Latest news with #Rimau1
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Science
- Malay Mail
From Skudai to Texas skies: UTM's Rimau-1 to represent Malaysia at global rocket competition finals
Malaysia to complete at largest rocket engineering finals in the US from June 9–14 Their 2.5-metre Rimau-1 rocket, capable of reaching 10,000 feet, was developed using RM30,000 The rocket is named after Johor's football team, the Southern Tigers JOHOR BARU, June 1 — A multinational team from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has qualified for the finals of the prestigious International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) 2025 in Midland, Texas, the United States. Known as the UTM Rocketry Team, its members consist of third- and fourth-year undergraduates from the university's mechanical and electrical engineering faculties. The team is led by Arykummara Thava Kumar, who said the initiative began in June last year. He said in the early stages, the team was highly motivated and inspired to do something different. 'After several discussions, we settled on the rocket project that used propulsion technology. 'For us, the Rimau-1 rocket project was the perfect opportunity to show our skills in structural composites, rocket propulsion, electronics and also a combination of aerodynamics. 'Basically it's a combination of what we have learnt and also our own initiative,' he told Malay Mail when met at the UTM main campus in Skudai recently. UTM Rocketry Team leader and project director Arykummara Thava Kumar said the motivation to compete in a rocket championship was inspired in doing something different. — Picture by Ben Tan Arykummara said the UTM Rocketry Team comprises 40 undergraduates who have all contributed to the success of the Rimau-1 rocket project. He said the team will campaign Rimau-1 against other universities from around the world during IREC 2025, which takes place from June 9 to 14 in Midland, Texas. This June, more than 2,000 students, faculty members and mentors will gather for the 18th annual IREC. IREC is one of the world's largest intercollegiate rocket engineering competitions, testing students in aerospace design, propulsion systems and flight dynamics. It features more than 150 colleges and universities from across the globe competing in various rocket categories. How Rimau-1 came about The 2.5-metre Rimau-1 rocket is rated as a jet propulsion rocket capable of reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,048 metres). Since its inception, the team has spent about RM30,000 to construct Rimau-1. Arykummara said the idea to name their rocket Rimau-1 came from the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) football club, which features a tiger as its emblem. He said JDT, also known as the Southern Tigers, has been the pride of Johoreans due to its strong achievements in football. 'Since the UTM campus is also located in Skudai, Johor, our Rimau-1 rocket identifies with the state and its football team,' said the final-year engineering student chosen as the project director. Arykummara said the idea to name their rocket Rimau-1 came from the Johor Darul Ta'zim football club, which features a tiger as its emblem. — Bernama pic Road to IREC 2025 Team member Izzat Idlan said he was proud that the Rimau-1 project had potential despite the team's limited funding in the early stages. The 24-year-old, who is in charge of sponsorship, said this was the first time a UTM team would participate in an international rocket championship. 'This shows that Malaysians are capable and we can aim beyond textbooks and theories. 'At the same time, we were also inspired by Universiti Sains Malaysia's (USM) rocket team as they were the first to have participated in the previous IREC,' Izzat said. Another team member, Youssef Shahin, said the achievement was commendable as the team had managed to qualify for the finals. The 21-year-old Egyptian student said he was proud of how far the team had come. 'Despite the many hiccups we endured, we finally made it to the tail-end of the project.' 'All our hard work paid off and we made it for the finals in the United States,' he said, adding that it was another uphill task as they will compete with 160 teams in the final round of the competition. UTM Rocketry Team members preparing the Rimau-1 rocket's structure with composite material and epoxy in the early stages of the project in 2024. — Picture courtesy of UTM Rocketry Team Raising the standard Izzat said the team hopes that their achievement will raise the profile of Malaysian engineering talent internationally and motivate more students to realise their potential. 'As a team, we hope that our success will have an impact so that others can see that Malaysian students are also capable of competing on the global stage.' 'Such impact can also inspire the next generation of UTM students,' he said. In 2022, USM's WAU Rocketry Team made headlines as the first-ever Malaysian team to participate in an international rocket competition during that year's Spaceport America Cup. The team made Malaysia proud after finishing in 11th place that year. However, USM is not participating in this year's IREC.
The Star
22-05-2025
- Science
- The Star
Aiming sky high with self-built rocket project
JOHOR BARU: Some 40 engineering students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) have been working together for the past nine months, designing and building their own prototype rocket, which is expected to fly about 3,000m in the air. Their aim now is to make the nation proud as the rocket, named Rimau 1, is slated to be part of the International Rocket Engineering Competition 2025 (IREC 2025), which will be held in Texas, the United States, next month. Final year mechanical engineering student T. Arykummara, who is also the project director, said their 2.8m-long rocket, weighing 28kg, was made from scratch using locally sourced materials.'Only the propulsion for the rocket has been sourced from overseas. We have allocated a budget of about RM150,000 for the project. 'We hope to launch the rocket, which is expected to travel about 10,000ft or roughly a distance of 3km before two parachutes are deployed for it to safely land,' he said in an interview. Arykummara said this was a major feat for the students, mostly third and final year students from various engineering background, who are all members of the UTM Rocketry Team. 'We are the only Malaysian team selected for the competition. 'We went through four levels of judging since November last year with the final green light given earlier this month,' he said. Initially, about 400 teams from around the world submitted their designs but in the first round, that number was narrowed down to about 170 teams. 'Now, about 160 teams will be vying in the final round of the competition,' Arykummara said, adding that they divided themselves into seven teams to manage the project including structural, electronics, aerodynamics, propulsion, safety, recovery and payload. 'We also have a management team which is tasked mainly with sourcing for funding for the project,' he said. He also thanked the team's five UTM lecturers who are their advisers for the project, as well as the sponsors who helped with funding and materials for the rocket. In 2022 and 2023, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) took part in the competition. 'This year, we were supposed to collaborate with USM but they withdrew in the early stages, so we went in all the way,' Arykummara said. He added that their rocket is now 95% ready and only needs some minor finishing touches, including a coat of paint. Asked if they have tested the rocket, he said everything is good in theory as they do not have the propulsion system to test it yet. 'We cannot simply test the rocket because a propulsion system is something that is strictly controlled in Malaysia. 'So, we can only try it out once we are in the United States,' he said, adding that their rocket will be transported in four different components which can be assembled together. He also said their biggest challenge is lack of funding as they can only take 10 people, including a lecturer, for the competition. 'We started crowdfunding a few days ago as we hope to raise about RM86,000 to bring along six other students,' he said, hoping that individuals or companies will donate via the UTM Rocketry Team's social media accounts. Arykummara said if given a chance, they would like to bring everyone who played a role in the project as it would be a good place for them to meet and exchange ideas with other international teams and companies. Lecturers Dr Ahmad Humaizi Rozaini and Dr Muhammad Faruq Foong Mohamad Faiz Foong, who are among their advisers, said they were proud of their students' achievements. 'We were initially sceptical about the idea but once we saw their determination and passion, we encouraged them. 'Even the university assisted with some funding,' they said, hoping that the project would be a success and achieve the right altitude after lift-off. They also hoped that more engineering students would be inspired to come up with designs and join competitions to showcase their talent and creativity.
