Spica is an enormous project, and we need more hands to help, which is why we started the recruits project. This is our program to get more interested and talented people like you into Copenhagen Suborbitals, while teaching you how to build rockets before helping with Spica. Applications for the 2022 recruits team are now open, so if this sounds interesting to you, keep reading!

We also made a short video on our youtube channel announcing this, go watch it if you haven’t:

What the recruits will be doing

Over the course of 18 months, the recruits will be designing, building, testing and flying a medium-sized bi-propellant rocket based on previous CS experience and technology. This includes laying out the target capabilities of the rocket, designing the structure and fluids system, designing electronics and software architecture, soldering, coding, testing, and iterating before finally launching the rocket! We want to push our BPM5 engine to the limits and squeeze out every last bit of performance, so we’ll be refining the technology to achieve higher and higher pressures.

Even though the project duration is 18 months, a new team will be started every year, giving an overlap of around half a year. The teams start in winter and launch during summer of the following year.

Who and what we need

This year, we are aiming for a team of 12 to 16 people with a variety of skills and interests. Specifically, we are looking for:

• 2 media people, who will be responsible for filming, video editing and social media outreach
• 2 fundraising and outreach people, who will be looking for company sponsorships, either material or monetary to help fund the rocket
• 1 producer, who will be responsible for tying together the story of the recruits in a coherent narrative
• 4 mechanical people, who will work with the aerodynamics, structure and manufacturing. Preferable you have an interest in or experience with some mechanical design and machining
• 3 electronics people, who will be responsible for designing, producing, testing and integrating the electronics on the rocket
• 2 software people, who will design the software architecture and implement it on a microcontroller
• 2 project managers, who will keep the project on track and make sure everyone has something to do

As a bonus, if we receive a lot of applications, there will also be space for an additional:

• 4 payload specialists, who will be developing a payload to fly on the rocket, parallel to the rocket development itself

You don’t need to be an expert in any of these things to apply, all you need is to be interested and willing to learn. We have internal courses on everything from rocket engine dynamics to machining, welding and CAM. If you already are an expert, you are still more than welcome of course, we will find something to challenge everyone!

Some of the roles can be fulfilled remotely, like project management, software and the producer, but it is preferable that you are close to the workshop in Copenhagen. Lastly, the responsibilities are not set in stone. If you applied for software, but you are also interested in machining, that is no problem. The producer can also help with editing, electronics people can help with filming, etc. It is all very flexible.

How to apply

To apply, you need to be at least 18 years old. Applying is very simple, just go to the contact form on the bottom of our contact page and fill in your name and email address. In the subject, put [Recruits 2022] (with the brackets) and then the role that you are applying for and whether you are remote or not. For example “[Recruits 2022] software”.

Then write a bit about yourself in the message field. Why do you want to be a part of the recruits? Do you have any experience with what you are applying for? Will you be working remotely, or can you come to the workshop?

We are looking forward to hearing from all of you, and getting this new recruits team off the ground!