Have you heard of this competition called Spaceport America Cup? Well, we haven’t either, until we found out that some engineering students from Universiti Sains Malaysia are representing Malaysia in it this year!
Held in New Mexico from 19-25 June, 2023, the Spaceport America Cup is the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition!
The WAU Rocketry USM 2023 team
The team from Malaysia is called WAU Rocketry USM and it consists of 18 Aerospace Engineering students, one Chemical Engineering student, three Mechanical Engineering students and two Electrical and Electronic Engineering students.
They are the first and only Malaysian team to participate in the competition!
Past achievements
This is not the first time the team has brought Malaysia’s name to the world-class competition. Last year, WAU Rocketry USM launched Malaysia’s first student-made sounding rocket and ranked number 7 in the 10000ft COTS category.
The WAU Rocketry USM team at Spaceport America Cup 2022
They also placed number 12 out of 99 teams in the world rankings at the Spaceport America Cup 2022!
“We want to expose Malaysian youth to rocket science and become a pioneer in high-power rocket development,” said the team passionately.
Funds are needed
However, it is one thing to want to participate in the competition and another thing to actually get there. To travel and participate in the competition as well as to develop and bring their rocket, HEBAT 2.0 to New Mexico, the team will need RM530,000.
The cost of each item is as follows:
- HEBAT 2.0 development – RM50,000
- Admission fees, VISA and publications – RM30,000
- Travel and accommodation – RM300,000
- Research & Development of Rocket – RM150,000
For more information regarding WAU Rocketry USM and their journey to the Spaceport America Cup 2023, check out the team’s Facebook and Instagram pages or contact Jeniffer at +60127445397
The team has also started a crowdfunding campaign on PitchIn.
Here is a recap of WAU Rocketry USM’s journey at Spaceport America Cup 2022:
We hope the team will get the help it needs. Good luck WAU Rocketry USM!
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