Tommy Richards
"Engineering has a great range of facilities all over the campus, from the Engineering Design Centre to the Workshops. This allows us to compete in extracurricular competitions, like the ones I take part in with Peryton Space."
Course
Aerospace Engineering MEngEntry year
2019Why did you choose to come to Surrey?
When I visited the campus for the first time, I could instantly see myself studying here for five years. There was a great community feel and the location of the campus - between the town centre and all the countryside Surrey has to offer - was really appealing.
Why are you passionate about your subject?
I have always loved space and the idea of exploring our galaxy. The fact that the University had amazing facilities like the Space Centre really drew me here. I also liked the flexibility of the course; being able to change discipline, being able to have a placement and being able to switch between BEng and MEng courses (a BEng is a three-year undergraduate degree, while an MEng is a four-year undergraduate degree with an integrated masters).
How do the facilities like on your course help your studies?
Engineering has a great range of facilities all over the campus, from the Engineering Design Centre to the Workshops. This allows us to compete in extracurricular competitions, like the ones I take part in with Peryton Space.
What is Peryton Space?
We are a team of about 50 students competing in a variety of competitions, ranging from Rocketry to Satellite Design. I joined Peryton when it was started by a few Space Engineering MSc students in January 2020, during my first year. Then Covid hit and the team became dormant. However I decided to start it up again at the end of my first year and I’ve been the Team Leader ever since. The decision to take over as the Team Lead of Peryton Space was the best decision I have made at University. It has opened up so many doors. “For example, I think it was the main reason I was selected to take part in the ESA (European Space Agency) Academy Spacecraft Testing Workshop in Belgium in 2022 and it allowed me to travel to Italy as part of a collaboration with the Advanced Technology Institute.
The team recently won two national competitions: the UKSEDS Satellite Design Competition and the Mach 23 1.5 km Category Rocketry Competition. We are also waiting to hear the results of our UKSEDS National Rocketry Championship team, who completed two successful launches this year. UKSEDS, which stands for UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, is a nationwide student Space society that runs many competitions and conferences for universities every year.
As Team Lead, my role was to support all teams and ensure they had the support and resources they needed to succeed. I was also the Test Lead and a team member of the Mach 23 Team, so I ensured all structural tests were completed successfully as well as testing our flight computers and dual parachute deployment system. I also helped to build the final rocket and the prototypes we used for testing.
I cannot wait to see what the team will do during my final year!
