top of page

The structural department

The structural department is responsible for manufacturing all the elements that compose the rocket, such as the tubes, fins, nose cone, the parts where the motor and the flight computer will be installed. Besides manufacturing, the structural department is previously assigned to design the mentioned parts. Research and documentation are required to come to a qualitative final product. Members of this department mainly work in the composites lab with various types of materials, especially composites such as carbon fibre, glass fibre, with resins, epoxy. Moreover, the team works with different machining methods like CNC machining, 3D printing, laser cut, milling, drilling, sanding. Everything is done during the work sessions which are planned in advance. The department is also looking into the possibility of building rockets out of more sustainable materials for the long-term future of AQUILO.

The structural department consists, as every department, of a department head, members and advisors. The current department is shown below. The members deal with a workload that is both practical and theoretical.

Eliana-Andreea Paun.jpeg

Head of the department

I'm Eliana-Andreea Păun, the head of the structural department for 2022-2023 and second year Aeronautical Engineering student. I joined AQUILO in June 2022. I'm Romanian, 20 years old. I have been keen on everything related to the aerospace and aviation industry for over a few years. Being curious and hard-working, I am always looking for improvement in my life, thus I came to study in the Netherlands. I consider that studying aeronautical engineering here and taking part in AQUILO Rocket Team is a great opportunity and a challenge at the same time for me to develop both personal and professional plans. I took over the department from Justine Straatsma in September and, together with my department, will focus on the manufacturing of AQUILO VIII. Through this all we will work on AQUILO's autonomy and professionality by setting precedent documentation files. This way we secure AQUILO's future for years to come.

  • LinkedIn

Contact

You can reach me either via email (department) or via phone (personal)

THE DEPARTMENT

bottom of page