EuRoC 2026 Competition Rocket 🥇
HARPIA is the sixth rocket developed by ASTG and our first launch vehicle powered by a regeneratively cooled bi-liquid engine. Building on the operational experience we gained from previous EuRoC campaigns, we could perform a nominal flight cycle in the L9 category and win the L9 Flight Award, as well as the overall EuRoC Award.
HARPIA was designed to compete in the liquid 9000m flight category at EuRoC 2026.
The single-stage rocket has a length of 3.94m, a diameter of 182mm, and a launch mass of 58.2kg. The propulsion system uses nitrous oxide and isopropanol with a regeneratively cooled engine producing 4800N thrust and a total impulse of 40.6kNs. An actively controlled pressurization system ensures stable propellant feed conditions during the burn.
The aerostructure combines CFRP, GFRP, and aluminum components. A pitot-static probe and a gimbaled camera payload are integrated into the nosecone, while seven cameras record the flight from different perspectives.
The recovery system features a dual-deployment architecture with improved lightweight SRAD components, a two-stage shock absorber, and reinforced parachutes consisting of a 3.2m main parachute and a para-aramid drogue parachute.
The avionics system uses a distributed architecture with a flight computer, five CANary control nodes, interface PCBs, and a central backplane PCB. A 6S Li-Ion battery supplies onboard power, while LoRa antennas provide communication with the mission control and filling station, and GNSS antennas provide information about the position of the rocket. The avionics software enables autonomous flight control, recovery deployment, and real-time data visualization.
Beyond the participation in EuRoC 2026, project HARPIA aims to establish the foundation for future liquid propulsion projects within ASTG. By developing a liquid rocket, along with the necessary testing procedures and comprehensive technical documentation, this project supports long-term knowledge transfer and advances student rocketry at Graz University of Technology.
