Overview
The Nakuja Project is a student-led rocketry programme at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya. The goal is to develop a liquid-propellant rocket capable of delivering nanosatellites into low Earth orbit — making Kenya and the broader East African region contributors to the global space economy.
All work is open source, low-cost, and student-operated in partnership with the Kenya Space Agency (KSA).
My Involvement
I joined the propulsion sub-team during the N-2 development cycle and contributed through the N-3 and N-3.5 launches. My work spanned motor design, static fire testing, and data acquisition — and fed directly into two peer-reviewed papers published at JKUAT-COETEC 2024:
- Development of Solid Propellant Motor for Low Altitude Model Rockets — N-2 motor (35 N avg thrust, 34 m apogee)
- Development of a Solid Propellant Motor for High-Powered Model Rockets — N-3 motor (151.7 N avg thrust, 280 m apogee)
Propulsion Development
Each rocket in the Nakuja series uses a custom solid propellant motor designed, fabricated, and tested by the team. The propellant is a potassium nitrate / sucrose-dextrose mixture — chosen for availability, cost, and predictable burn characteristics.
The nozzle geometry is convergent-divergent, machined in-house from mild steel. We validated designs using static fire tests on a purpose-built thrust stand instrumented with load cells and a custom data acquisition system that logs thrust, chamber pressure, and burn time.
Key milestones:
| Rocket | Launch | Avg Thrust | Apogee | |--------|--------|-----------|--------| | N-1 | May 2021 | — | ~50 m | | N-2 | November 2022 | 35 N | ~34 m | | N-3 | January 2024 | 151.7 N | ~280 m | | N-3.5 | May 2024 | — | — | | N-4 | November 2024 | — | — |
KSA Partnership & Broglio Visit
The Kenya Space Agency facilitates our launch clearances and has hosted the team at the Broglio Space Center in Malindi — Kenya's historic satellite tracking facility. The visit gave the team hands-on exposure to ground station infrastructure, satellite dish arrays, and orbital mechanics in a professional setting.
Photo Gallery
N-1 and N-2 rocket models
N-1 launch prep in the field
Post-fire solid motor casing
Machined convergent-divergent nozzles
JKUAT Innovation Exhibits
Team design session
At Broglio Space Center, Malindi
Broglio ground station dishes
Broglio satellite tracking array