The Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) Rocketry Team made history as the first representative from the Philippines to pass the Flight Readiness Review for the Spaceport America Cup 2024-Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (SAC-IREC).
The FRR is the culmination of months of rigorous preparation and dedication by the team, which is now greenlit to participate in the 10k Commercial Off-the-Shelf category. The team’s entry, named SIBOL (Filipino for growth), is a high-powered rocket capable of carrying an 8.8-pound payload to an altitude of 10,000 feet. It has been deemed fit for launch at the competition, spotlighting Filipino talent in the highly competitive global arena of aerospace engineering.
The team is part of AdDU’s larger Rocket Development Program or Project Sugod, which means “moving forward” in the hopes of ushering in a new era in Philippine aerospace engineering. They also hope to attract sponsor to help them develop their homegrown technology.
The Spaceport America Cup 2024, to be held on 17 to 22 June in New Mexico, USA, is the biggest intercollegiate rocket engineering competition in the world that draws the brightest minds from universities across the globe to design, build and launch their own rockets. This year’s competition attracted nearly 200 teams from over 20 countries.
