ADS is the proud organiser of the annual Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC), the only competition of its kind in the UK. The competition has been running since 2006 and is aimed to introduce students to STEM and encourage them to consider a career within those sectors. Several schools in Ireland have signed up to the challenge in previous years; it is back for 2022 and open to Irish students.

The challenge is aimed at students aged 11 – 18 from secondary schools, colleges, educational facilities or youth groups to design, build and launch a model rocket with a fragile payload. The rocket must reach a set altitude with specific total flight duration and must adhere to the specific set rules. The competition’s rules and scoring parameters change each year to challenge the students’ ingenuity and encourage a fresh approach to rocket design. You can see full details on the website here.

After submitting your registration online there are three main stages of the competition

• Regional Events

• The National Final

• The International Final

Key Dates:

• 25 February - Deadline for Entries

• April/May - Regional Finals

• 29 June - National Final, Buckminster

• 22 July - International Final, Farnborough Airshow 2022

In order to attend a Regional Event, you must register for the competition before the deadline date. You and your team can then attend a Regional Event nearest to you to launch your rocket and record your qualifying flights. Your rocket launch will be scored by our Rocketry Experts.

The 20 top scoring teams from the Regional Events will meet at our National Final in Buckminster, Grantham. Similar to the Regional Events, you and your team will launch your rocket and if you win, well then you can start packing your suitcase as you’ll be going to compete in the International Finals!

The International Finals are the third and final stage of the competition. The winning team from the National final will compete against the winning teams from America, France and Japan at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022! ASD will fund the winning team to attend.

For more information on this exciting event, click here: UKROC