LURA - Leeds University Rocketry Association

LURA - Leeds University Rocketry Association LURA is the first of its kind at Leeds.

A student-led, collaborative, multi-discipline engineering team capable of designing, building and flying sub-orbital rockets.

12/05/2026

Onboard footage from the successful launch of Solid Gryphon III on an M3700 motor 🚀⛅️

Once again, we would like to say a huge thank you to UKRA TPS for their invaluable support and mentoring, EARS for their launch facilities for his excellent launch photography, and to all of our sponsors and partners for allowing LURA to push the boundaries of student rocketry and equip the Mars generation with hands on engineering and operational experience.

The onboard video shows the main shear pins prematurely shearing as the drogue parachute becomes taught, just post apogee. We believe that this is due to improperly sized shear pins, and we will increase the size for future flights.

As we conclude our validation flight of the airframe and recovery system, we are on track and progressing to launch Liquid Gryphon III this summer!

From workshop to launch site - photos fromUKROC 2026!LURA is proud to be a part of the Launch4Change scheme, which is an...
07/05/2026

From workshop to launch site - photos from
UKROC 2026!

LURA is proud to be a part of the Launch4Change scheme, which is an initiative to help students gain hands-on experience in aerospace, teamwork, and engineering through designing real rockets and launch projects.

This year, we worked with 5 schools across Leeds. With a focus on schools that were underfunded, students may not always have access to opportunities that allow them to innovate and develop new skills. Our members supported students as they designed, built, and launched their own rockets at .

It was an unforgettable experience for everyone involved!

UKROC

Gryphon III — Flight I 🚀Apogee: 2860mTop speed: 307 m/sMax acceleration: 21.2 GsDistance travelled: 3.456 kmHuge thank y...
05/05/2026

Gryphon III — Flight I 🚀

Apogee: 2860m
Top speed: 307 m/s
Max acceleration: 21.2 Gs
Distance travelled: 3.456 km

Huge thank you to everyone at EARS for making this launch possible, and their invaluable support on site. Massive credit as well to for capturing these incredible shots 📸

This is just the beginning. Gryphon III’s solid motor flight was a test, and what’s coming next is even bigger: a full liquid engine launch.

Thank you so much to all who tuned in to watch the livestream, asked questions, and followed along for the ride.

This isn’t it - onboard footage and multi-angle launch videos are coming soon!

We’re just getting started.

Last week we were kindly hosted by Sheffield Propulsion Lab to do our liquid testing at their site in Buxton. Our team w...
22/04/2026

Last week we were kindly hosted by Sheffield Propulsion Lab to do our liquid testing at their site in Buxton. Our team worked hard to get the liquid stack done in time, attempting to complete multiple cold flows and full stack hot fire. It is an honour to be the first full stack static fire for the SPL Buxton site.
 
The setup for the cold-flow introduced us to the requirements for assembling and recording our liquid stack on the test stand. Once the rocket was successfully mounted, pressure transducers were connected to Buxton’s Data Acquisition System (DAQ) to collect pressure data. Our cold flow was extremely successful, providing us with vital pressure data and confirming functionality of our secondary flight computer in conjunction with the feed systems.
 
Following the successful cold-flow test, we progressed to attempting a hot-fire of the full stack. Our first attempt was unsuccessful due to a faulty off the shelf solid motor. This was discouraging but don’t harm the rocket and we were able to continue with testing.
 
Our second attempt was semi-successful. Due to receiving lower nitrous oxide pressures than predicted, we struggled to ignite the engine. In our final test of the week we managed to ignite the engine. It went out quickly but we are still very proud of our success in igniting an engine with our full fluid system.
 
Although our testing did not fully meet our required thrust levels, it provided the team with invaluable experience in the requirements of liquid testing. We are hoping to continue with testing as soon as possible once we make a few changes to our system.
 
We would like to thank Dom Fintan Sam, Alistair and the rest of the SPL team for their help throughout the testing experience and for hosting us.

Last week we were kindly hosted by Sheffield Propulsion Lab to do our liquid testing at their site in Buxton. Our team w...
22/04/2026

Last week we were kindly hosted by Sheffield Propulsion Lab to do our liquid testing at their site in Buxton. Our team worked hard to get the liquid stack done in time, attempting to complete multiple cold flows and full stack hot fire.

The setup for the cold-flow introduced us to the requirements for assembling and recording our liquid stack on the test stand. Once the rocket was successfully mounted, pressure transducers were connected to Buxton’s Data Acquisition System (DAQ) to collect pressure data. Our cold flow was extremely successful, providing us with vital pressure data and confirming functionality of our secondary flight computer in conjunction with the feed systems.

Following the successful cold-flow test, we progressed to attempting a hot-fire of the full stack. Our first attempt was unsuccessful due to a faulty off the shelf solid motor. This was discouraging but don’t harm the rocket and we were able to continue with testing.

Our second attempt was semi-successful. Due to receiving lower nitrous oxide pressures than predicted, we struggled to ignite the engine. In our final test of the week we managed to ignite the engine. It went out quickly but we are still very proud of our success in igniting an engine with our full fluid system.

Although our testing did not fully meet our required thrust levels, it provided the team with invaluable experience in the requirements of liquid testing. We are hoping to continue with testing as soon as possible once we make a few changes to our system.

We would like to thank Dom Fintan Sam, Alistair and the rest of the SPL team for their help throughout the testing experience and for hosting us.

17/04/2026

Our team had an “amaze amaze amaze” time testing the liquid engine for our rocket Gryphon III👷 💨

Thank you so much to the Sheffield Buxton staff for their invaluable support in bringing us one step closer to moving from work shop to launch pad!

Stay tuned to see our engine in full force, and the outcomes of our intense testing days 😉

A huge shout out to for serving an integral role in the preparations of our upcoming launches of Gryphon III!Testing li...
15/04/2026

A huge shout out to for serving an integral role in the preparations of our upcoming launches of Gryphon III!
Testing liquid engines is high pressure. Thankfully, Accu handles the tension perfectly with their top-tier fasteners, keeping G3’s liquid engine secure. Keep an eye on this space for the test results coming soon ;)

10/04/2026

We’ve been busy putting our ignitor for the rocket engine of Gryphon III through rigorous testing. We’ve dialed in the burn times and signal delays, ensuring everything is mission-ready, and the results are in: It’s a go.

We’re proud to say we are officially cleared to move forward to our next phases of testing before the solid launch of Gryphon III. Swipe to see the ignition in real-time vs. slow motion.

Look out for further updates before the launch!!

rocketscience

Last week we invited Notre Dame, a college in Leeds to roll up their sleeves and gain some hands-on experience in assemb...
18/03/2026

Last week we invited Notre Dame, a college in Leeds to roll up their sleeves and gain some hands-on experience in assembling rockets! 🧑‍🔧🥼

This session was run as a part of the Launch4Change national outreach and climate research programme supported by the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency and coordinated by Durham University. The students are provided with our mentorship and resources to design and build model rockets carrying climate-sensing payloads.

We aim to continue making a positive impact on all the schools we have been providing sessions to and are proud to have been one of the selected university teams to help run this programme and inspire interest in rocketry and STEM amongst the future generations!

Applications to join the Feed Systems team have opened! LURA is recruiting University of Leeds students to join the Feed...
01/12/2025

Applications to join the Feed Systems team have opened! LURA is recruiting University of Leeds students to join the Feed Systems pocket as part of our Gryphon III project; targeted to be the first liquid rocket to ever launch from UK soil. As a Feed Systems Engineer, you will be tasked with aiding in the design, assembly, testing and commissioning of the rockets propellent filling, blowdown pressurisation and ground systems.

LURA is looking to fill the position for this role as soon as possible on a first come first served basis, we look forward to hearing from you! 🚀

https://forms.office.com/e/F6KQLYUNrq

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