Guanajuato students to present “Xolo” rocket in the United States

GUANAJUATO - Students from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Guanajuato are ready to represent their state and Mexico with an experimental rocket called "Xolo".

The students will participate in the international high-power rocket competition, Spaceport America Cup, to be held in the United States from June 17 to 22 of this year.

The team, known as Kondakova Rocketry, will participate in the competition with its "Xolo" mission, an experimental rocket developed entirely in Guanajuato.

This event is the largest and most important of its kind in the world and brings together the best rocketry engineering talent from various global universities.

The rocket's name "Xolo" honors the representative Mexican dog, following the team's tradition of naming its missions after canines, such as Belka and Strelka, the first dogs to survive space travel.

This rocket is more than three meters long, weighs 20 kilos, and has an external diameter of 17 cm. Its goal is to reach an altitude of 3,048 meters, with a maximum speed of 10.98 kilometers per hour. As well as a center of gravity located at 2.2 meters.

Also, "Xolo" is manufactured with innovative materials such as coconut fiber, sisal fiber and fiberglass.

It is worth mentioning that the Spaceport America Cup is the largest intercollegiate rocketry engineering competition in the sector, annually bringing together more than 5,000 participants from the best universities in the world.