Comate partners with VTOL Rocketry to build Belgium's first student rocket
KU Leuven student teams have built a strong reputation for turning ambitious engineering ideas into reality. From the internationally acclaimed Innoptus Solar Team to Formula Electric Belgium, students have repeatedly demonstrated how innovation, teamwork and technical excellence can lead to remarkable results.
This academic year, a new team is taking on a challenge from an entirely different field: reusable rocket technology. VTOL Rocketry, founded by engineering students Robbe Lehaen and Leo Caers, aims to develop the technology behind a reusable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) rocket. To help make that ambition a reality, Comate is supporting the team with both engineering expertise and financial backing.
Learning from the technology that transformed spaceflight
One of the biggest breakthroughs in modern spaceflight was not launching rockets into space, but bringing them back safely. By recovering and reusing launch vehicles, space companies dramatically reduced costs and unlocked new possibilities for the industry. Developing that capability requires a combination of advanced technologies that must work together flawlessly, from propulsion and vehicle control to navigation and autonomous landing.
That's exactly the challenge VTOL Rocketry wants to tackle. Working from KU Leuven's TechnovationHub, the team is developing the VTX platform, a series of experimental vehicles designed to gradually master the technologies required for reusable flight.
After successfully validating key flight-control principles with the VTX-E, an initial electric prototype, the team is now working on VTX-1, its first liquid-powered rocket demonstrator. Rather than rushing towards a complete vehicle, the team is validating each subsystem separately before integrating them into a full platform.
Comate was the first partner to put its trust in VTOL Rocketry and support our vision. For a new student team, that early support means a lot.
Why Comate got involved
Over the years, we've worked on projects where reliability, testing and system integration are critical. That includes developing specialised test equipment for experiment modules destined for the International Space Station.
But our support for VTOL Rocketry is about more than technology. Projects like this offer students something difficult to replicate in a classroom setting: the experience of turning a complex idea into a working product. Designing systems, sourcing components, building prototypes, performing tests, solving unexpected problems and collaborating towards a shared goal are all part of the engineering journey.
Building hardware teaches lessons no textbook can. Students who design, build, test and improve real products gain experience that puts them years ahead at the start of their careers.
As part of the partnership, Comate provides both financial support and access to experienced engineers who can assist with design reviews, electronics, software development and technical challenges throughout the project.
From student rockets to space hardware
VTOL Rocketry may be a student project, but the engineering challenges involved are very real. Aerospace projects demand rigorous testing, system integration and reliability, disciplines that are already part of Comate's experience.
For example, Comate developed specialised Engineering Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) for testing experiment modules destined for the International Space Station as part of a project for Redwire Space.
What's next?
With the new academic year underway, VTOL Rocketry's focus is firmly on the design and development of the VTX-1 platform.
Over the coming months, the team will design, build and validate core subsystems including propulsion, thrust vector control, navigation and autonomous landing systems. Their first official test campaign is scheduled for December. Every successful subsystem test moves the project one step closer to a fully integrated reusable VTOL vehicle.
Just as Formula Electric Belgium and the Innoptus Solar Team evolved into internationally respected engineering teams, VTOL Rocketry hopes to demonstrate that reusable rocket technology deserves a place among Belgium's most ambitious student innovation projects.
About VTOL Rocketry
VTOL Rocketry is a KU Leuven student team focused on the development of reusable vertical take-off and landing systems. Through the VTX project, the team is creating a platform for hands-on aerospace engineering, research and technological innovation. Students develop and test all major subsystems themselves, including propulsion, avionics, structures, guidance, navigation, safety systems and test infrastructure.
