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RULES AND REQUIREMENTS

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND

The Portuguese Space Agency – Portugal Space promotes the EuRoC – European Rocketry Challenge, a competition that seeks to stimulate university level students to fly sounding rockets, by designing and building the rockets themselves. It is widely recognized that such competitions foster innovation and
motivate students to extend themselves beyond the classroom, while learning to work as a team, solving real world problems under the same pressures they will experience in their future careers.
EuRoC is fully aligned with the strategic goals of the Portuguese Space Agency, namely the development and evolution of the cultural/educational internationalization frameworks capable of boosting the development of the Space sector in Portugal.
Since EuRoC’s first edition, in 2020, where 100 students were present to 2022, with 500 students participating, the growth of the competition within Europe is visible, and especially within Portugal, with an increasing number of interested teams applying to the competition. For the future, it is the
Portuguese Space Agency’s goal to continue to foster the exchange of knowledge and international interaction inherent to the event, allowing more students to gain from the challenge and, at the same time, contribute to it.
This document defines the rules and requirements governing participation in EuRoC. Revisions of this document will be accomplished by document reissue, marked by the version number. The authority to approve and issue revised versions of this document rests with the Portuguese Space Agency.

1.2. DOCUMENTATION
The following documents include standards, guidelines or required standard forms. The documents listed in this section (Table 1) are either applicable to the extent specified herein or contain reference information useful in the application of this document.

Table 1: Documents file location
DOCUMENT FILE LOCATION
EuRoC Rules & Requirements https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC Design, Test & Evaluation Guide https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC Launch Operations Guide https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC Entry Form https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC Academic Institution Participation Letter https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC Motors List https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC COTS Motors Acquisition Guide https://www.euroc.pt
EuRoC Technical Questionnaire https://www.euroc.pt (Teams’ Reserved Area)
EuRoC Waiver and Release of Liability Form https://www.euroc.pt (Teams’ Reserved Area)

EuRoC Flight Card and Postflight Record https://www.euroc.pt (Teams’ Reserved Area)

2. FLIGHT CATEGORIES

Teams competing in EuRoC must design, build and launch a rocket carrying no less than 1 kg of payload to a target apogee of either 3000 m or 9000 m above ground level (AGL). Teams can use either commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or student researched and developed (SRAD) propulsion systems, with SRAD propulsion systems being defined as those designed by students – regardless of whether fabrication is performed by students directly, or by a third party working to student supplied specifications – and can include student designed modifications of COTS systems.
Note: Multistage and clustered launch vehicles are allowed.
Projects will be divided into categories based on the propulsion system (solid [S], hybrid [H], or liquid [L]) and target apogee (3000 m [3] or 9000 m [9]). Thus, the six flight categories are S3, H3, L3, S9, H9, and L9. To distinguish COTS from SRAD systems, the origin of the propulsion will be noted in the COTS
case by addition of the suffix [-c], while SRAD systems will not have a suffix. Propulsion systems of a similar type will compete in the same category, no matter their origin. A summary is given in Table 2.
Table 2: Flight categories
TARGET APOGEE 3000 M 9000 M
Origin COTS SRAD COTS SRAD
Propulsion
System
Solid S3-c S3 S9-c S9
Hybrid H3-c H3 H9-c H9
Liquid L3 L9
Teams are permitted to switch categories as necessary prior to submitting their final Technical Report, e.g., they may switch from the 9000 m to the 3000 m or vice-versa. EuRoC reserves the right to change the category in which a project is initially entered based on the design presented (between COTS and
SRAD, from 9000 m to 3000 m or vice-versa, or between S/H/L).

3. TEAM COMPOSITION AND ELIGIBILITY

3.1. TEAM MEMBERS

EuRoC teams shall consist of members who are currently enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree or were matriculated undergraduate or graduate students (i.e., masters) during the previous academic year (e.g., former students who graduated shortly before the competition remain eligible), from one or more academic European institutions (e.g., “joint teams” are eligible). Each student team is limited to 30 members. Teams may integrate advisory members (e.g., doctorate students, professors), as long as the number of advisors does not surpass 20% of the total number of team members. Please note that advisors are considered team members and will count for the 30 members’ limit.
The limitation in the number of team members only applies to the number of team members to be present at the event, and not to the constitution of the team itself. The same applies to the number of team advisors, the 20% limitation only applies to the number of advisors to be present at the event, and not the constitution of the team itself (i.e., the number of advisors to be present at the event cannot surpass 20% of the total number of team members to be present at the event).
Each team shall assign a team leader when applying to EuRoC. The team leader must be the point of contact with EuRoC for all matters. EuRoC organisation will always and only directly contact the team leader, as such, the team leader must be the only one contacting the EuRoC organisation. Furthermore,
the team leader should be responsible for disclosing and sharing all the information provided by EuRoC to the remaining team (e.g., by having access to the teams’ reserved area in the EuRoC website).
The number of teams competing at EuRoC will be limited. Even though it is a declared goal of the EuRoC organisers to include teams from outside Europe, due to the current limitations only European teams will be admitted.
National public health rules (regarding Covid-19 or others) in place at the time of the event will apply.

3.2. SUBMISSION LIMITATIONS

Each student organisation/association/team may enter one project into EuRoC. No project may be entered in more than one category. Deviation from this principle will require case-by-case negotiations with the event officials. To foster the diversity and spirit of the competition, under no circumstances
will more than two teams be accepted from any single student organisation.

4. APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION PROCESSES

Although the organisers wish to admit all applicants, it is necessary to have a process in place to down
select participating teams from all applicants. Thus, teams will be selected under a process aiming to
enlist a broad pallet of young European rocket teams. This will not be a first-come-first-served process
and applications throughout the whole of the application period will be considered. All teams will be
contacted by e-mail about the outcome of the selection process.

4.1. ENTRY FORM

Each team shall inform EuRoC of their desire to compete by applying on the EuRoC website. Total
completeness of the entry form is required.
Submission of the Academic Institution Participation Letter (see Section 4.3) and Student University
Identification (see Section 4.4) will be required.

4.2. TEAM ID

The Team ID is the competition officials’ primary means of identifying and tracking the teams. Once
assigned, any correspondence between a team and the organisers must contain the respective team’s
ID number to enable a timely and accurate response. In the entry form, teams can indicate a short
name or acronym for easier identification.

4.3. ACADEMIC INSTITUTION PARTICIPATION LETTER

Each team is required to ask the academic institution(s), in which its members are enrolled, to provide
a signed letter to EuRoC, acknowledging the team as the institution’s representative and its intention
to participate in the event. The signatory shall be a senior faculty member or senior staff representative
(e.g., professor).
Academic institutions sending more than one team to the EuRoC need only to write one participation
letter, covering all their teams, but each included team must submit an individual copy of that letter.
In the case of a joint team, comprised of students from multiple academic institutions, each affiliated
institution must provide its own signed letter to the team mentioning only the members enrolled in
that same institution (i.e., each academic institution participation letter shall include only the members
part of that same institution and not all the team members).
The Academic Institution Letter template is available for download on the EuRoC website. When
submitting the Entry Form, teams shall submit digital, PDF copy(s) of their signed participation letter(s)
on the EuRoC website, on the respective field.

4.4. STUDENT UNIVERSITY IDENTIFICATION

Each team shall submit copies of documents proving that all team members are eligible – i.e., team
members are either currently enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree or were matriculated
undergraduate or graduate students during the previous academic year.
The accepted documents as student identification proof are:

• Student card, with valid expiration date or;
• Certificate of enrolment issued by the academic institution or;
• A print screen of the student personal area from the academic institution website that clearly
shows that the team member is enrolled or was enrolled during the previous academic year.
Each team member must choose only one of the above documents. The documents should preferably
be written in English. When submitting the Entry Form, the documents from all team members must
be submitted in a package format (e.g., zip/rar file), on the respective field.

4.5. DEPOSIT FEE

Once a team is accepted to take part in the competition, to complete the registration process and for
commitment purposes, a deposit fee of 100€ per team member will be charged. For teams competing
at the event, the deposit fee will be refunded after the event. The refund will be carried out as a single
money transfer.
The refundable deposit will be due shortly after the completion of the registration process. Proof of the
transfer (e.g., scan/photo/PDF of the transfer receipt) with clear identification of the team making the
deposit and the bank account info (i.e., IBAN and swift code) for refund purposes, will be required. All
teams admitted to the event will receive an info email containing all the necessary information.
The latest date for withdrawal from the competition will be the date the Technical Questionnaire is
due, as will be announced by the organisers.
After this date, if a team (accepted, registered, and confirmed as a participating team at EuRoC)
withdraws, gets disqualified, arrives late, does not compete at the event, the deposit fee will not be
refunded.
This deposit fee is intended to guarantee the teams participation in the event, to ensure the correct
use of the EuRoC material, as well as to cover any possible expenses due to inadequate use and
operation, or other related matters that teams may impose.

5. MILESTONES

There are several events, briefings, and reviews, mandatory or optional, that form the EuRoC
milestones. A more detailed overview of all building blocks of EuRoC that the teams can expect is given
in12.3.Appendix B:.

5.1. MANDATORY MILESTONES

The mandatory milestones in the sections below shall be completed in order to qualify for flight and to
enter competition scoring.

5.1.1. WELCOME SESSION

The Welcome Session is composed by the Check-in and the Welcome Briefing. Teams are expected to
arrive on time so they can register, receive their event badges, and be assigned their respective areas.
The Welcome Briefing has the main purpose of introducing the event officials, announce on-site details,
and kick-off all activities.
It is expected of every team to attend with all team members from day one. If individual team members
cannot attend from the start due to reasons related to travel restrictions or similar, event organisers
should be notified, via e-mail (info@euroc.pt), before the event, at the latest two weeks in advance
before the first event day. This should however only be an exception to the rule.

5.1.2. SAFETY BRIEFINGS

The safety briefings will be given by range safety officials to all team members. Attendance is mandatory
for all team members and advisors, without exception.

5.1.3. POSTFLIGHT DEBRIEFING

Debriefing session after recovery of the vehicle for the officials to assess the condition of the vehicle.
This debriefing will serve as baseline for the evaluation team to score the success of the recovery
operation (see Section 8.6for details).

5.1.4. AWARD CEREMONY

The Award Ceremony, to be held on the last day of the event, will be the final milestone of EuRoC where
winners will be announced.

5.2. OPTIONAL MILESTONES

5.2.1. POSTFLIGHT HIGHLIGHTS

Teams are invited to present their postflight highlights. This moment is meant to provide an opportunity
to showcase some interesting stories, both of success and failure and all the ups and downs that make
for a great event and a memorable experience for all.
Teams wishing to share their experiences should inform the event officials after all launch activity has
ceased, most likely the evening before the last day. No “high-gloss polished” slideshow is expected, but
an interesting and engaging talk (5-10 min). Teams are encouraged to be creative and use any aides
they like.
Note: The Postflight Highlights will be dependent on time availability.

6. MOTORS AND PROPELLANTS

6.1. AMATEUR ROCKET LIMITATIONS

Launch vehicles entered in EuRoC shall not exceed an installed total impulse of 40,960 Newton-seconds.
Teams intending on launching vehicles, which exceed the official impulse limit, require prior case-bycase review and EuRoC approval.

6.2. COTS SOLID/HYBRID MOTORS

In due time, before the event, on the EuRoC website, officials will provide a list of motors that will be
available for the competing teams. It is compiled in conjunction with European suppliers and will
contain a range of motors from known manufacturers available on the market. Teams will be asked on
the Technical Questionnaire (see Section 9.1) to indicate their needed motor. Only COTS motors from
the motors list and ordered via the official suppliers are permitted.
Note: Due to changes in US regulations as well as shortages in materials and substances, leading to
abnormal long waiting times, the available COTS motors for the 2023 edition of EuRoC will be limited.
As an attempt to address this issue, the COTS acquisition process might differ from the one specified in
this document. Teams can find more information in the EuRoC Motors List and COTS Motors Acquisition
Guide, available on the EuRoC website.

6.3. SRAD MOTORS

SRAD motors are subject to the detailed requirements listed in the EuRoC – Design, Test & Evaluation
Guide. SRAD motors should satisfy the highest requirements regarding safety, thus the teams are
required to take all necessary precautions during their design, adhering to sound engineering principles
and supporting their design with simulations and tests. The event officials will evaluate the designs
during the Technical Review Process, based on the submitted technical reports, and during the Flight
Readiness Review. Only if event officials are fully convinced that the design is sufficiently sound, mature,
and tested, will teams be allowed to fly.
Teams are welcome and encouraged to approach the officials during the Technical Review Process,
before and during the event to discuss their specific design questions. Officials encourage a culture of
open discussion about ANY doubts that might arise regarding design feasibility and safety.

6.4. PROPELLANTS FOR SRAD MOTORS

All chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, and hybrid) are allowed. Note that all propellants used must
be non-toxic. Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP), potassium nitrate and sugar (aka
“rocket candy”), nitrous oxide, liquid oxygen (LOX), hydrogen peroxide, kerosene, propane, and similar
substances, are all considered non-toxic. Toxic propellants are defined as those requiring breathing
apparatus, special storage and transport infrastructure, extensive personal protective equipment, etc.
(e.g., Hydrazine and N2O4). Home-made propellant mixtures containing any fraction of toxic propellants
are also prohibited.
Industrial bottled liquid/gas propellants (e.g., nitrous oxide, liquid oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) and
propellants that cannot be imported to Portugal according to Portuguese regulations must be acquired
through EuRoC, under no circumstances will a team be allowed to bring their own propellants.
Propellants that do not require special transportation (i.e., with qualification of dangerous goods) and
that are permitted entrance in Portugal (e.g., alcohol, paraffin wax, demineralized water, etc.) are of
the teams’ responsibility.
Teams must be aware that the bottle fittings might be different from the ones normally used by the
team and shall take all necessary precautions to ensure the compliance with the EuRoC supplier
products. Information on the EuRoC bottle fittings will be made available on the reserved teams’ area
of the EuRoC website in due time.
Teams are responsible by having all the necessary equipment on site (e.g., cooling chamber, thermal
protection).
Teams competing with solid SRAD motors can find more information on the EuRoC Launch Operations
Guide.
High-level design and acceptance testing requirements are contained in the EuRoC – Design, Test &
Evaluation Guide in order to promote flight safety.

6. MOTORS AND PROPELLANTS

6.1. AMATEUR ROCKET LIMITATIONS

6.2. COTS SOLID/HYBRID MOTORS

6.3. SRAD MOTORS

6.4. PROPELLANTS FOR SRAD MOTORS

7. PAYLOAD

7.1. GOAL

Event officials encourage the teams to launch functional payloads in the form of creative scientific
experiments and technology demonstrations. It is also encouraged that this is done in a collaborative
fashion, so that rocket launching teams may reach out to other universities and/or student groups
which develop CanSats/CubeSats/PocketSats that could provide payloads to be flown onboard the
EuRoC rockets. Nevertheless, non-functional “dummy-mass” payloads are also permitted, if these
comply with the Payload Required Form Factor and Mass, described in the next sections.

7.2. PAYLOAD DEFINITION

A payload is defined as an independent component that is replaceable by a ballast of the same mass,
with no change to the launch vehicle’s functionality and trajectory in reaching the target apogee, or its’
successful recovery. Participants are required to carry payload(s) on their vehicle, which can be of the
following type:
• Non-functional (i.e., dummy mass) OR functional payload (i.e., a purposeful device, e.g., an
experiment or technology demonstrator);
• Non-deployable OR deployable payload (e.g., deploying a CanSat to the ambient).
If a functional payload is chosen, it can either be:
• Passive (i.e., non-powered/non-energetic) OR active (i.e., powered/energetic).
This payload may be assumed present when calculating the launch vehicle’s stability. In other words,
launch vehicles entered in EuRoC need not to be stable without the required payload mass on-board.
The payload must comply with the Payload Required Form Factor and with the Payload Required Mass,
presented in the next sections.

7.3. DEPLOYABLE PAYLOADS

Deployable payloads are characterized by the payload being ejected or separated from the main vehicle
during flight. Therefore, deployable payloads require their own recovery system.
A special case exists for deployable (lightweight) payloads, in that they may be allowed to utilize a
single-stage 8-9m/s descent velocity recovery system from apogee, on a case-by-case approval from
the EuRoC organisation, since elaborate active deployable payloads will generally benefit from as much
airborne time as possible.

If teams plan to develop a deployable payload that requires a specific unique recovery system, they
shall contact the event officials prior to the event to clarify if the payload satisfies all requirements.

7.4. PAYLOAD REQUIRED FORM FACTOR

All payloads, whether they are non-functional or functional, non-deployable or deployable, must fulfil
the requirements for the form factor as detailed below, which are generally based on common CanSat,
CubeSat and PocketSat form factors.
The basic form factors are defined as follows:
• CanSat: Cylindrical shape with 115 mm height and 66 mm diameter;
• CubeSat: Cubic shape with one CubeSat Unit (1U) being defined as a 100 mm x 100 mm x 100
mm cubic structure;
• PocketSat: Cubic shape with 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm.
The form factors are given not including a parachute, if applicable asin the case of deployable payloads.
“Point masses” with odd form factors are not allowed.
The volume of the payload may be a multiple/stack of the basic payload form-factors, e.g., 3 CanSats
(345 mm height x 66 mm diameter), 2U (200 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm), 5 PocketSats (250 mm x 50 mm
x 50 mm) or likewise.
Teams intending on carrying payloads, which do not fulfil the payload required form factor, require
prior case-by-case review and EuRoC approval.
Note: In case of approval of a payload which does not fulfil the payload form factor, there will be a
negative impact on the payload’s score. Because despite being approved by the organisation it is still
not compliant with the EuRoC requirements established in this document.

7.5. PAYLOAD REQUIRED MASS

The launch vehicle shall carry no less than 1000 g of payload – Payload Required Mass. There is no
upper limit on payload mass. Teams are responsible for conducting a “weigh-in” on site in the presence
of the competition officials. The weigh-in will be done during the Flight Readiness Review. Competition
officials will accept payload weigh-ins as much as 5% (50 g) less than the specified minimum. If this
requirement is not met, “nominal” flight status for the payload may be denied by the officials during
FRR, resulting in an action item to increase payload mass. Any payload unit weight greater than the
specified minimum is acceptable.
All payloads, whether they are non-functional or functional, non-deployable or deployable, must fulfil
either the CanSat, CubeSat or PocketSat mass requirements. The basic mass increments are defined as
follows:

• A single CanSat-type payload has a mass between 300 g and 350 g;
• A single CubeSat-type payload has a mass between 1000 g and 1330 g;
• A single PocketSat-type payload has a mass between 200 g and 250 g.
If a functional payload is chosen, with the functional part itself not providing enough mass to reach the
minimum requirements, additional dummy-masses may be added to the functional payload until the
minimum mass requirement is reached.
Teams intending on using payloads, which do not fulfil the payload required mass, require prior caseby-case review and EuRoC approval.
Note: In case of approval of a payload which does not fulfil the payload required mass, there will be a
negative impact on the payload’s score. This is because, despite being approved by the organisation,it
is still not compliant with the EuRoC requirements established in this document.
7.6. MINIMUM PAYLOAD EXAMPLES
Some examples of payloads to fulfil the minimum mass requirements could be:
• A stack of three single CanSat-type payloads (115 mm height and 66 mm diameter each) with
a mass between 300 g and 350 g each, amounting to a total mass of at least 1000 g;
• A 3-unit size CanSat-type payload (345 mm height x 66 mm diameter) with a mass of at least
1000 g;
• A CubeSat-type payload with a minimum form factor of 1U with a mass of at least 1000 g, but
not exceeding 1330 g;
• A 4U CubeSat-type payload with a mass of 4000-5320 g;
• A 5-unit size PocketSat payload (250 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm) with a mass of at least 1000 g;
• A stack of five single PocketSat-type payloads (50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm each) with a mass
between 200 g and 250 g each, amounting to a total mass of at least 1000 g.

7.7. INDEPENDENT PAYLOAD FUNCTIONALITY

Launch vehicle recovery systems shall be able to bring the vehicle down in a safe and controlled
manner, as per the recovery system requirements, independently of whether the payload is active,
passive, deployable or fixed inside the launch vehicle.
An independent payload cannot be a part of the launch vehicle functionality (such as a guidance and
control system). The functionality must be completely independent of the launch vehicles’ ability to
bring the payload to the designated apogee.

7.8. LOCATION AND INTERFACE

Neither the payload’s location in the launch vehicle nor its method of integration and removal is
specified. Therefore, teams must ensure that the payloads shall not be inextricably connected to other
launch vehicle associated components (e.g., the launch vehicle’s recovery system, internal structure, or
airframe) while being weighed. If the payload cannot be removed for weigh-in, the teams will not get
points for an on-board payload.

7.9. RESTRICTED MATERIALS

Payloads shall not contain significant quantities of lead or any other hazardous materials. The use of
radioactive materials shall not be permitted.

9. TECHNICAL DELIVERABLES

All technical deliverables shall be submitted through the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC website,
deliverables submitted by any other means (e.g., email) will not be considered.

9.1. TECHNICAL QUESTIONNAIRE

On or before a specified date prior to the event each team shall fill in a Technical Questionnaire that
will be made available at the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC website. In this questionnaire, each
team shall submit the information regarding the chosen motor (from the list of available motors, see
also Section 6.), SRAD motors specifications, necessary propellants and respective quantities, special
cares to have in consideration (e.g., handling, hazards, transport needs), among other technical
information.
Teams should be aware that some of the information given in the questionnaire will be made available
in the public areas of EuRoC website and/or social media, for promotion purposes.

9.2. CONCEPT REPORT

In preparation for the Concept Review, teams will be asked to submit, through the reserved teams’ area
in the EuRoC website, a Concept Report (max. 10 pages), including the following:
• Brief team intro with any relevant project context information (2 to 3 paragraphs);
• Stated project goals (1 paragraph or a list);
• Stated mission objectives (1 paragraph or a list);
• Concept of Operations (1 diagram of the main operations stages, plus a brief text description
of the rocket’s lifecycle during EuRoC);
• System concept;
• General arrangement (diagram or drawing and 1 paragraph of text);
• Dimensions and mass estimates (drawing and/or table);
• Main performance figures (table);
• Main systems description (1 to 2 paragraphs for each, with optional drawing or diagram, more
info for any complex SRAD systems, especially propulsion);
• List of materials and methods of manufacture to be employed (1 paragraph or a list);
• Differentiating and unique characteristics (if any, 1 to 2 paragraphs plus drawing – this is to
make sure teams explicitly point out any special design features that the officials should be
aware of);
• Expected difficulties, criticalities (3 to 4 paragraphs).
The Concept Report’s main title is left to the team’s discretion, however it shall be subtitled “Team
[Your Team ID] Concept Report to the [Year] EuRoC”. For example, a team assigned the team ID “12”
competing in the 202X EuRoC, would subtitle their Concept Report “Team 12 Concept Report to the
202X EuRoC”.

9.3. DESIGN REPORT

The selected teams that need to participate in the Focused Design Review will be requested to submit
a Design Report (max. 10 pages) to be submitted through the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC
website. In essence, teams are allowed to reuse their Concept Report, however it should be updated
to reflect the advanced status of the design close to the competition. Furthermore, teams should
emphasise on the respective special design feature(s) that will be in the spotlight at the Focused Design
Review.
• Brief team intro with any relevant project context information (2 to 3 paragraphs);
• Stated project goals (1 paragraph or a list);
• Stated mission objectives (1 paragraph or a list);
• Concept of Operations (1 diagram of the main operations stages, plus a brief text description
of the rocket’s lifecycle during EuRoC);
• System design;
• General arrangement (diagram or drawing and 1 paragraph of text);
• Dimensions and masses (drawing and/or table);
• Main performance figures (table);
• Main systems description (1 to 2 paragraphs for each, with optional drawing or diagram);
• List of materials and methods of manufacturing (1 paragraph or a list);
• Detailed Special Design Features Description (diagrams and drawings, 2 to 3 paragraphs of
text);
• Expected difficulties and criticalities, especially for Special Design Features (3 to 4 paragraphs,
risk assessment table);
• Main Risks Assessment (table).
The Design Report’s main title is left to the team’s discretion, however it shall be subtitled “Team [Your
Team ID] Design Report to the [Year] EuRoC”. For example, a team assigned the team ID “12” competing
in the 202X EuRoC, would subtitle their Design Report “Team 12 Design Report to the 202X EuRoC”.

9.4. TECHNICAL REPORT

Each team shall submit a Technical Report which describes their project to the technical evaluation
board and competition officials. The Technical Report can be formatted using any style guide.
On or before of a specified date prior to the event, teams shall submit a single digital PDF copy of their
Technical Report through the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC website. The Technical Report shall
not exceed 20 Megabytes in size. Teams should also bring at least one hard copy to EuRoC so
competition officials may consult the contents at will during interactions with the team.
The Technical Report’s main title is left to the team’s discretion, however it shall be subtitled “Team
[Your Team ID] Technical Report to the [Year] EuRoC”. For example, a team assigned the team ID “12”
competing in the 202X EuRoC, would subtitle their Technical Report “Team 12 Technical Report to the
202X EuRoC”.
The competition officials welcome concise reports, that should not exceed 50 pages, including figures
etc. (A4, standard font size 11 in Times New Roman or Arial, line spacing 1.0, standard page margins
2.5 cm). This does not include the appendices. The appendices can have additional information but are
not necessarily read in detail by the officials, thus teams are highly recommended to maintain it concise
as well. Further information is given in 12.3.Appendix D:, including an overview of the required
minimum Technical Report sections and appendices. Additional sections, subsections, and appendices
may be added if needed.

9.5. FLIGHT SIMULATION

Each team shall submit a RocketPy simulation (.py, .ipynb or .m file) of their project with the respective
propulsion system, aerodynamic coefficients, and all stages of the flight. The simulation file should use
the RocketPy version 0.13.0 or higher and should run in Python 3.8.0 version. The submission shall be
done through the reserved teams’ area on the EuRoC website, on or before a specified date, prior to
the event.
The file must include a detailed model of the rocket, containing every section or component with the
exact mass, size and relative position of the real counterparts and it shall be added to the file as an
independent object, except for electronic clusters, as it can be represented as one module even if it is
made with more than one component. Small components as screws, bolts, etc, should only be
accounted as mass. For SRAD motors, an .eng file shall be submitted. The recovery systems must be
included on the model with the parachutes trigger function, phase of deployment, size, and drag
coefficient. Deployable payloads should also have its parachutes modelled. For active controlled
systems (e.g., air brakes, parafoils, canards, etc.) teams shall provide the corresponding control
algorithms.
The RocketPy simulation file shall be named “Team[Your Team ID]_RocketPy_v[Version Number]. For
example, a team assigned the team ID “12”, would name their RocketPy file “Team12_RocketPy_v1”.

RocketPy is an open-source software that can be found at rocketpy.org where different tutorials are
also available. In case of any issues with the software, teams can contact the RocketPy developers on
the official discord server or via e-mail at rocketpyteam@gmail.com.
The use of a modified version of RocketPy is allowed and should be sent with the file project. A
description of the modification should be submitted as well.
Teams can additionally use other software for the simulations which can be submitted as well to be
analysed. All information used to simulate the rocket in other software should be provided, ensuring
that the simulation can be reproduced after submission.

9.6. FLIGHT CARD

The Flight Card, together with the Postflight Record, should be filled out by the teams prior to launch
(see EuRoC Launch Operations Guide for more information). A template will be made available in the
reserved teams’ area at the EuRoC website, so the teams know what to expect. However, the officials
will hand out printed copies at the event.

9.7. POSTFLIGHT RECORD

The Postflight Record must be filled out by the teams (to the extent they are able to) after the launch
and will contain flight information data, such as flight performance and recovery (see EuRoC Launch
Operations Guide for more information).

9.7.1. POSTFLIGHT REPORTING OF APOGEE AND RECOVERY

During the Postflight Debriefing (see Section 8.6), teams will need to deliver the Postflight Record,
which will among other things include the following information that needs to be passed on to the
officials:
• Apogee of the official altitude logging system(s) (see EuRoC Design, Test & Evaluation Guide for
more details), to determine the actual apogee above ground level;
• Status of the systems after recovery by showing hardware to officials.
In addition, teams are asked to upload digital images of the recovered vehicle and components to the
EuRoC website reserved teams’ area, to document the degree of success of the recovery.
Teams shall report in person to competition officials this information after retrieval and return to the
designated basecamp area, prior to the end of eligible launch operations on the respective launch day.
Only in the special case that recovery operations cannot be concluded during the respective launch
day, teams are allowed to provide this information before the end of the respective next eligible launch
day. Further information on the official altitude logging system is given in the EuRoC Design, Test &
Evaluation Guide.
If telemetry data from the EuRoC official altitude logging system is available, teams may report the
apogee revealed in this telemetry system to competition officials when a confirmation of nominal
ascent and recovery system deployment event has taken place. This apogee information, provided by
the EuRoC telemetry system (and the mandatory GPS tracking system), will be used for scoring only in
the event the launch vehicle is not recovered prior to the end of eligible launch operations on the final
scheduled launch day.
Telemetry provided apogee information recorded in flight may be utilized in case no apogee data is
retrievable from any onboard systems after “landing”. A minimum criterion is however that a GPS lock
has been maintained around apogee and that the apogee trajectory is visible in the recorded data.
Teams shall upload all the required data, specified on the Postflight Record (i.e., altitude logging data,
tracking data, flight simulation data and payload data), to the reserved team’s area in the EuRoC
website, until 23h59 of the last day of launch activities.

10. NON-TECHNICAL DELIVERABLES

The following sections define the deliverable materials competition officials require from teams
competing in EuRoC – including each deliverable’s format and minimum expected content. Only
correct, complete, and timely submission of deliverables will guarantee that the maximum points
possible are achieved in the overall team score, details on the scoring criteria can be found in the EuRoC
DTEG.
The scheduled due dates of all required deliverables will be recorded on the EuRoC website.
All non-technical deliverables shall be submitted through the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC
website, deliverables submitted by any other means (e.g., email) will not be considered.

10.1. VIDEO PRESENTATION
Each team shall submit on or before a specified date prior to the event a short video presentation via
the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC website, with a duration of no more than 2 minutes, with the
purpose of presenting the team and their project. The video can and should include, e.g., pictures or
videos of the team history and team members, previous flights, tests, working facilities, hardware,
teamwork, successes, and failures, etc.
The Video Presentation file to be submitted shall be named “Team[Your Team
ID]_VideoPresentation_[Year]EuRoC”. For example, a team assigned the team ID “12” competing in the
202X EuRoC, would name their Video Presentation file “Team12_VideoPresentation_202XEuRoC”.

The video will be displayed on the EuRoC website and social media to showcase the participating teams.
The footage submitted can be used by the Portuguese Space Agency for publicity and marketing
purposes.
Note: If the video file is too large and compression would lead to a decrease in the video quality, teams
shall upload to the reserved teams’ area a document (e.g., word, PDF or .txt) with a link to a file sharing
service for the EuRoC officials to download the video.

10.2. PROOF OF INSURANCE

Personal Accident insurance is mandatory for all teams. It should cover travels and personal injuries,
since team members are subject to accident risks and may suffer personal accidents since they leave
from their home countries, during the trip, until their return home.
The Third-Party Liability insurance is highly recommended for all teams and should provide coverage of
potential litigation directly involving the Team or its members. In certain cases, teams may receive
claims directly or be sued by Third Parties based on their legal liability for damages to persons or
properties, directly related to their participation on the event and/or related to the trip. These type of
liabilities of the team and of the team members may NOT be covered under the organization insurance
policies.
To be protected against Third Party claims and Personal Accidents, teams can benefit from coverages
from their college or university insurances, or the teams can acquire specific insurance covering the
entire trip for the purpose of participate on the event.
On or before a specified date prior to the event, teams must submit the Proof of Insurance (e.g.,
photo/scan/pdf of the insurance policy dated and signed), through the reserved teams’ area of the
EuRoC website. In case of multiple Proof of Insurance files (e.g., one for each member of the team) the
submission shall be done in package format (e.g., zip/rar folder) with the folder named according with
“Team[Your Team ID]_Insurance_[Year]EuRoC”. For example, a team assigned the team ID “12”
competing in the 202X EuRoC, would name the Proof of Insurance folder “Team12_Insurance_202X
EuRoC”.

10.3. WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY FORM

It is mandatory that every individual attending EuRoC – including team members, faculty advisors, and
others – signs the Waiver and Release of Liability Form. Individuals who do not sign this form will be
unable to participate in any activities occurring at the EuRoC site.
The Waiver and Release of Liability Form can be downloaded on the teams’ reserved area of the EuRoC
website and must be signed, in handwritten form or digitally (qualified signature). On or before a
specified date prior to the event teams should submit the totality of such documents in a package
format (e.g., zip/rar folder) through the reserved teams’ area in the EuRoC website, respecting the
following file name format “Team[Your Team ID]_Waiver_[Year]EuRoC”. For example, a team assigned
the team ID “12” competing in the 202X EuRoC, would name the Waiver and Release of Liability Form
package file “Team12_Waiver_202XEuRoC”.
Underaged team members should submit the specific underage version document of the EuRoC Waiver
and Release of Liability Form, signed by their guardian.

11. SCORING AND AWARDS

11.1. SCORING CATEGORIES

Teams will be scored in four different scoring categories or areas, which are (1.) the Technical Report,
(2.) the Vehicle Design, (3.) the Team Effort, and (4.) the Flight Performance. These are weighted
according to the table below.
Table 3: Weight of the scoring categories.
SCORING CATEGORY POSSIBLE POINTS % OF TOTAL POINTS
(1.) Technical Report 200 20%
(2.) Vehicle Design 250 25%
(3.) Team Effort 200 20%
(4.) Flight Performance 350 35%
TOTAL: 1000 100%

11.2. COMPETITION CATEGORIES

Teams will compete against each other in scoring categories (1.), (2.), and (3.). For scoring category (4.)
Flight Performance, teams will compete against other teams within their respective flight categories
(S3, H3, L3, S9, H9, L9) (as defined in Section 2).
For each individual competition category (1.), (2.), (3.) and each flight category (S3, H3, L3, S9, H9, L9),
there will be a dedicated winner: the team with the most points in that respective category.
The total score of each team is the sum of their points in all four categories (1–4). The team with the
highest score is overall winner of EuRoC.
Points are awarded according to criteria, weighted individually in each scoring category. Each
competition category is also weighed against the other categories.

11.3. AWARDS
The following awards will be given:
• The Technical Award for the best Technical Report;
• The Design Award for the best Vehicle Design;
• The Team Award for the best Team Effort;
• The six Flight Awards for the winners of the categories (S3, H3, L3, S9, H9, L9) for the respective
best flight performance in each of these categories.
For a team to be eligible for any of the awards above, teams must score higher than 50% of the
maximum possible points in one respective scoring category and higher than 50% of the maximum
possible points of the overall scoring.
For example, a team competing in the S3 category with 100 out of 300 possible points (below 50%) and
700 out of 1000 total possible points (above 50%) will not be eligible for the Flight Award – Solid 3000
metres award due to do not surpassing the necessary minimum of the Flight Performance scoring
category.
Another example would be any team competing in the Technical Report category with 250 out of 300
possible points (above 50%) but with 400 out of 1000 total possible points (below 50%) will not be
eligible for the Technical Award due to do not surpassing the necessary minimum of the total possible
points.
The EuRoC Award will be presented to the overall winner of the EuRoC.
A Payload Award independent from the EuRoC scoring will also be awarded.
A summary of all the awards is given in Table 4.
Table 4: Competition categories and respective awards.
COMPETITION CATEGORY CORRESPONDING AWARD
(1.) Technical Report Technical Award
(2.) Vehicle Design Design Award
(3.) Team Effort Team Award
(4.) Flight Performance: S3 Flight Award – Solid 3000 m
(5.) Flight Performance: H3 Flight Award – Hybrid 3000 m
(6.) Flight Performance: L3 Flight Award – Liquid 3000 m
(7.) Flight Performance: S9 Flight Award – Solid 9000 m
(8.) Flight Performance: H9 Flight Award – Hybrid 9000 m
(9.) Flight Performance: L9 Flight Award – Liquid 9000 m
(10.) Overall Winner EuRoC Award
(11.) Best Payload Payload Award
The emphasis and focus of each of the awards can be found below.

11.3.1. TECHNICAL AWARD

Recognizes the best technical report, displaying the ability to document clearly, correctly, and without
unnecessary complication a complex technical system, aided by high quality figures, exhibiting
exceptional quality in all formal aspects, making it an enjoyable and enriching read.

11.3.2. DESIGN AWARD

Honours the overall best vehicle design, which displays a high competency in all its characteristics, is
based on stringent strategic decisions, provided an exceptional challenge to realise, and might even go
beyond pure rocketry to put special attention towards its innovation.

11.3.3. TEAM AWARD

Credits the team that has displayed an outstanding effort as working as a unit towards a common goal,
by being exceptionally organized, reliable, and prepared in all aspects of the competition, be it
deliverables, communication, or operation, and goes above and beyond to display a great sense of team
spirit and sportsmanship, either between team members, other teams, and organisation officials.

11.3.4. FLIGHT AWARDS

Measures the degree of merit in meters away from the target apogee, but also by the state of the
rocket after recovery, and thus honours designs that not only survive the harsh contact with reality, but
furthermore represent an incredible achievement in concept, simulation, system integration, control,
and practical realisation.

11.3.5. EUROC AWARD

Awarded to the team that has displayed excellence across the board in all aspects of the competition,
honouring an overall exceptional and well-balanced effort without cutting back on any of one of the
competition aspects, be it technical documentation, vehicle design, team effort, or flight performance,
thus identifying a truly remarkable effort and achievement.

11.3.6. PAYLOAD AWARD

The Payload Award seeks to recognize the team with the overall best payload of EuRoC. This award
praises innovation and reliability, focusing also on the applicability and impact of the payload on the
society, such as if it were to be launched into space. It will be awarded to the most promising payload
being only expected high expertise and singular design and implementation results.
The Payload Award is independent from the EuRoC award, meaning that the scoring for this award will
not count to the total scoring and hence to the Overall Winner. For more details on the scoring
categories please refer to Section 11.1, Table 3.

11.4. GRADING CRITERIA

In each scoring category, a set of grading criteria is established. These criteria will be evaluated by the
evaluation team for each team individually. Each grading criterion has several, more detailed, topics
that establish what the organisation will look for during the grading process. Details on the grading
criteria can be found on Appendix B of the EuRoC DTEG.

11.5. ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS

The competition category winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony. The evaluation team will
document their judgement in individual scoring sheets for each team. These will be distributed to the
teams after the event to give them feedback regarding strengths and weaknesses in all aspects of their
performance in the competition.

11.6. HANDLING OF QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS REGARDING SCORING

Teams are welcome to approach the officials to ask for specific, non-binding, oral feedback regarding
their perception of the teams’ work during all points of the competition to provide the teams with an
opportunity to learn and improve.
In the case the teams have more detailed questions or specific complaints regarding the scoring after
the scoring has been announced, such as they would like to receive elaborate feedback on a particular
aspect of the score for clarification, e.g., to improve upon for the next competition, or if they identify
an honest mistake made by the jury, the following process applies:
ONLY the team leader can submit a written feedback request once to info@euroc.pt. Submissions of
the feedback are accepted until no later than one week (7 days) after official announcement of the
score. To keep the workload on the officials to a reasonable amount, teams are asked to limit their
questions PLUS complaints to three in total. Competition officials will then review these three questions
and/or complaints and provide written feedback.
If an honest mistake in scoring is apparent, competition officials will review the score provided to the
team and decide on a case-by-case basis if and how to account for this, especially and only if this would
significantly affect the overall score and placement of the team.
It should be noted that teams are expected not to abuse this possibility of questions and complaints for
bagatelle. Officials will not partake in a discussion questioning the evaluation team principal reasoning
of the score given.

12. UNRULY BEHAVIOR, DISQUALIFICATION, WITHDRAWAL

12.1. PENALTIES FOR UNSAFE OR UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

Teams will be penalized for every instance of unsafe or unsportsmanlike conduct recorded by
competition officials (e.g., judges, volunteers, staff members, etc.) depending on the severity of the
incident. Unsafe conduct includes, but is not limited to, violating any of the established principles stated
on EuRoC documents, failure to use checklists during operations, violating motor vehicle traffic safety
rules, and failure to use appropriate personal protective equipment. Unsportsmanlike conduct also
includes, but is not limited to, hostility shown towards any EuRoC participant and staff, intentional
misrepresentation of facts to any competition official, intentional failure to comply with any reasonable
instruction given by a competition official.

12.2. DISQUALIFICATION

A number of criteria constitute grounds for disqualification from consideration for any award and
continuation at the competition. These can include a failure to meet the defining EuRoC mission
requirements as recorded in this document, failure to submit a Technical Report (or otherwise failing
to provide adequate project details in required deliverables), failure to submit duly recognized Waiver
and Release of Liability Forms for all team members and failure to send eligible team member
representatives to the EuRoC.
Substance abuse and intoxication (or after-effects thereof) during launch operations and purposeful
endangering behaviours severely compromising the safety of EuRoC and respective participants will
make the entire team immediately and without further warning, eligible for expulsion from the EuRoC
event in disgrace.
If one or more members of a team fails to be utterly sober and clear-headed at the beginning of their
launch day, this is regarded as outright contempt of the EuRoC spirit and safety guidelines. The
consequence is the immediate and irrevocable grounding of the rocket and removal of the team from
the EuRoC event.
EuRoC organisers reserve the right to assess any misconduct/mismanagement case by case and to take
the necessary proper actions leading to disqualification of specific team members or the entire team.

12.3. WITHDRAWAL FROM COMPETITION

Teams which decide to formally withdraw from the EuRoC at any time prior to the event must send an
e-mail entitled “TEAM [Your Team ID] FORMALLY WITHDRAWS FROM THE Competition [Year] EuRoC”
to info@euroc.pt. For example, a team assigned the Team ID 12″ would withdraw from the 202X EuRoC
by sending an e-mail entitled “TEAM 42 FORMALLY WITHDRAWS FROM THE 202X EuRoC”.
Portugal Space Refe