Design. Make. Launch.
Nakuja project aims to build a liquid-fuel rocket to bring small satellites into the orbit.
We are based in Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya.
The internship application 2024 (January-April) is open.
Click to open Google form.Rocket development in Kenya
We are a university-based amateur rocketry group in Kenya. Our goal is to create a liquid-propellants rocket that can bring nanosatellites into the low earth orbit. The purpose of the project is to nurture the talent to drive the science and technology innovation in the continent.
Low cost and open source
All our code and work proceedings are opensource and available on version control software, GitHub. Since the project is student centred, we strive to ensure all our work is low cost and we utilise all resources available in the school
Partnership
The Nakuja project works with the Kenya Space Agency (KSA), which promotes space development in Kenya. KSA supported us to visit Broglio Space Center in Malindi to study the ground station facility. KSA kindly allowed us to participate in the Kenya Space Expo and Conference in Nairobi in June 2022 to showcase our achievement. KSA also facilitated the launch of our N-2 and N-3 rockets.
Timeline
Our final goal is to launch a liquid propellants rocket to bring nanostellites into orbit. We set a couple of milestones to progress our project in time. We developed two solid model rockets: N-1 and N-2 rockets. We also started the development of a test stand for the liquid rocket engine.
June 2019
Project started
Mar 2020
First firing test of solid rocket motor
May 2021
Launch of N-1 rocket
November 2022
Launch of N-2 rocket
First launch of liquid propellant rocket