Endeavour wins first place at Launch for Change 2026

Earlier this summer, Endeavour, the University of Edinburgh's rocketry and aerospace team, took part in the Launch for Change (L4C) competition from the 7th to the 10th of August, finishing first overall ahead of 10 university teams from across the UK.

L4C is a national programme that combines high-altitude rocketry, climate-related research and STEM outreach. It challenges UK rocketry teams to independently design, build and fly novel climate science payloads on high-power sounding rockets.

The payload Endeavour flew on their competition rocket was adapted from a citizen science initiative, iSPEX 2. The team developed and calibrated an optical train in-house, along with a data pipeline to process the images taken. As a deployable payload, it used both active and passive stabilisation techniques, combining a compliant gimbal mechanism with grid fins to stabilise the payload during descent and improve the performance of its optics.

Alongside this climate-related payload R&D, the team worked with local schools, helping students design, build and fly their own rockets at their first UK Youth Rocketry Challenge. Five school teams from Edinburgh, Dundee and Angus created small rockets to carry and recover an egg payload, and were scored on reaching target altitudes and flight times and on returning the egg safely.

Endeavour's competition launch vehicle this year, Shredder, was fabricated almost entirely in-house, including custom body tubes, coupler tubes, fins, boat tail and nose cone, a first in the society's history. Propelled by an L1115 solid motor, Shredder reached an apogee of 4.2 km and a top speed of Mach 1.16. The on-board avionics system was also developed in-house. It incorporated a Student Researched and Developed (SRAD) flight computer and demonstrated live streaming of both telemetry and video footage, while an on-board camera recorded Shredder's flight and descent.

Endeavour's success would not have been possible without the incredible support of our sponsors and partners, especially Quoceant Ltd and The Salter Centre. Their continued technical support, provision of manufacturing facilities and workspaces, and expert advice meant that the manufacturing process for Shredder was as painless as its flight was successful.

Jan van der Kuyl, President of Endeavour, said:

"It was a true pleasure to attend L4C with our sounding rocket and spectropolarimeter payload, and we're incredibly proud to have been awarded first place for our efforts. This win recognises not only the hard work of the team over the past year, but also every team member who has contributed to our society over the past seven years. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has supported us along the journey and helped to make this achievement possible. We are incredibly excited to build on this result and to see where our next endeavour takes us."

Dr Rachel Schwind, Lecturer in Experimental Thermofluids and Endeavour's academic mentor, added:

"We are very proud of Endeavour's stellar performance in the Launch for Change competition. This accomplishment is a testament to the devotion and hard work of the student team members, not only in the technical aspects of this work but also in the outreach initiatives. The competition challenged our students to go beyond rocketry, looking at climate-conscious payload development and working to inspire future aerospace enthusiasts through their mentoring efforts. We congratulate the entire team and look forward to supporting their future participation in L4C and beyond."

You can follow Endeavour on LinkedIn.