Space Concordia
Space Concordia is a Concordia University student organization that develops spacecraft, rockets, rovers, and space-health projects while providing practical aerospace engineering experience.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Space Concordia is a student-led space technology organization based at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 2010 by Concordia assistant professor Scott Gleason, it began as a small team established to compete in the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge. Its first satellite project, Consat-1, won the inaugural competition, providing the foundation for what later became the organization’s Spacecraft division. The organization has since expanded into a multidisciplinary engineering group with more than 150 members and five principal divisions: Robotics, Liquid Rocketry, Spacecraft, Solid Rocketry, and Space Health. The divisions give students opportunities to work on space systems across design, simulation, manufacturing, testing, operations, and competition. Much of the design and fabrication work is performed by students, supported by facilities at Concordia University. Space Concordia’s Rocketry division has become its most visible activity. Rocket development began in 2012, and the group has produced a series of sounding rockets, including Arcturus, Aurelius, Maurice, Supersonice, and StarSailor. Arcturus placed second in the payload category at the 2015 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition after reaching approximately 12,705 feet. In 2018, Supersonice reached roughly 30,000 feet and a maximum speed of Mach 1.8, winning the 30,000-foot category at the Spaceport America Cup. The division subsequently shifted toward liquid-propellant technology. Since 2018, the Rocketry division has been developing StarSailor, a pressure-fed rocket using kerosene and liquid oxygen. The project is intended to reach the Kármán line and has been associated with the Base 11 Space Challenge. The team reported second place in the competition’s design phase and first place in its Critical Design Review. In June 2021, Space Concordia completed a hot-fire test of its liquid rocket engine, producing an average ground-level thrust of approximately 35 kilonewtons. The work has been described as setting a Canadian amateur student-rocketry thrust record, although the achievement is best understood in the context of student and amateur engineering rather than commercial launch services. Space Concordia operates from student workspaces at Concordia’s downtown campus. Its club room, known as Space Lab, is in the Henry F. Hall Building. Members also use the Cage for storage and manufacturing, while the university’s Engineering Design and Manufacturing Lab provides access to machining, drilling, milling, turning, and welding equipment under staff supervision. Space Concordia’s positioning is educational and experimental: it combines competitive engineering with hands-on training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the development of Canadian student aerospace capabilities. It is not a conventional commercial aerospace company or consumer-facing product brand.
History
Space Concordia was founded in 2010 at Concordia University in Montreal by assistant professor Scott Gleason. The organization was initially created to enter the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge, with a founding team of fewer than ten students. Its first major project, the Consat-1 satellite, won the first edition of that competition. The satellite group later developed into Space Concordia’s Spacecraft division. In 2012, Space Concordia broadened its technical scope by establishing Rocketry and Robotics divisions. Robotics focused on rover development, while Rocketry began building and testing competitive rockets. The organization subsequently developed both solid- and liquid-propulsion capabilities, eventually structuring its activities across five divisions: Robotics, Liquid Rocketry, Spacecraft, Solid Rocketry, and Space Health. The Rocketry division’s first rocket, Arcturus, competed at the 2015 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition and won second place in the payload category. The solid rocket reached approximately 12,705 feet. In 2016, Space Concordia achieved another second-place result in the basic category of the eleventh edition of the same competition. The Spacecraft division also won first place in the third Canadian Satellite Design Challenge in 2016. Space Concordia’s next major rocket was Supersonice. In 2018, it reached about 30,000 feet and a peak speed of Mach 1.8, winning the 30,000-foot category at the Spaceport America Cup. That year, the Rocketry division began developing a liquid-fueled rocket for the Base 11 Space Challenge. The project, later associated with the StarSailor vehicle, represented a move from conventional solid sounding rockets toward more complex pressure-fed liquid propulsion using kerosene and liquid oxygen. The team placed second in the Base 11 design phase in 2019 and first in the competition’s Critical Design Review in 2021. On June 18, 2021, Space Concordia conducted a successful hot-fire test of its liquid rocket engine. The engine produced an average thrust of approximately 35 kilonewtons at ground level, an achievement presented as the highest thrust produced by a Canadian amateur rocketry team. StarSailor remains the organization’s principal liquid-rocket development project and is intended to reach the Kármán line. The organization’s work is carried out primarily by students, including much of the design, fabrication, integration, and testing. Space Concordia uses the Space Lab club room in the Henry F. Hall Building, the Cage basement workspace for storage and manufacturing, and Concordia’s Engineering Design and Manufacturing Lab for parts requiring machining or welding. University staff supervise the manufacturing lab and provide technical training. Space Concordia’s history therefore combines competitive results with the development of a durable student engineering infrastructure and a practical pathway into aerospace work.
- 2021
Critical Design Review victory and liquid-engine hot-fire test
[1]Space Concordia won the Base 11 Critical Design Review and later hot-fired its liquid engine at approximately 35 kilonewtons of average thrust.
- 2019
StarSailor project places second in Base 11 design phase
[1]The liquid-rocket project achieved second place during the design phase of the Base 11 Space Challenge.
- 2018
Supersonice wins at the Spaceport America Cup
[1]Supersonice reached approximately 30,000 feet and Mach 1.8, winning its competition category. The Rocketry division also began liquid-rocket development for the Base 11 Space Challenge.
- 2016
Satellite and rocketry competition results
[1]The Spacecraft division won the third Canadian Satellite Design Challenge, while the Rocketry division placed second in the basic category at the eleventh IREC.
- 2015
Arcturus places second at IREC
[1]Arcturus won second place in the payload category at the tenth Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition.
- 2012
Rocketry and Robotics divisions established
[1]Space Concordia expanded from satellite work into rocket development and rover-focused robotics.
- 2010
Organization founded and Consat-1 wins the first Canadian Satellite Design Challenge
[1]Scott Gleason founded Space Concordia at Concordia University to compete in the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge. The team’s Consat-1 entry won the inaugural competition.
Products and positioning
A university-based, hands-on aerospace engineering organization focused on student education, experimental space technology, and participation in international engineering competitions.
Satellite
Consat-1
Consat-1 was Space Concordia’s first satellite project and the organization’s entry in the inaugural Canadian Satellite Design Challenge. Its first-place result established the original satellite team and contributed to the later creation of the Spacecraft division.
Solid-fuel sounding rocket · 2015
Arcturus
Arcturus was Space Concordia Rocketry’s first rocket. The solid rocket reached approximately 12,705 feet and earned second place in the payload category at the 2015 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition.
Sounding rocket · 2016
Aurelius
Aurelius was the second rocket identified in Space Concordia’s rocket-development sequence. Public reference material names the vehicle and its 2016 date but does not provide enough technical detail to characterize its propulsion, mission, or competition results further.
Sounding rocket · 2017
Maurice
Maurice was a Space Concordia rocket developed during the organization’s early rocketry program. Available reference material identifies it as a 2017 vehicle but does not document additional specifications or results.
Supersonic sounding rocket · 2018
Supersonice
Supersonice was Space Concordia’s first reported supersonic competition rocket. It reached approximately 30,000 feet and a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 in 2018, winning first place in the 30,000-foot category at the Spaceport America Cup.
Liquid-propellant rocket · 2018
StarSailor
StarSailor is Space Concordia’s ongoing liquid-rocket program. The pressure-fed vehicle uses kerosene and liquid oxygen and is designed for a flight to the Kármán line. Its development includes a student-built engine and supporting ground-test infrastructure, including the mobile engine test stand known as Trailer Tom.
Brand decisions
2021
Liquid rocket engine hot-fire testProduct launchBackground
The StarSailor program required ground validation of its liquid propulsion system before any prospective flight campaign.
Action taken
On June 18, 2021, the team conducted a hot-fire test of its liquid-fueled engine.
Aftermath
The engine produced approximately 35 kilonewtons of average ground-level thrust, supporting the continued development of StarSailor.
2018
Shift toward liquid-propellant rocketryStrategyBackground
After competing with solid sounding rockets, the Rocketry division pursued a more ambitious vehicle for the Base 11 Space Challenge and a prospective Kármán-line flight.
Action taken
Space Concordia began developing StarSailor, a pressure-fed kerosene-and-liquid-oxygen rocket, while continuing its broader rocketry activities.
Aftermath
The project led to design-review successes in the Base 11 competition and a liquid-engine hot-fire test in 2021.
Recent events
- 2021
Space Concordia completes liquid-engine hot-fire test[1]
Product generation · Other
The Rocketry division successfully conducted a hot-fire test of its liquid-fuel engine, recording approximately 35 kilonewtons of average ground-level thrust.
- 2018
Supersonice wins its category at the Spaceport America Cup[1]
Other
The Supersonice rocket reached about 30,000 feet and Mach 1.8, earning first place in the competition’s 30,000-foot category.
- 2015
Arcturus places second at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition[1]
Other
Space Concordia’s first rocket, Arcturus, took second place in the payload category of the tenth Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition after reaching approximately 12,705 feet.
- 2012
Space Concordia adds Rocketry and Robotics divisions[1]
Other
The organization expanded beyond satellite work by creating divisions dedicated to rocket development and robotics.
- 2010
Space Concordia wins inaugural Canadian Satellite Design Challenge[1]
Other
The newly established student team entered the first Canadian Satellite Design Challenge with the Consat-1 satellite project and won first place.
Sources1 sources
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