About UKRA

The United Kingdom Rocketry Association (UKRA) represents high power, mid power, model and amateur/experimental rocketry in the United Kingdom, providing safety codes, documentation, development programmes, guidance and recommendations to promote safe and legal amateur rocket flights.  Flying clubs in the UK affiliated with UKRA fly under the UKRA Safety Code and collaborate through the UKRA Council to develop and improve rocketry for both UKRA affiliated and non-UKRA affiliated fliers.

UKRA is also the specialist body to the BMFA with responsibilities for High Power Rocketry. UKRA liaises with government bodies on behalf of UK rocketeers and, through it's certification programme and network of Range Safety Officers, ensures safe launches.

UKRA members and their flights are insured directly with the BMFA, full details of the insurance including how to apply to be a member may be found here. Members of local rocketry clubs should apply for BMFA membership, and hence insurance, through their normal club membership process.

Since the formation of UKRA in 1996, UKRA has worked with the BMFA to provide insurance, up to and including commercially available M-class rocket motors (these are motors of up to 10,240 Newton seconds total impulse). Please note that BMFA insurance explicitly excludes commercial activity and therefore BMFA insurance is only suitable for recreational, sport and amateur flights. Individual insurance is subject to BMFA regulation and customers of BMFA insurance should contact the BMFA directly for insurance questions.

UKRA has formed a number of certification programmes, initially including a high-power rocketry programme later extended to include junior certifications for flying high-power rockets.  More recently UKRA has developed the Model Achievement Programme, extending educational and promotional activities into schools and youth groups, in an effort to popularise the hobby, and provide encouragement and inspiration to future generations of rocketeers.

Origins

During a meeting of rocketeers at the International Rocket Weekend in Largs in Scotland, in August 1996, it was discussed and agreed by all UK rocketry groups and individuals present, that the UK rocketry community needed a national association dedicated to rocketry. One that would provide insurance, safety guidelines and liase on rocketeers behalf with government bodies. UKRA was the result. Rocketeers from groups existing at that time such as; STAAR Research, MARS, NSRG, Thrust, AspireSpace, North West Rockets and groups that were to form in the following years such as; EARS and Black Knights, were all represented, as well as a Board Member of the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) from the U.S. and the Chair of UK-SEDS.

How we do it

UKRA is a formally constituted association. As such we have a constitution which defines our aims and an associated set of documentation which expands upon those aims and describes how the association operates.

Download

The documentation is also available for download as PDFs. To read these you will need a PDF reader.