Base 11 Space Challenge – The Concordian

Space Concordia unloaded all the new projects they are working on––such as a Mars rover and plans to send a satellite to the International Space Station––at their annual info session on Jan. 24.

The info session included an announcement that they are participating in a USD $1 million competition to launch a rocket to space.

Hannah Jack Halcro, the president of Space Concordia, described the group as a grassroots, student-run space agency at Concordia University.

“We really function as a standalone space agency that has many projects going on at once,” said Halcro. She explained that while most schools’ space groups focus on a single project, such as rocketry, Space Concordia has four divisions, all creating different projects.

Its newest project, Space Health, began just last year. It focuses on ways to improve astronauts’ physical health while in space. They are researching and experimenting on ways to create a complete medical lab the size of a computer microchip. To do this, Space Health needs to understand how various cells and chemicals react to being in zero-gravity.

According to Halcro, Space Health is working with the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) to use a parabolic flight, which is a modified airplane that simulates zero-gravity. This will help Space Health gather information on how cells react in zero-gravity.

The Robotics division is currently working on creating a Mars rover. It plans on competing in the Canadian International Rover Challenge in August.

The Spacecraft division has temporarily stopped competing. Instead, it’s focusing on a contract with the Canadian CubeSat Project, which was announced by the CSA in 2017. The project is to create a type of satellite called CubeSat, and launch it into space from the International Space Station in 2021.

“It’s not like launching a rocket where you get it back,” said Halcro, who explained this satellite will be the most advanced satellite they have created, as it will be going to space and handled by astronauts at the International Space Station. Space Concordia will have to ensure the satellite won’t jeopardize the safety of the astronauts.

“It’s going to be in space for a long time,” said Halcro. “It needs to work with international law, there are a lot of restrictions.”

The Rocketry division has competed four times at both the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition and Spaceport America Cup. In the 2018 Spaceport America Cup, the Rocketry division had to design a supersonic rocket for the competition to break the sound barrier. They won the competition with the highest altitude of over 30,000 feet. Halcro stated that winning that competition made the Rocketry Division want to move on to bigger things, and it has signed up for the Base 11 Space Challenge in May.

The challenge is to build a rocket that will leave earth’s atmosphere and go into space. The winning school will be awarded USD $1 million.

Halcro explained that this competition will be the most difficult one Space Concordia has ever done, as this rocket must travel 100 kilometers to reach space––90 kilometers higher than any space rocket the group has built before.

Another difficulty is that Space Concordia will have to develop another type of engine to reach their goal. For the Base 11 Space Challenge, they must build their own ‘liquid’ engine, which uses kerosene and liquid oxygen. Space Concordia has previously only used store-bought ‘solid’ engines, which are basically an explosive tube that detonates in one direction.

“You light the fuse, you run away, and then it goes,” said Halcro, who explained that Space Concordia is not allowed to make their own ‘solid’ engines because they are like bombs.

“There is no way we are going back to shooting 30,000 feet rockets after this,” said Halcro, stating that no matter what happens at the competition, Space Concordia will continue to expand its skills and try the impossible.

Space Concordia has always had a dream,” said Oleg Khalimonov, the chief executive of the Rocketry division. “If you wanna go to space you always got to dream big. We don’t care how unlikely it is, but we are going to try either way.”

Photo and graphic by Laurence B.D. and @sundaeghost

Space Concordia aims to launch first civilian liquid-propelled rocket

The rocketry division of Space Concordia is participating in the Base 11 Space Challenge, a $1 million race to develop the world’s first civilian liquid-propelled rocket to go to space.

Since its inception in 2010, Space Concordia has won several national and international competitions, including two first-place prizes at the Spaceport America Cup in 2018. The student society consists of over 200 students from various academic fields who are separated into the spacecraft, robotics and rocketry subdivisions. Today, the rocketry division is taking on its biggest challenge yet: going to space.

“No student group has ever succeeded in what we are trying to do,” said Hannah Jack Halcro, president of Space Concordia. “There’s no accounting for just how completely above and beyond the rocketry division is going with the space rocket project. Very little of what we do at Space Concordia is covered in our courses. The other 90 per cent is willpower, teamwork and good research.”

The Base 11 Space Challenge is a competition that encourages students to be the first to design, build and launch a liquid-propelled rocket to an altitude of 100 kilometres. This altitude is referred to as the Karman line, which represents the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. Schools across North America are competing for the chance to make history and win $1 million in prize money. If Space Concordia is successful, they will have built the most powerful amateur rocket motor in history.

“It’s insanely difficult, but you do these things because they are difficult,” said Khalimonov. “If you don’t think you can win, what’s the point in trying?”

“The dream was always to get to space,” said Rocketry Lead Oleg Khalimonov. “So we said, ‘Fuck the competitions. We’re going to do this; we’re going to build this rocket and we’re going to go to space.’ That’s why we decided, for the first time, to not enter into any other competitions, drop all side projects, and just consolidate all of our efforts and work very, very, very hard on this one crazy task.”

The first phase of the competition recently passed in March. Students produced a document of their designs for the rocket, its safety plan, as well as an outreach and diversity strategy. Space Concordia students are currently in the testing phase. They have built parts of the rocket and are preparing to test their engines.

“We’re taking this competition exceptionally seriously,” said Khalimonov. “We’re working night and day. […] The preliminary design review is basically a summary of all the work we’ve done to date on the rocket put into one big document. I’m proud to say it’s one of the most impressive documents I’ve ever worked on. It’s about 600 pages.”

The most prominent challenge the group faces is their lack of funding. Space Concordia is financed through sponsorships and donations. However, even a fraction of the project can add up to thousands of dollars.

“Imagine if the Apollo missions had a budget smaller than buying a house,” said Halcro. “Everything we are doing is so much bigger now, and our growth is so fast that our sponsorship team is having a hard time keeping up.”

Despite the obstacles they face, Space Concordia students are hopeful and determined to accomplish this milestone feat. The competition is the biggest challenge the rocketry division has ever taken on, and the team is working hard to achieve their longtime goal of launching a rocket to the edge of space.

“It’s insanely difficult, but you do these things because they are difficult,” said Khalimonov. “If you don’t think you can win, what’s the point in trying?”

Feature photo courtesy of Oleg Khalimonov