euroc 2022
Fénix Rocket Team’s First Steps into European Rocketry
The Fénix Rocket Team made its debut on the international stage in 2022, when we participated for the first time in the European Rocketry Challenge (EuRoC)—Europe’s largest and most prestigious rocketry competition. It was more than just our first public appearance; it was the culmination of a year marked by passion, rapid learning, and unshakable determination.
​
At the time, we were a newly formed student team with little experience in the world of rocketry. Most of us came from aeronautical engineering backgrounds, but designing and building a rocket from scratch was an entirely new challenge. With limited resources and time, we set ourselves an ambitious objective: to develop a solid-propellant sounding rocket capable of reaching 3,000 meters in altitude.​​
From the very beginning, we embraced a philosophy of self-reliance. We decided to take on the challenge of designing and manufacturing critical systems in-house. This included the recovery system, avionics, electrical integration, and much of the rocket’s internal layout.
The result of these efforts was a 1.80-meter-long rocket, featuring a carbon fiber airframe and fins manufactured in partnership with local companies that supported our vision. At its core was a fully custom-made solid-propellant motor, developed entirely by our team. We also designed a custom avionics system to manage flight control and data acquisition. Every subsystem was carefully refined through countless iterations, driven by our commitment to building a reliable and competitive rocket.
However, the road to EuRoC was anything but smooth. In the final stages of preparation, just one week before departure, we performed our mandatory static fire test—a crucial step to validate the propulsion system. What followed was a sobering moment: the motor catastrophically failed, exploding just seconds after ignition. Our initial analysis suggested that the cause was due to improperly secured propellant grains, which led to a burn instability and overpressure.
​
Determined not to surrender, we worked around the clock to reinforce the motor assembly, revise safety protocols, and prepare for a second test. But disaster struck again. The second motor also failed violently, confirming deeper issues that could not be resolved in time for the launch window.
​
Despite the disappointment of not being able to fly, our story didn’t end there.
We chose to attend EuRoC anyway, bringing our rocket, documentation, and technical presentations to the event. We engaged with judges, industry professionals, and student teams from across Europe, sharing our journey and learning from theirs. It became clear that EuRoC was more than just a launch competition—it was a community, and we were now a part of it.
Our presence, even without a flight, sent a message: we were serious about rocketry, and we were here to stay. We used that week to gather feedback, build relationships, and prove our resilience—both to ourselves and to our sponsors who had believed in us from the beginning.