Space Concordia, commonly referred to as SC, is a student organisation at
Concordia University
Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, Canada,
dedicated to the development of space technology.
Over 150 members are organised in four divisions.
Space Concordia's Rocketry division is currently competing in the
Base 11 Space Challenge, developing a
liquid fuelled rocket with the goal to cross the
Kármán line
The Kármán line (or von Kármán line ) is an attempt to define a boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space, and offers a specific definition set by the Fédération aéronautique internationale (FAI), an international record-keeping ...
.
The development and most of the manufacturing is done in-house by students, including the construction of the mobile engine test stand Trailer Tom.
History
Space Concordia was founded in 2010 by assistant professor Scott Gleason at
Concordia University
Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...
with the purpose of competing in the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge (CSDC).
The team had less than ten members then. Their entry in the competition, the
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
Consat-1, won first place.
The team working on satellites became later the Spacecraft division of Space Concordia.
In 2012 Rocketry and Robotics divisions were founded. Robotics builds rovers and Rocketry is dedicated to the construction of rockets.
Rocketry division's first rocket ever, Arcturus, was awarded 2nd place in the payload category of the 10th
Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) in 2015.
The
solid rocket
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persia ...
reached a height of .
In 2016, Space Concordia won 2nd place in the basic category of the 11th IREC.
In 2018, the rocket Supersonice reached a height of and a top speed of mach 1.8. Space Concordia's first supersonic rocket won first place in the
Spaceport America Cup.
Later in 2018, Rocketry started development of a
liquid fuelled rocket to compete in the Base 11 Space Challenge. Space Concordia won second place in the design phase and first place in the Critical Design Review (CDR).
On June 18 2021, they successfully completed a hot-fire test of the engine. Space Concordia fired the most powerful liquid fuelled student rocket engine, producing an average thrust of 35 kN at ground level.
Divisions
Space Concordia is organised in four divisions: Robotics, Rocketry, Spacecraft and Space Health.
Facilities
Space Concordia’s club room, commonly referred to as 'Space Lab', is located on the 9th floor of the
Henry F. Hall Building on
Concordia’s downtown campus.
Space Concordia’s members have also access to the 'Cage', an area in the basement of the
Henry F. Hall Building, used by different clubs and capstone students.
The Cage is used for manufacturing, and storing equipment and parts.
Concordia’s Engineering Design and Manufacturing Lab (EDML) is used by members to manufacture parts that require machining. The EDML is also located in the basement of the Henry F. Hall Building. It is supervised by university staff members, who also assist and train students. The lab is equipped with manual
drills
A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to i ...
,
mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
* Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places Un ...
,
lathes
A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to ...
and a
welding area.
Awards By Division
Spacecraft Division
* 2012 1st price in the first Canadian Satellite Design Challenge (CSDC)
* 2016 1st place in the third Canadian Satellite Design Challenge (CSDC)
Rocketry Division
* 2016 2nd place in the basic category of the 11th IREC
* 2018 1st place in 30k ft category of the
Spaceport America Cup
* 2019 2nd place in design review of the Base 11 Space Challenge
* 2021 1st place in the Critical Design Review (CDR) of the Base 11 Space Challenge
Rockets
Space Concordia has built and launched four rockets so far.
* Arcturus (2015)
* Aurelius (2016)
* Maurice (2017)
* Supersonice (2018)
* StarSailor (2018-Present)
See also
*
Concordia University
Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...
*
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering
Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering is a student-run society within Delft University of Technology, with over 190 members. The main focus of the student group is the development of rocket technology on a non-profit basis. All development, from eng ...
*
Spaceport America Cup
*
Liquid-propellant rocket
A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket utilizes a rocket engine that uses liquid propellants. Liquids are desirable because they have a reasonably high density and high specific impulse (''I''sp). This allows the volume of the propellant ta ...
*
WARR (TUM)
The Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight (WARR) (german: Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Raketentechnik und Raumfahrt) is a scientific workgroup situated at Technical University of Munich, composed mainly of its students. I ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Space Concordia - Space & Aerospace Student OrganizationExperimental Sounding Rocket AssociationBase 11 Space Challenge
Concordia University
Rocketry