Even the sky isnB次元官网网址檛 the limit for one group of students.

The , made up of a group of about two dozen students, recently took part in the at Spaceport America in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The team launched a pair of rockets B次元官网网址� MVP-2 and SKOOKUM-1 B次元官网网址� with both surpassing the goal of reaching 10,000 feet.

B次元官网网址淏asically itB次元官网网址檚 entirely done by students. We have all kinds of students working on all kinds of projects,B次元官网网址� said Keagan Shedden, the aerostructure lead for the UVic team. B次元官网网址淲e have business students and admin students who manage our funding, we have mechanical engineers working on the physical design of it, electrical engineers handling all of our flight computers.B次元官网网址�

The UVic team finished third in the basic competition last year, and Shedden said this yearB次元官网网址檚 team was determined to build on that success.

B次元官网网址淲e take what works and repeat it, and what didnB次元官网网址檛 work we try to learn from it and build on it.B次元官网网址�

While this yearB次元官网网址檚 official standings havenB次元官网网址檛 been finalized, the UVic team did walk away with first place in the .

B次元官网网址淥n each rocket is a payload, which is the purpose of the rocket, anything from biological experiments to engineering experiments,B次元官网网址� explained Shedden.

B次元官网网址淥n board our larger rocket we had a test on UV sterilization to test it as a method of sterilizing space components for the search for life. When humanity reaches the stars and weB次元官网网址檙e looking for different life, we want to make sure weB次元官网网址檙e not contaminating it with life from our own planet B次元官网网址� to get false positives.B次元官网网址�

But the teamB次元官网网址檚 success was perhaps overshadowed by the chance to share ideas and swap stories with the members of the other 90 teams from 12 different nations.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of teams from the American universities but we also saw teams from Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, India had a team there,B次元官网网址� said Shedden, calling them kindred spirits. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 incredible being with everyone working on the same thing and seeing people from around the world with the same passion as you.B次元官网网址�

The second-year mechanical engineering student is hoping to see that passion through to a career building rockets.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of us [on the team] are dreaming of working in aerospace engineering. Three members from last year are working in New Zealand for Rocket Labs, theyB次元官网网址檙e building rockets there professionally now.B次元官网网址�

And work has already started on the project for next yearB次元官网网址檚 competition.

B次元官网网址淲e have a couple exciting things in the works,B次元官网网址� said Shedden. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to build a hybrid rocket which is a much more complicated system.B次元官网网址�