Andøya is a Norwegian island about 300 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. There, Gonçalo Martins, an Aerospace Engineering undergraduate student at Instituto Superior Técnico, saw the launch of a rocket he helped build – QUACK I – on 22 August. This initiative was carried out under the ‘Fly a Rocket!’ project, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with Andøya Space Education and the Norwegian Space Agency, aimed at university students interested in the space sector.

Of the 100 participants in the ‘Fly a Rocket!’ online training courses, 24 were chosen to make up the team responsible for the launch in Andøya. Gonçalo was selected due to his maximum scores in topics such as rocket dynamics and electronics. ‘I felt very happy and fulfilled to have been selected among the best students interested in Space from the various ESA member countries’, he shares, also emphasising that, as a first-year student, he faced the additional challenge of having to study harder to acquire some of the necessary knowledge.

On Norwegian soil, the student studied rockets in depth with professionals in the field. ‘I gained a lot of practical knowledge – things like soldering electronic components and knowing how to put things into practice – which I believe will one day be very useful’, he explains.

Gonçalo was part of the sensor experimentation team. He was responsible for building, calibrating and testing the optical sensor of the rocket, which would reach an altitude of 9372 metres. He had the opportunity to monitor the launch from a room where he received the data collected by the on-board sensors as it was sent.

The student from Viseu shares that, since secondary school, his goal ‘was to study Aerospace Engineering’, emphasising that Técnico is the school ‘with the longest history in this field’. Before entering university, he participated in the 2022 edition of the Astronomy Summer School, organised by the Physics Students’ Organisation at Instituto Superior Técnico (NFIST). ‘Técnico is prestigious because of its excellent researchers and centres with a history of building rockets’, he comments.

According to the student, the experience has been very positive. Taking part in the initiative ‘has significantly deepened my understanding of the science and engineering behind rocket technology, and was a pivotal step on the journey towards a career in the space industry’. ‘I’m excited to apply what I’ve learnt and continue delving into the frontiers of space exploration – more than ever, I’m sure this is what I want to work on; this is what I love to do’, the student assures.