Mach-X
The UK’s premier rocketry competition
Competition background
Hosted at Machrihanish Spaceport in Scotland, Mach-X is an annual event containing not only a launch competition but also technical workshops and networking opportunities for students.
The competition features three categories: Launch, CanSat and Combined . All rockets use either I or L class motors and target altitudes of 1500m or 3000m respectively.
mach-25
QPL returned to Machrihanish Airbase in in 2025 with a new target in sight: 3km. The latest launch vehicle, Banshee, is an all-composite, SRAD high powered rocket designed to take QPL to the next level of student rocketry.
Despite challenging weather conditions, Banshee was successfully launched and recovered at Mach-25, reaching a QPL-record altitude of 2200m. This launch, which featured a number of firsts for QPL and Northern Ireland, earned the team a 3rd place finish at the competition.
Mach-24
July 2024 was the first time a team from Northern Ireland travelled to Machrihanish for the esteemed competition. QUB Scarecrow was a combined rocket and CanSat developed by a team of twelve engineering and physics students working intensely starting in October 2023.
Scarecrow took to the skies for it’s maiden flight on the 12th of July reaching an impressive apogee of 1300m. The entire mission went extremely well with spectacular images being captured during flight and the rocket being recovered successfully only 100m from the launch stand.
