About Us
The Mission
Founded in 2015, the McGill Rocket Team is a student-run design team that builds and launches sounding rockets. We give students an opportunity to work on exciting aerospace projects and obtain invaluable hands-on experience in engineering and management.
By building our own rockets and participating extensively in outreach events, we strive to educate about rocketry and promote the aerospace industry. Notable events we participate in includes McGill recruitment events, Montreal Space Symposium, and events to promote women in STEM.
Students who join the team may engage in many different fields which include composites and structures, fluids, and electronics.
Competitions
Launch Canada
Launch Canada is meant to be an annual canadian competition with innovation as its focus. Open only to Canadian institutions, this competition enables a greater range of students to enter the aerospace field and develop their skills and experience. It is intended to be a demonstration that Canada's space industry is capable of more than only specialized technology such as the Canadarms.
The inaugural Launch Canada competition will take place in October 2021 or in the summer of 2022. While the location of the competition is still to be determined, the team looks forward to be able to meet and compete with our fellow canadian teams from all around the country.
Results:
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Launch Canada 2025: 3rd Place (Advanced Category)
Spaceport America Cup
Spaceport America Cup (SAC) is the world's premier university level aerospace engineering competition, held annually in June. It is focused on the design of rockets and associated systems, featuring presentation events in addition to rocket launches. The McGill Rocket Team eagerly looks forward to competing at SAC each year with the gracious help of its sponsors.
McGill Rocket Team's most notable year at SAC was in 2018, becoming the second team ever to bring home the Genesis Cup. The team entered the competition with a 10,000 ft COTS rocket named Blanche, which launched nominally and was successfully recovered in the New Mexico desert. Blanche featured 50 student-designed components from a total of 53 major parts
Since Blanche, the team has been improving its designs and intends to compete with its first student-developed hybrid rocket engine at SAC 2022. With improved reliability across the board and a minimal number of off-the-shelf components to save cost and improve integration, the next rocket will be a testament to the team’s experience and drive.
Results:
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IREC 2015: 32nd / 44 10K COTS
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IREC 2016: 29th / 45 10K COTS
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SAC 2017: 3rd / 630K COTS
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SAC 2018: 1st Overall
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SAC 2019: 4th/19 30K COTS
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Virtual SAC 2021: 8th Overall
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SAC 2022: 2nd 10K Hybrid SRAD
Learn More
All Posts
8/16/2025
The second iteration, new and improved version of our SRAD hybrid rocket.
8/14/2024
Project Thorondor will be the McGill Rocket Team's second ever hybrid engine rocket launch! Its goal is to carry forward the systems engineering successes from last year's project, perfect the elements that are being reused from last year, and develop new systems that can be used aboard future projects.
8/1/2023
Project Porthos is the McGill Rocket Team’s second-generation 10K rocket flying a fully student-researched and developed (SRAD) engine.
Meet the Team
