Record-breaking launch

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05/02 20:30 UPDATE: Due to adverse weather conditions throughout the week, the launch has been postponed to a date to be determined.

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Making history is their goal. Origin is the name of the rocket built by the Faraday Rocketry team, made up of 68 students from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). Using their own technology, they want to reach space. Their goal is to break the national amateur rocketry record, currently 7.8 km.

For the first time, the UPV team is collaborating with the Armed Forces and the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), both of which are supporting young talent. Weather permitting, Origin will be launched from INTA'S El Arenosillo Experimentation Centre, located in the province of Huelva. The launch is scheduled for Wednesday, 4. The weather forecast is not ideal and is very variable. From 9 a.m. onwards, 'we will have everything ready and will wait for a one-hour window with low winds and little rain. We are quite confident that we will succeed on Wednesday,' explains Guzmán Marchesi, a UPV student and executive director of the team, enthusiastically.

Live broadcast

You can follow the launch live on DIRECTO FARADAY ROCKETRY UPV - LANZAMIENTO INTA CEDEA - YouTube

Faraday Rocketry will search for that window of favourable wind conditions with weather balloons. It will activate special equipment that can operate in the rain. They will once again demonstrate their skill and ingenuity in overcoming adversity in what is sure to be an epic launch.

The Origin rocket is approximately 3 metres long, reaches a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h (twice the speed of sound) and has an estimated apogee of 10 km. The rocket is manufactured entirely by students, using their own manufacturing techniques that have enabled the development of the rocket engine, modular avionics and sea recovery system.

Faraday Rocketry has spent four years looking to space. During that time, it has launched five rockets and achieved two victories in the European University Rocket Championship (EuRoC). It has become the first Spanish team to accomplish this, competing against universities with larger budgets.

UPV Design Factory

It is part of UPV Design Factory, the UPV's pioneering project, which, with ten years of experience, is the launch pad for interdisciplinary student projects that promote 'learning by doing' and enhance cross-curricular competencies. This year, it brings together 3,000 students in a total of 65 teams from various disciplines.