UC Rocketry Project

Media and Communications

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August 2020: "Rocket launch at Waikaia goes off with a bang" - Southland times

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May 2020: Christchurch Aerospace Blog, "Women In Engineering Canterbury 2020 Rocketry Workshop"

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November 2019: "Aerospace Student Case Study, Exploring the edge of aerospace technology", Dr Philipp Sueltrop, Christchurch NZ success story

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October 2019: "Launching Southland into Space - Great South" - Presentation for World Space Week

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October 2019: UC Rocketry PhD student Kerry Clapham in article from Southland express, "Satellite station on show"

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July 2019: - UC Rocketry featured in Washington Post article "50 years after America's moon mission, some of the smallest nations on Earth have                          joined the space". It was also in The Independent and the Philadelphia enquiry.

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July 2018: - "Kiwi innovation could lead to (even) better rockets" - NZ Herald

                   - "Watch this Space: Faster and Cheaper to launch thanks to Kiwi Know-how” – NZ Engineering  News

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March 2018:  Contribution to Listener article (March 3-9) on "Second Chances", jobs for ex-offenders. UC Rocketry and Dr Chris Hann featured on page 26 (https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/new-zealand-listener/20180226/281522226576104).

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June 2017: Preliminary rocket launches for a planned Mangakahia Area School rocket program featured in Northern Advocate (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11876173)

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June 2016:   - UC Rocketry and Dr Hann featured in the Sapere, Economic Impact Analysis of the Development of a Rocket Launch Industry report released by the MInistry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This report was part of the supporting documents for the NZ Space Agency. 

(http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/space) 

                      - UC Rocketry's aerospace training programme mentioned in the Businesses-Information and Communications Technology answers by Steven Joyce (Minister of Science and Innovation) in a NZ parliament session (http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/business/qua/51HansQ_20160616_00000005/5-businesses%E2%80%94information-and-communications-technology)

 

December 2015:   New Zealand Engineering News 2016 Annual directory, "Top People and companies in the New Zealand Engineering Industry". Dr Hann was one of 60 people "selected for their outstanding and enduring contributions to the New Zealand engineering and manufacturing industries".

 

June 2015:   "Rocket Lab, university to educate aerospace engineers" - New Zealand Engineering News, June 2015

 

May 2015:  UC Rocketry featured in an episode "Space" of Nigel Latta's TV1 science series "Nigel Latta Blows Stuff Up" (see advert video below or https://www.tvnz.co.nz/nigel-latta-blows-stuff-up/s1pep6-video-6312663). The episode involved sending up a video of Nigel Latta talking on a cell phone up to around 25 km in a balloon, streaming in real-time back to earth and successfully recovering his cell phone. Nigel also filmed a rocket launch at Birdlings Flat which included several UC Rocketry personnel. The balloon launch was a complete success and it was retrieved within 400 m of the launch site which was on the Guide Hill Station farm near Lake Tekapo.

 

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May 2015: - University of Canterbury press release on collaboration with Rocket Lab to train aerospace engineers (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1505/S00071/rocket-lab-uc-collaborating-to-educate-aerospace-engineers.htm

 http://www.comsdev.canterbury.ac.nz/rss/news/?articleId=1705)                                                                       

                    - "Collaboration seeks to educate aerospace engineers" published in "The Borneo Post" (largest English daily newspaper in Borneo which is an island divided into three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei), 23 May 2015

                     (http://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-borneo-post/20150523/281904476767354/TextView)

                    - Another article in idealog, issue #57, May-June 2015 idealog (http://idealog.co.nz/tech/2015/05/rocket-lab-and-uc-collab-simple-principle-complex-reality)

                    - "Rocket Lab, university to educate aerospace engineers" - published in New Zealand Engineering News, June 2015

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January 2015: Dr Chris Hann featured in the NZ Engineering News annual directory 2015 (see below). These are the people who are "leading the field and setting trends, providing leadership and inspiration, or have had outstanding achievements the past year". Two Arrow International personnel also made it and Arrow was in the list of top innovative companies thanks to the rover which was a spin-off technology from UC rocketry 

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Annual summary of media coverage (2010-2014):

 

 

2014

 

• February: A UC rocketry course was launched for engineering students, the only course of its kind in New Zealand (http://www.comsdev.canterbury.ac.nz/rss/news/?feed=news&articleid=1216). Articles were in The Press, The Christchurch Mail, and was online on Radio NZ National, News Talk ZB.

 

• April: UC rocketry personnel featured in the UC marketing campaign representing UC Engineering. The marketing included an 8m billboard outside the Christchurch airport which was up for 6 months (see below), on a billboard outside Northlands Mall, Riccarton Mall, Blenheim Road overbridge and at many bus stops around Christchurch. Was in a 2-page advertisement for the NZ Geographic and Listener, and the front page of the UC 2015 postgraduate prospectus as well as many other UC promotional events around the country and on the UC website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• July: George Buchanan and David Wright were in the Avenues Magazine "The rocket Men", http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/avenues/10276921/The-rocket-men

 

• August: The world record breaking rocket Milly featured in Newstalk ZB, Timaru Herald, The Press, The NZ Herald and around most of the provincial newspapers around NZ. It was also posted on the TV3 news and TV1 news website which included a UC rocket video that received 144 likes and 10 tweets. It also received in total, more than 150 likes on the UC facebook page. 

 

• August: George Buchanan featured in Canta Magazine "Meet the locals: Rocket Man"

 

• September: UC Rocketry world record was in the NZ Engineering news as a case study alongside the Rocket Lab Electron article (see below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2013

         

• December: Major media coverage of our NZ record attempt. In Chronicle logical order: 20 Dec - Newstalk ZB, 21 Dec - Wairarapa times, 22 Dec - TV3 news and NZ Herald, 23 Dec - The Press, 24 Dec - TV1 news and Timaru Herald. The TV1 news story was 4th on the headline news for Christmas Eve.

 

 

2012

 

• February: "Your Weekend" article in Press and Dominion Post on Dr Chris Hann's Rutherford Discovery Fellowship award and his working life story to date

 

• April: Mach 2 vehicle (Sarah) featured on Campbell Live - most watched story on TV3 for a week. The Sarah supersonic rocket also featured in second page of The Press, The Otago Daily Times, Dominion Post, Sunday Star Times, TVNZ national news website, Akaroa Mail, The Review-Otago, Classic hits and RDU

 

• September: The early development of the small Melissa supersonic rocket as part of a summer scholarship generated a lot of interest in local papers throughout the country including The News-Westport, Wanganui Chronicle, Daily Post, Hawkes Bay Weekend, Northern Advocate, Bay of Plenty Times, Wairarapa Times Age, Otago Daily Times, Akaroa Mail, Christchurch Mail. It also featured on the TVNZ Breakfast Show.

 

• September: UC Rocketry featured in the business section of The Press for the Canterbury Software Summit

 

 

2011 

 

• October, Dr Chris Hann interviewed on Radio NZ "Our Changing World" for a story "Self Correcting Rockets", also featured Avinash Rao (see http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/20111006)

 

 

2010

 

• February,"One Giant Leap for Amberley Paddock" - Third page of The Press, also in Hurunui News

 

 

 

 

Courses:

 

University of Canterbury's ENGR402 – Rocket system design and control (limited entry 2014) 

 

 

Publications:

 

3 rocket journal articles, 3 conference papers and 1 US provisional patent