripoli Rocketry Association, which is ending tomorrow (June 14) thereby bringing honour to the country on the global stage.
According to the statement, the team known as the UTM Rocketry Team, led by mechanical engineering final-year student T K Arykummara together with teammates Brenden Huang Hong Quan, K Raahull, Izzat Idlan Amir Raslan and S N Shivee Prakkaash, who represent a combination of students from the mechanical engineering and electrical engineering faculties.
"Interestingly, the team also developed a rocket parachute system as a safety measure, in addition to using ammonium perchlorate as the main propulsion system to reach the target altitude of 3,000 metres (m) in Texas airspace.
"In addition, the cost of constructing RIMAU-1 is estimated at RM40,000, while the total cost including travel and logistics reaches RM200,000. (Moreover) this project also received support and financial assistance from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs (JTNCHEPA), UTM International (UTMI) as well as several other sources," said the statement.
Meanwhile, Arykummara in the same statement said the rocket named RIMAU-1, which is 2.8 m in height and weighs 28 kilogrammes, was built using fiberglass and carbon material, and is expected to reach a maximum height of up to 3,000 m in accordance with the height requirements set by the organisers.
He said the process to build the rocket was not just about assembling components but involved intensive research, repeated testing, and meticulous attention to every technical and safety aspect.
"The handmade rocket took a total of more than nine months to build and was the result of teamwork, consisting of 40 people from various technical disciplines. The project began early testing in January and was only seriously worked on starting in March, with an intensive two-month construction period.
"Therefore, this participation is not just a competition, but a symbol of our team's spirit of innovation, resilience, and cooperation bringing the Malaysian spirit to the international stage," said Arykummara.