DESIGN, BUILD, TEST, LAUNCH. REPEAT.
We’re a team of students from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya developing low-cost suborbital rockets for peaceful applications.
OUR CURRENT MISSIONS
Human-powered: all made possible by students
Cosmic Research is made up by more than a dozen of university students from various technical and non-technical backgrounds. We’re a multidisciplinary team of volunteers fueled by the dream of reaching space.
+47
ROCKETS LAUNCHED
+15
TEAM MEMBERS
+9
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Why rockets
As of today, rockets are the only vehicles we, humans, possess to launch people and cargo into space. Space activities are basic to sustain our current way of life. It is thanks to satellites put in orbit that we have GPS, accurate weather forecasts and real-time images of our planet.
At Cosmic Research, we firmly believe in the value of rockets and space. Our hands-on projects help us develop the skills needed in this sector, while we create technology that will ultimately serve society. Because today, space is more urgent than ever.
A little history
Cosmic Research is founded
The association is founded in Terrassa, Spain, by four engineering students from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). From left to right: Guillem Castro, Alberto Pulido, Manel Caballero and Víctor Ubieto. They all are space exploration enthusiasts who dream of an ambitious project to complement their university education with.
First rocket is launched: Valentina
An advanced commercial rocket kit is successfully assembled and launched from Alcolea de Cinca, Spain. This serves as a “Baptism of Fire” for the team. The rocket included custom avionics in its second launch, taking place in August 2016. It reached an apogee of 900 meters. It is named Valentina after the first woman to fly to space, Valentina Tereshkova.
Launch of the first homebuilt rocket: Resnik
Resnik was designed and built from scratch using advanced composites and space-grade aluminum. It was our first rocket to carry our own solid motor based on a mixture of epoxy and potassium nitrate. Resnik’s main purpose was to test several critical subsystems, all of which were essentially homebuilt. Resnik reached an altitude of 1,930 meters above the ground. It is named after Judith Resnik, an American female astronaut who died in the S.S. Challenger accident.
Cosmic Research is presented to the public
Cosmic Research holds its first public presentation at UPC ESEIAAT’s main building. More than 300 attendees got first hand details on the project, what we had accomplished until then, and what we aimed to achieve in the future. Many of them were impressed by our efforts and some joined the team.
First contract to launch CanSats in ESA-sponsored Spanish competitions
Cosmic Research is hired by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council to launch the Spanish CanSat competitions promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The focus of the competitions is to provide high school students an opportunity to launch their can-sized satellites. 15 CanSats are successfully launched during the first competitions, involving over one hundred students from all over Spain. Today, Cosmic Research serves as the rocket launch provider for the main CanSat events in Spain.
First new motor static-test at Lleida-Alguaire
In the summer of 2018, Cosmic Research reaches an agreement with Aeroports de Catalunya to test rocket motors at Lleida-Alguaire airport’s facilities. In October 2018, the first static-test of the new ammonium nitrate, aluminum and polychloroprene based motor takes place. The test ends in failure as the ignition system fails to ignite the propellant, causing an overpressure in the combustion chamber. No people nor property are damaged as a result. The experiment paves the way for new iterations and reminds us of something: rockets are tricky!
First Bondar’s analogue motor successful static-tests
On March 2, 2019, the first successful iteration of an aluminum and ammonium nitrate based motor meant for the rocket Bondar is tested. On March and April of 2019, Cosmic Research performed some more static motor tests to evaluate the performance of the Nebula-I motor. Nebula is a latin word meaning ‘fog’, a common weather phenomenon at Lleida-Alguaire airport. The test bench included temperature and pressure sensors and a load cell. The Nebula-I is a 1:10 simile of Bondar’s actual motor.
Cosmic Research develops a successful Test Campaign at El Arenosillo
Between March On March 1 and March 6 2021, Cosmic Research travelled to INTA’s El Arenosillo rocket launch site to develop a Test Campaign for Mission Bondar. One of the main goals was to recreate the countdown operations planned for the launch. During their stay, the team executed a total of four big tests, including the validation of the avionics of both the air and ground systems, the verification of the compatibility of the launch pad with the terrain and the link of telemetry with the CEDEA facilities. The team completed the campaign with satisfactory results, paving the way for the upcoming launch of Bondar.
Bondar sets a new Spanish altitude record
The most powerful rocket ever developed in Spain by students was successfully launched. Bondar reached an apogee of 7,800 meters, beating the Spanish record of altitude for a rocket of this kind. During flight, it broke the sound barrier, achieving a maximum velocity of 2,100 km/h. The mission was developed by Cosmic Research, with key contributions from partner organizations: the BISKY Team, which designed the avionics and ground-based electronic support systems, and INTA, which owns and operates the El Arenosillo Test Centre, the launch site.
First Spanish team at the Spaceport America CUP
Cosmic Research became the first Spanish team accepted into the Spaceport America CUP, the world’s most prestigious international student rocketry competition. Typically, first-time teams are restricted to maximum launch category to 10,000 ft (3 km). However, due to the team’s expertise and previous launches, Cosmic Research was authorized to compete directly in the top 30,000 ft (9 km) category with the launch of Lucid. It is our most powerful and largest rocket to date, designed to carry a 4 kg payload.
