Following last year’s historic win, the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) Rocketry Team clinched first runner-up with their rocket “Ayasib” during the Malaysia Rocket CanSat Competition (MRCC) 2026.
A second team also entered with a rocket named “Apollonio” that qualified for launch and was successfully mounted onto the launch rail, but ultimately failed to lift off due to weather delays and motor misfires.
The winning Ayasib succeeded last year’s championship-winning Pompano, carrying a scientific payload designed for atmospheric data collection.
AdDU Rocketry Team advisor Wilfredo Pardorla Jr. detailed that Ayasib was distinguished by its gas detection feature, in contrast to Pompano, which was defined by its reusability.
“The CanSat was designed to detect gases… During the competition, it detected elevated carbon monoxide and ammonia while Malaysia was experiencing a significant haze episode linked to regional fires in Indonesia,” Pardorla explained.
While Pompano focused on reusability, Ayasib expanded the team’s rocket applications by serving as an environmental monitoring platform through its scientific payload.
Meanwhile, Ayasib project lead Fritzie Mae Maniquez attributed their victory to the team’s dedication, experience, and financial support from sponsors, despite the challenges they faced during the competition.
“Ayasib’s win is borne of the team’s dedication and experience, made possible by the financial support from personal sponsors… Ayasib is an example of what a supported and dedicated student rocketry team can accomplish despite encountering problems out of our control.”
She also mentioned that the team aims to pursue further plans, with some projects already underway despite limited resources.
“I hope that competition awards would just be byproducts of the AdDU Rocketry Team hitting impressive rocket technology milestones in the future. Right now, I can see a lot of plans from the team—some are already being implemented—in rocket avionics, aerostructures, and payload, hindered only by the lack of materials and tools.”
Pardorla stressed that rocketry needs improved infrastructure to strengthen or further develop the program and its ecosystem.
“The competition also showed the need for a stronger rocketry ecosystem in the Philippines, particularly in the facilities, launch opportunities, continuity, and the number of universities developing similar programs,” he maintained.
Likewise, Maniquez hopes that rocketry will receive greater institutional support and attention, further developing students’ capabilities and contributions to the country’s aerospace sector.
“I hope the bureaucratic hurdles limiting us will be reduced. I hope that more people would bet on our capabilities, which we have proven time and again through awards, because these students will someday carry Philippine aerospace on their backs, benefiting not just Ateneo, not just Davao, but the whole country,” Maniquez asserted.
Weather, misfires, and launch regulations
Prior to launch, weather delays, motor misfires, and strict launch regulations hindered the AdDU Rocketry Team’s operations, limiting the flight windows and causing them to miss their launch opportunity.
Apollonio project lead Airrah Bea Alam explained that numerous issues encountered during operations pushed their assembly back despite being ready to launch, leading to additional delays and rushed operations.
“We were already at the site preparing for final assembly and diagnostics when the rain caused almost an hour of delay. Our rocket [Apollonio] was eventually fully prepared and placed on the launch rail, but the igniter failed to ignite the motor. It was then decided a misfire,” she said.
Maniquez shared that they experienced similar problems, resulting in narrow launch windows and a “first-come, first-served” basis during launch.
“Before our turn to launch, I was already alarmed by the number of misfires the launch director had announced. We almost didn’t even have our turn to launch because of a no-go caused by rain and wind… I had an uneasy feeling regarding our situation,” Maniquez explained.
Alam compared the launch regulations of MRCC 2026 with those of other competitions, noting the difference in treatment when technical failures or external circumstances occur.
“From our experience, when a misfire occurs due to the launch system or ignition process and is not attributable to the team or the rocket, teams are given another opportunity to fly. Being given another opportunity to fly is not simply about giving us another launch, it is about honoring the time, resources, and effort we invested to be there.”
Despite not being able to launch, she specified that getting their rocket to the launch rail and experiencing rocketry at an international level is already a significant achievement for the team.
“We are disappointed that we never got to validate our systems in flight. But even without the flight, the experience taught us how to troubleshoot, communicate, make decisions, and work as a team when conditions are far from ideal,” Alam shared.
The MRCC 2026 was held in Perak, Malaysia last September 8-10.