Help LURA reach the Spaceport America Cup

Who Are We?

The Leeds University Rocketry Association (LURA) is Leeds’ first student rocketry team, formed with a core purpose we call preparing the Mars generation. That is, preparing the future astronauts, engineers, strategists, and leaders that will soon take humankind further than we have ever gone before. We see this mission as consisting of three distinct actions:

1.    Provide engineers with real-world, hands-on experience designing, building, and flying rockets.

2.    Expose non-technical students to the processes and requirements of a space mission.

3.    Build a worldwide network to promote aerospace opportunities for Leeds’ students and graduates. 

In order to build momentum on these three actions and gain the necessary expertise and experience required to leave a lasting legacy, this year we are designing and constructing Leeds’ first ever student-built rocket, the Gryphon I. To demonstrate our abilities on a global stage, we will then compete with the Gryphon I at the world’s largest rocket engineering competition, the Spaceport America Cup, in New Mexico, USA, next June. 

To fly at the Spaceport America Cup in our first year of formation is the very definition of indisputable excellence. This technical feat, coupled with the imaginative and impactful outreach campaign we are currently planning, will undoubtedly put Leeds on the map as an up-and-coming hub for UK student rocketry. 

Why Are We Fundraising?

When we started this project, we had always envisioned it being fully funded solely by the University of Leeds, acting as a powerful show of force for the university’s engineering capability.

Since inception, we have received incredible help from academics at the university, who have dedicated huge amounts of time to supporting the project. However, with mass budget cuts and disruption across the campus over the past year, it is clear that our budget will need to be supplemented with additional funding. Rather than give up on our mission of flying the Gryphon I at the Spaceport America Cup next June, we have decided to kickstart the search for sponsorship ourselves.

As a demonstration of our relentless commitment to the mission, during October we shall be taking on the challenge of collectively walking/running the distance from the University of Leeds to the Spaceport America, in New Mexico - a whopping 8014.7 km!

Never ones to ask for something in exchange for nothing, we have put together a reward system to show our gratification for your support. Please give generously and remember that with every penny, you are helping to prepare the Mars generation and revolutionise aerospace at Leeds.

Spaceport America Cup

The Spaceport America Cup is the world’s largest rocket engineering competition, with over 150 teams from across eleven countries congregating every year for a week of launches and conference attended by the biggest players in the aerospace industry. It is by far the most prestigious event in student rocketry and pales similar competitions in comparison.

The competition itself is split into six categories, by apogee and propulsion type. With a strong aim on simplicity for our first year, we will be competing in the Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Solid Motor category. 

Get in Touch!

If you would like to learn more about our mission, help us achieve it, or discuss the possibility of working with LURA in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Website

leedsrocketry.co.uk

Social Media

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Email

[email protected]