Competition Overview

The Airbus Sloshing Rocket Workshop is a hybrid competition organised by EUROAVIA in collaboration with Airbus. Teams design and build a low-cost reusable rocket that carries an unpressurised water tank as liquid payload. The sloshing of water during flight introduces dynamic destabilising forces that must be managed through passive or active control mechanisms.

The challenge simulates conditions experienced by real aerospace vehicles containing liquid propellant, such as launch vehicles and satellites. Performance is evaluated on horizontal distance, altitude, total flight time, and payload mass ratio.

My Role

As Team Lead, I oversaw project coordination and contributed directly to the CAD assembly, structural design, manufacturing, and technical reporting.

• CAD modelling of the full rocket assembly including launcher mechanism
• Structural analysis to verify load paths under sloshing-induced dynamic forces
• Fabrication of aerodynamic surfaces and structural components
• Wind tunnel testing and flight readiness validation

Structural Design

The rocket structure was designed to handle the dynamic loads introduced by sloshing liquid payload during flight. The shifting centre of mass required careful structural layout to maintain stability margins. Wing and fuselage geometry were driven by the subsonic flight regime and the requirement for passive stability.

Fabrication and Testing

The wing and fuselage were fabricated from the finalised CAD geometry. Aerodynamic surfaces were hand-finished to match the designed profiles. The launcher mechanism was built to interface cleanly with the launch rail and ensure repeatable launch conditions.

• Wing fabrication with profile-matched aerodynamic surfaces
• Launcher mechanism design and assembly
• Wind tunnel testing to validate structural and aerodynamic behaviour
• Final integration and flight readiness review

Project Schedule

A rigorous timeline was maintained to ensure all deliverables and manufacturing milestones were met efficiently.

Documents