SKYWARD

Orion is the fifth rocket of Skyward Experimental Rocketry’s Constellations Program, designed to perform in the 3000m Hybrid category at EuRoC 2025.

While inheriting the technical legacy of Gemini and Lyra, Orion represents an evolutionary leap in robustness and efficiency. Featuring a full Carbon design with refined aerodynamics and a tapered tail, it integrates a nitrogen pressurization system and completely renewed avionics for the first time.

However, the true essence of Orion lies in its operational resilience. At EuRoC 2025, following a non-nominal first launch caused by an engine anomaly, the rocket was recovered, overhauled, and relaunched in less than 26 hours. This second flight bordered on perfection, reaching an apogee of 2990.6 meters—less than 10 meters off-target—and landing just 18 meters from the objective thanks to the guided parafoil system.

Awarded the Design Award for its exceptional engineering and rapid reusability, Orion is not just a rocket; it is a testament to Skyward’s ability to innovate, adapt, and deliver precision under pressure.

Lyra is Skyward’s second hybrid rocket, crafted to compete in the SRAD Hybrid 3000m category of EuRoC ‘24.

Despite apparent similarities with its predecessor Gemini, every subsystem in Lyra has undergone rigorous refinement and optimization, as a testament to our commitment to pushing boundaries and embracing innovation.

Our mission with Lyra is clear: to create Skyward’s most cutting-edge rocket while learning from the challenges faced by Gemini.

Æneas is a demo-prototype Liquid Rocket Engine, developed and built entirely by Skyward, with the aim of studying the liquid propulsion field. After an initial feasibility study and a design phase of the engine, production kicked off in February 2024, with tests beginning in May. As a demonstrative project, Aeneas focuses on the rapid development of a safe and reliable engine, without fixed performance requirements. The design leverages on Skyward’s knowledge of working with N2O as an oxidizer, gained through the work on hybrid engines and introduces the use of ethanol as a liquid propellant, with N2 serving as a pressurizer.

Gemini is the third of the new generation of rockets developed for the European Rocketry Challenge in Portugal. Building upon the successes of its predecessors, Pyxis and Lynx, Gemini sets itself apart by introducing a new propulsive system: Hybrid Engine “Furia” allowing Skyward to compete for the first time ever in the ‘Hybrid SRAD 3000m’ category at EuRoC

Chimæra is the first Hybrid Rocket Engine, developed and built by Skyward, with the specific aim of flying on a student-developed sounding rocket. It will participate to 2023 EuRoC competition and push Skyward’s rocket to 3000m apogee.

Lynx is the first competition rocket made by the association, taking part in the 2021 edition of the European Rocketry Challenge (EuRoC), in Portugal. It represents a giant step forward from our previous rockets, being much bigger, complex and reaching more than double the altitudes of previous launches.