About us

The fastest and most energetic student project in Norway

We are a student rocketry team at NTNU that gives students hands-on experience with engineering projects. Members get opportunities that they would not have had as a regular student, going beyond theory and gaining experiences that strengthens them as engineers. The final product reaches thousands of kilometers an hour in a matter of seconds, reaching higher than the tallest mountains, far into the sky - all built by students in their spare time!

Organizational goals

Reach space with a self-developed liquid-fueled rocket

Allow students to develop both socially and technically in an open and professional arena

Increase space travel interest and expertise in Norway

Our story

Propulse NTNU was founded in 2018 by a group of rocket enthusiasts. The team immediately started developing Sleipner, which was launched just a year later at Spaceport America - the first Nordic rocket to do so. Since then, we have been at the forefront of student rocketry, with our super-sonic rockets Stetind and Birkeland.

With these rockets, the goal has been to compete at student rocketry competitions using COTS solid motors. But moving forward, we are working towards our long-term goal of reaching space by developing our first liquid rocket, Bifrost.

Head over to the Rocket Hangar if you want to know more about our previous and current projects!

Rocket Hangar

How we work

To make students able to develop and build a rocket in a short time span requires a robust plan with a robust team structure. The team is built up around the systems of the rocket, split into cross-disciplinary system groups. These continually communicate and synchronize through weekly meetings, presentations, design reviews and documentation.

The average time span for a project is a year, and is filled to the brim with activities that ensure the highest learning and productivity. In Propulse NTNU, the members are the researchers, designers, producers, testers, and also the end-users - giving them firsthand experiences with every step of an engineering project. Learn more about these main phases of developing a rocket below.

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We develop the whole rocket ourselves; from the electronics and onboard software, to the airframe and inner structure, to the engine. Fundamental ideas are developed in the concept period, and translated over to the design phase, where main ideas turn into detailed 3D models, circuit designs, software architecture, and the groundwork of analysis.

1. Design & Development

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To design a rocket is a huge task in itself, but to design a rocket that can be manufactured with the tools available is arguably a greater task. The members are responsible for the production, engaging with workshops and suppliers. Often they will produce the parts themselves from scratch, giving them a hands-on feel on how their designs translate to production.

2. Production

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Testing and verification is an a vital part of developing our rockets. The members are responsible for planning and executing the tests, and then to verify and document the results and processes. Typical tests are small-scale rocket launches to verify the avionics system, dropping a test article from a helicopter to verify the parachute deployment, and engine cold- and hotfires.

3. Testing

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Few other engineering projects have an end-phase like a rocket. The members execute the mission themselves; from assembling the rocket, bringing it to the launch pad, monitoring the launch from the ground station, and recovering it after landing. This gives valuable experience with how design choices affect launch operations and the mission itself.

4. Launch Operations