Tri Polus, UK Rocketry Association (UKRA), Space Connections and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) are proud organisers of the first ever UK Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKAYRoC). The challenge is based upon the successful Team America Rocketry Challenge, the largest model rocket showcase in the USA. This has been running for 4 years with 750 teams participating and organised by the US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and National Association of Rocketry (NAR).
The UKAYRoC provides secondary school students a realistic experience in designing a flying aerospace vehicle that meets a specified set of mission and performance requirements. Students work in teams the same way aerospace engineers do. It is not intended to be easy, but it is well within the capabilities of secondary school students with a good background in science and maths and some craftsmanship skills.
The purpose of the first UKAYRoC is to design and build a safe and stable model rocket and use it to lift a fragile payload (one raw hen's egg) to an altitude of exactly 850 feet and also for a total flight duration of exactly 45 seconds, then return this payload safely and undamaged.
The top qualifying UKAYRoC teams shared a prize package at the 2007 Finals at Charterhouse School, in Surrey, on April 13, 2007. The winning 2007 UKAYRoC TEAM won an all expenses paid trip to the USA to attend the Team America Rocketry Challenge Finals at Great Meadow, in The Plains, Virginia, USA on May 19th, 2007.