Competitions

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.

 

Spaceport America Cup Results

  • IREC 2015: 32nd/44 10K COTS

  • IREC 2016: 29th/45 10K COTS

  • SAC 2017: 3rd/6 30K COTS

  • SAC 2018: 1st Overall

  • SAC 2019: 4th/19 30K COTS

  • Virtual SAC 2021: 8th Overall

  • SAC 2022: 2nd 10K Hybrid SRAD

 

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.