We are

Horizon Aerospace

Horizon Aerospace is Memorial University's rocket design team. We design, build, test and launch high-power rockets, with students working across mechanical, electrical, computer and mechatronics engineering.

Puffin-1 at Launch Canada

2026 · Timmins, Ontario

We took Puffin-1 to Launch Canada in 2026, with a fibreglass airframe, custom flight computer, roll-control fins and a two-parachute recovery system.

Explore Puffin-1

Launch Canada 2026

Orange nose cone and machined tip at the competition exhibition — Nose cone

Puffin-1 and its electronics on the exhibition table — Competition display

Visitors talking with the team at the exhibition table — At the exhibition

Circuit boards and wiring in the assembled avionics bay — Avionics assembly

Team member preparing a section of Puffin-1 outdoors — Field preparation

Three team members carrying Puffin-1 at the launch site — At the launch site

Team member working on Puffin-1 from a ladder at the launch rail — Launch rail preparation

Team members holding recovered rocket sections in a clearing — Recovery

Three team members working with fabric around the nose-cone form

Nose-cone manufacture

Team member soldering at a workbench with the board layout on a monitor

Electronics assembly

Our Subsystems

Structure & Propulsion

The Structure and Propulsion team designs and implements the airframe, performs material selection and manufacturing, conducts stress analysis and structural integrity testing, and also performs a thermal analysis of the system. They also analyze thrust and the utilization of safety factors.

Avionics

Avionics is the brain and nervous system of the rocket. The Avionics team designs and builds the onboard computer. They are responsible for all the electrical and software interfaces, which include GPS, power supply, telemetry and communications, electrical harnessing, and cable management.

Guidance, Navigation & Control

The Guidance, Navigation and Control team designs and implements the control mechanism to maintain the stability of the rocket during flight to ensure the capture of great quality videos. By utilizing aerodynamics in ascent and descent design simulations, GNC team verifies the flight trajectory.

Recovery & Payload

The Recovery team designs and implements the parachute landing and operates the Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) for Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT). The payload for the rocket is a set of camera systems that capture the zenith, nadir and horizon views of the flight.

Our Sponsors

Sponsorship information

Let's Connect

Reach out to the team via email or on social media.

info@horizon-aerospace.ca

Horizon Aerospace

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Horizon Aerospace