Newsletter #2 — Summary of the first third of 2025

it's time for another newsletter, and on the following pages you can find out what's been happening in our team. And it's been a lot — from taking part in conferences promoting space, to the best news our team could have hoped for. You'll also read about how our work is progressing and everything we've managed to achieve over the past quarter.

Dear readers,

We hope you enjoy the read.

Michael Jurča Secretary

Events

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Open Days

As is tradition, we took part in the CTU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Open Days, where we had the chance to present our work to prospective students and technology enthusiasts. We were delighted by the turnout — more than 200 prospective students came to the last event. We believe we showed many of them what's possible to achieve during your studies, and hopefully inspired some future members of our team.

Talk by Italian astronaut Walter Villadei

We had the unique opportunity to meet Italian astronaut Walter Villadei, who visited the CTU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Over the course of a single day we had an inspiring discussion with him, both on campus and at a formal reception at the Italian Embassy.

We shared the details of our project with him, including how our rocket system works and how we develop our flight avionics. A great honour for us was his interest, his thoughtful questions, and the personal message he left us — his own signature on the avionics section of the Illustria rocket. With this gesture he joined the group of astronauts we've had the honour of meeting in the past.

Zero-G conference

As part of the Ministry of Transport's Czech Path to Space initiative, a lot of activities are underway to raise awareness of the Czech space industry and our Czech astronaut Aleš Svoboda. One of these activities was the Zero-G flight. Out of 861 children aged 13–18, a six-round selection process picked 26 children who got to experience something unrepeatable — weightlessness. You can find out more at this link. Our team had the honour of having one of our members serve on the selection panel in the second round. We also attended the conference itself at Václav Havel Airport Prague.

Among others, several well-known personalities took part in the Zero-G flight, including actress Jana Plodková, influencer Martin "Mikýř" Mikyska, and Czech Television host Daniel Stach.

I can also recommend watching this video by Karel "Kovy" Kovář.

Comic-Con Prague

Just like last year, we showed up again at the popular Comic-Con Prague event, where we introduced our work to the general public. Visitors got to examine our rocket and its structural elements up close, and learn more about how the individual systems are developed and how they work. We took part in cooperation with the ESERO education office, which has long supported space outreach in the Czech Republic.

Pegasus conference

In the second-to-last week of April we took part in the international student conference PEGASUS, which brings together leading European universities in aerospace. Thanks to a former member of ours, we had the opportunity not just to exhibit but also to present our project to a wider audience of experts and students from across Europe.

News

EuRoC (European Rocketry Challenge)

We're happy to announce that, after submitting our application, our team was selected among the 26 teams that will compete at EuRoC 2025. A total of 56 teams applied for selection.

Last week we submitted the Entry Form, in which we presented the whole project along with the safety measures required under the competition's new rules. You can read below about how the design and manufacturing of the competition rocket Andromeda and all its accessories is coming along, where we'll try to outline the current status. Most of the manufacturing will take place over the summer months, when the team has more time away from exams and can dedicate whole days to our shared goal.

CRC (Czech Rocket Challenge)

We're taking part in the Czech Rocket Challenge once again. This year, two teams made up of our members are competing. The main goal is to try out working as a team on a smaller project and carry those lessons over to the big rocket. It also doubles as a great team-building exercise. Both of our teams are entered in the university category. This year's goal is to carry as much water as possible to an altitude of 750 m without spilling it.

To make the competition add value for our team and our work, each group focused on its own task. The first team's goal, as part of a master's-level team course, is to build a rocket to test our new flight computer along with the full communication protocol currently being finished.

The second team, made up of newcomers, aims to try out their own project with support from our more experienced members. Their task is to develop and adapt the flight computer so it better serves small rockets, where fewer features are needed and space is more constrained.

Having submitted their concept report, they're now working on testing the functionality of the ejection charge in the recovery section, watertightness tests, and filling the tank with water. They're also fine-tuning the design of the individual sections and continuing to manufacture and test them.

Avionics

Our avionics department kept up its regular mini-workshops, focused mainly on training new members. They got to know more advanced systems, as well as the Git version control tool, control basics, and programming concepts such as state machines.

Manufacturing

On the manufacturing side, the team focused intensively on assembling key avionics boards — including systems like the Bobešové, battery boards, Zory, and RocketLink RF. In doing so, team members put their soldering, wiring, and bring-up skills to the test in practice, as well as building the wiring harnesses.

GSEC v2

The GSE ground equipment is complemented by the GSEC (Ground Support Equipment Controller), which measures and controls all the systems around the rocket and the engine itself. The new GSEC v2 builds on the previous generation, which proved itself during testing and both Illustria launches. We currently have all boards populated and are finalising the firmware. We plan full deployment of the system during the upcoming exam period, so that over the summer we can move straight into final engine tests without delay.

Propulsion

Every week the Propulsion group puts in a lot of work that tangibly moves the Andromeda rocket and its propulsion systems forward. During this period, work included parts of the test stand, components for the new Perseus engine, the design of the distribution unit, and elements of the GSE ground equipment. Alongside that, work continued on the burst disk, whose development is part of a bachelor's thesis.

Welding parts for the test stand

For the upcoming liquid and hybrid engine tests, a new test stand is being built, based on the existing structures at our test site outside Prague. It will also newly include pressure vessels for the liquid fuel and oxidiser, designed as part of a master's thesis. Building the stand became a valuable opportunity for newcomers, who learned MAG welding. Before tackling the actual structural parts and tanks, they practised on samples and ran weld strength tests.

Liquid engine

We finished final machining of the combustion chamber, as well as the injector design, which was slightly modified due to a change in manufacturing technology. We then began manufacturing it.

We currently have the manufacturing fixtures ready, along with the injector face. We also successfully tested the machinability of titanium, from which part of it will be made.

Manufacturing parts for the hybrid engine

In preparation for the test firing of the Perseus engine, which will power our Andromeda, manufacturing of the final parts continued with newcomers involved. They first tried their hand at turning while manufacturing the rocket nozzles. They then moved on to manufacturing the aluminium parts, which is still ongoing and will be finished before the exam period begins.

Designing the Andromeda distribution unit and GSE

The new engine comes with modernised ground systems too. The distribution unit now includes additional valves for easy and safe depressurisation of the rocket in a potentially hazardous situation. A new fuelling station (GSE) is also being built, which will serve both the hybrid and liquid rocket engines. A key innovation is replacing ordinary electric motors with servo drives with integrated position sensing, which brings higher precision and reliability during operation.

Burst disk

As part of ensuring system safety, a protective burst-disk assembly is being developed for the Andromeda rocket. The design and strength calculations are now complete. A prototype is being manufactured and will be tested during May. The goal is not only to verify the design is correct, but also to obtain the internal certification required to take part in the international competition.

Structures

Motor mount

After an initial unsuccessful bonded-joint test, we focused on the manufacturing process itself. The result was ten new test samples, whose strength showed high consistency — with a safety factor between 8 and 10. Thanks to this stability we were able to reliably measure the material properties of the carbon rods, which serve as input data for the finite element analysis (FEA). The analysis results confirmed sufficient stiffness and safety, so the engine mount is now ready for manufacturing.

Air brake

In the EuRoC competition, hitting a predefined target altitude precisely is key. To improve accuracy, we're planning to implement an air brake that activates when a higher-than-required altitude is detected. The proposed design is simple but effective, inspired by proven systems from previous editions of the competition. The brake is designed to maximise braking surface area while minimising the space it takes up, and uses as many standard components as possible for easier manufacturing and lower costs. At rest, the blades sit flush with the rocket body, minimising aerodynamic drag.

New aerodynamic nose cone

Unlike the previous one, the new nose cone is designed to fly at supersonic speeds (faster than the speed of sound) too, so a more pointed shape based on the Von Kármán profile was chosen, which is well suited to minimising drag for a given length and body diameter. The very tip will be made of titanium — a material that, thanks to its strength and heat resistance, will keep the structure stable even under extreme flight conditions.

Academic activity

As the semester draws to a close, our team is also focused on academic output — a number of members are finishing their bachelor's and master's theses. We support each other so that we can successfully defend every topic that grew out of real work in the team. We'll be happy to show you the results and interesting projects from these theses in the next issue of the newsletter — we believe the number of successfully submitted and defended theses will beat last year's.

A final word

There's strong motivation and focus in the team right now — we all have a clear goal in sight: finishing the Andromeda rocket. Meetings are intense, deadlines are approaching, and we're well aware of just how demanding a task we've taken on. We're building a complex flight system while studying at the same time — we know that only care, persistence, and teamwork will get us to the launch rail.

We face technical challenges, unexpected delays, and demanding testing every day. That makes us appreciate your continued support and trust all the more. It drives us and it's a commitment we take seriously. Our resolve remains firm — we don't focus on the number of obstacles, but on the path forward that we're building together.

Matyáš Starosta Team Lead