ROCKETRY SA
CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS
This page is dedicated to the History of Rocketry clubs and Associations in South Africa.
Please have a look at the History of Rocketry in South Africa for more information on the use of Rockets by the military and government by clicking on the button below..
Although historically, South Africa has never enjoyed a National awareness of Rocketry, enthusiasts throughout the country continue to engage in the various areas of Rocketry.
Since the late 80’s there have been a number of individuals, groups, clubs and associations that have promoted rocketry in South Africa..
SA Model Rocketry Association (SAMRA)
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The SA Model Rocketry Association (SAMRA) was established in 1978 with a focus on the Promotion of Model Rocketry The Model Rocketry Association of South Africa was the first Rocketry Association in South Africa. The Association published a regular (quarterly) newsletter. At its peak, the Association had a membership component of around 2400 members. The Association was very active up to the late 90’s, at which time the supply of Model Rocket Engines started to dry up. With no local manufacturers of Model Rocket Motors, and a system that deemed Rocketry a threat, The SAPS single-handedly managed to “kill” Model Rocketry in South Africa with the implementation of regulations By 1990, Rockets disappeared from hobby shops, with many shops reporting losses due to rocket kits becoming “unwanted stock” With the exception of a few individuals who were able to acquire limited quantities of Model Rocket Motors via unknown sources, The Model Rocketry Association adopted the NAR Model Rocketry Safety Codes The SA Model Rocketry Association (SAMRA) is now fully incorporated under Rocketry SA |
Rocketry Association SA
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The Rocketry Association of South Africa was established in 1984, following a break-away from the SA Model Rocketry Association. The Association also referred to themselves as”SA Rocketry”, while some members referred to the association as RASA Due to the fact that the The Model Rocketry Association refused to allow non-certified rocket motors at their launches, there was a lot of tension within the association, with a growing number of member advocating and promoting the idea of manufacturing and promoting Model and High Power Rocketry using locally non-certified manufactured rocket motors and components. Members of the Association obtained a limited manufacturing permit, and with the help of a pyrotechnics engineer and pharmacist proceeded to manufacture a limited number of model rocket motors that looked and performed similar to Estes Motors. The Rocketry Association of South Africa was the first (known) rocketry Association in South Africa to try and setup a Motor testing and certification service similar to what the NAR and Tripoli had implemented. The testing of the locally manufactured motors was a requirement of the limited explosive manufacturing permit the members had obtained- although a recent inquiry produced no evidence of any locally-manufactured approved motors (this may well be due to poor archiving of historic documents) The Association was active up until around 1991, then disappeared from the public eye. The Association continued to circulate their quarterly newsletter up to mid 1996. In the last issue of the newsletter, the editor wrote: “We would like to thank all our loyal members, rocketry friends and fellow dreamers for the support during the last couple of years. Sadly due to the fact that we have been unable to secure our explosive manufacturing permit from the Police, we have been forced to terminate our manufacturing and supply of motors and igniters.. The Association will continue to support its members, but we realize without a secure supply of motors, the Association and indeed the hobby of rocketry is at risk of fading into the mist of history..” Members of the Association however continued to meet from time to time with irregular launches held up until 2004. The Rocketry Association of South Africa adopted the International NAR Model Rocketry Safety Codes Rocketry Association of SA is now fully incorporated under Rocketry SA |
SAASA
The original Safety Standards and Codes where (gratefully) based on those of New Zealand, but were subsequently re-written to comply with South African Regulations as well to bring the Codes in line with the Tripoli and NAR Codes. |
SA Experimental Sounding Rocket Association
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The SA Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (SA – ESRA) was established in 1984 The primary focus of the group has been to develop a Sounding Rocket and to promote Scientific Research The Association focused on Sounding Rockets with a 50 000ft target. The Association, reached altitudes around 28 000ft (their home-built altimeter failed at around 30 000ft, which leaves a bit of doubt as to the highest alt reached, although a number of members claimed to have reached 42 000ft). The Association loosely adopted International Amateur Rocketry Safety Codes. SA Experimental Sounding Rocket Association is now fully incorporated under Rocketry SA |
SARA
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The South African Rocketry Association (SARA) was unofficially formed in the late 90’s, followed by a period of “free-to-do-as-you-please” experimentation (resulting in a split of the membership) in early 2003. Since 2003, the group, re-focused their research efforts, which ultimately resulted in a positive turn-around and development of the “RNX” motor. The group focuses on Amateur Rocketry and have a self-proclaimed special mission to “reach the altitude of 100km” The group is dedicated to the research of mainly Liquid and Hybrid Rocket Motors, although experimentation with solid fuels have been/continues to be conducted. The group comprises of 10-15 Active Members A brief Timeline of SARA:
Although there is no evidence of published rules and regulations, the group based their rules on the USA HPR codes. The Group continues to play an important role in keeping Amateur Rocketry alive in South Africa. |
Amateur Rocketry Association of SA (ARASA)
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The Amateur Rocketry Association of SA (ARASA) was founded in 1992 ARASA’s main goal was the research and development of Amateur / Experimental Rocket Motors and alternative fuels Membership in the club was limited to a handful of rocketeers who shared a passion for engineering and science. Although the group only met every other month, they successfully developed, built, launched and safely recovered a number of hybrid motors, the designs of which have been passed onto the SA Experimental Sounding Rocket group. The group mainly experimented with zink-sulfur (ZS), Hydrogen/Oxygen hybrids and later on APCP propellants. The group was terminated mid 1996, and all further research and development officially halted after the group failed to obtain the necessary permits/licenses required for “explosive manufacturing” and/or approval from the SAPS. The Association adopted the Rocketry SA codes, which are based on International Amateur Rocketry Safety Codes ARASA is fully incorporated under Rocketry SA |
HPR Rocketry Association
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Established in 2003 with the intention of Promoting High Power Rocketry in South Africa. The HPR Rocketry Association actively and regularly conducted launches. The HPR group based their initial Safety Standards and Codes of that of New Zealand The HPR Rocketry Association is now fully incorporated under Rocketry SA |
Rocketry Association SA (** not to be confused with Rocketry SA)
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The Rocketry Association South Africa (the Association referred to themselves as: “SA Rocketry” ) was established in 1984, following a break-away from the SA Model Rocketry Association. Due to the fact that the The Model Rocketry Association refused to allow non-commercial rocket motors at their launches, there was a lot of tension within the association, with a growing number of member advocating and promoting the idea of manufacturing and promoting Model and High Power Rocketry using locally manufactured rocket motors and components as apposed to importing. Members of the Association obtained a limited manufacturing permit, and with the help of a pyrotechnics engineer and pharmacist proceeded to manufacture a limited number of model rocket motors (essentially the motors were based on the Estes design). The Rocketry Association of South Africa was the first (known) rocketry Association in South Africa to try and setup a Motor testing and certification service similar to what the NAR and Tripoli had implemented. The testing of the locally manufactured motors was a requirement of the limited explosive manufacturing permit the members had obtained. The Association was active up until around 1991, then disappeared from the public eye. The Association continued to circulate their quarterly newsletter up to mid 1996. In the last issue of the newsletter, the editor wrote: “We would like to thank all our loyal members, rocketry friends and fellow dreamers for the support during the last couple of years. Sadly due to the fact that we have been unable to secure our explosive manufacturing permit from the Police, we have been forced to terminate our manufacturing and supply of motors and igniters.. The Association will continue to support its members, but we realize without a secure supply of motors, the Association and indeed the hobby of rocketry is at risk of fading into the mist of history..” Members of the Association however continued to meet from time to time with irregular launches held up until 2004. The Rocketry Association of South Africa originally used the International NAR Model Rocketry Safety Codes Rocketry Association of SA is now fully incorporated under Rocketry SA |
Other Rocketry Groups in South Africa
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Since 2010, a number South African Rocketry Clubs were formed, which may or may not exist today.. Most of these clubs base their “rules and policies” on those of NAR,Tripoli and SAASA/Rocketry SA.
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