VUB and KU Leuven get 1.5 km off the ground in Elsenborn
Every self-respecting major university ought to have a rocket team to participate in the EuRoc competition. The Belgian inter-university Be-Rocket team's 2024 test flight was largely a success.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) set the project in motion back in 2023, and this year, KU Leuven and the Royal Military Academy (RMA) got on board, though students from other university cities in Belgium also form part of the team. As such, during the EuRoc competition in 2025, Belgium will attempt to launch a rocket 3 or 9 kilometres into the air, carrying a payload financed by third parties. The rocket will be carrying a CubeSat or nanosatellite, a small square satellite, from the student team Aetherspace.
The prospects for a successful flight are hopeful when you consider that the solid-fuelled test rocket launched from the Elsenborn military site in late October shot up to 1.5 km into the air, as planned. Both the rocket and the launch pad were designed by the university team. Only the return to Mother Earth was not entirely smooth. One of the parachutes failed, so the rocket suffered minor damage on landing.