DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 1 July)—The launch of the rocket “Sibol” in Spaceport America Cup demonstrated that the all-Filipino members of the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU)’s Rocketry Team is capable of rocket development.
This was the assessment of Dr. Rogel Mari D. Sese, chair of the university’s Aerospace Engineering Department, as he spoke during the Kapehan sa Dabaw on Monday. He added that despite not having placed in the competition, the successful launch of the rocket “Sibol” was already an achievement for the country as rocket development is a challenging pursuit.
The team’s rocket—“Sibol” (Filipino for growth)—was the first and only entry from the Philippines in the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition and was one of four entries from Asia.
Two teams from Thailand and one from Taiwan also competed in Spaceport held in La Cruces, New Mexico in the United States from June 17 to 22, 2024.
“Just the fact that we were able to launch and deploy the rocket itself means that we demonstrated not just to the country but to the rest of the world that we are very much capable of rocket development,” he said.
Sese said that the team hopes to improve features of its rocket as it plans to compete in the same competition next year.
“Based on the learnings of the team, they have ideas on how it can be further improved as well. We might look at better materials in terms of structure, and having a payload already that would perform some additional tasks as well,” he said.
Sese said that the preparations of the rocketry team for the competition in 2025 may commence within one to two months as the application is set to begin in October this year.
The team’s high-powered rocket is capable of carrying an 8.8-pound payload to an altitude of 10,000 feet.
“It will undergo the same series of reviews from October to May (2025). It’s a similar process but based on the learnings of the team, they have some insights on how they are going to do. Probably, we might be in a different category already by next year… The students are very much up for the challenge,” he added.
Wilfredo Pardorla Jr., team adviser of ADDU Rocketry Team, added that it took the team several months to develop the rocket “Sibol,” and commended the resourcefulness of their students, which helped bring down the cost of developing its own rocket.
He said that a rocket is important as it is the vehicle that brings the satellites into space.
ADDU is the only university in Mindanao offering a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering.
Franz Guevera, a third year BS in Aerospace Engineering student who is the team captain, said that he realized after competing in the US that they must “carefully and strategically” choose the materials, particularly the propellants, as the structure of the rocket has to be adjusted based on the weight.
“In any pursuit, I think probably the hardest part is to begin and the nature of rocket development is really hard but the name ‘Sibol’ represents that we are going into something. We are growing from a sprout, and ‘sibol’ is not just the end but it’s actually the beginning of something,” he said.
Sese added that they hope to position Davao Region as the aerospace hub in the country.
“The achievement that the ADDU rocketry team has made through the participation in Spaceport America is the first step of reaching that goal of eventually becoming a space-capable nation,” he added.
He said that satellites may be beneficial for agriculture, maritime security, fisheries, environmental monitoring, and telecommunication that could drive sectors and promote inclusive “economic growth and development in the region and the rest of the country.”
“In order to have these kinds of capabilities, we need to have vehicles in order to bring these satellites into outer space and this is where rocketry comes in,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
