Govind Tekale
Turner Fenton Secondary School students made Canadian aerospace history on August 19, 2025, at 10:42 a.m. when their “Spectre” rocket launched from Timmins, Ontario during the Launch Canada competition. The Brampton team’s rocket reached a maximum speed of 1,148 km/h (0.95 Mach) and an altitude of 10,147 feet (3,092 meters) during its just over one-minute flight.
“This achievement reflects the innovation, collaboration and determination of Turner Fenton’s Rocketry Association,” said Rashmi Swarup, Director of Education at Peel District School Board. “With 110 members, this student-driven team has already launched two Stallion rockets and with Spectre, demonstrated the incredible potential of young people to lead in STEM fields.”
The Turner Fenton Rocketry Association (TFRA), a group of more than 110 students, prepared extensively for this competition. After the launch, they tracked the rocket’s descent via two sequential parachutes, eventually locating Spectre suspended in the boreal forest canopy about three hours after launch.
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Launch Canada 2025, held in Timmins, featured 30 university teams competing. TFRA was the only high school team in the field, making their successful launch and recovery even more notable.
Timothy Shing, the teacher leading TFRA, has supported the students through their development process. The Spectre project built upon experience gained from previous TFRA initiatives, including two “Stallion” rockets launched before this competition-level design.
The team received support through Peel District School Board’s SPARK (Student Projects Advancing Research and Knowledge) and LEIP (Learning and Education Innovation Project) programs.
Turner Fenton’s principal Kevin Williams acknowledged how the school board has supported this achievement: “Many behind the scenes people made this possible. I’m very, very thankful for the opportunity and the investment this board has offered to Turner Fenton, in particular, the students that had the vision and the dream.”
Launch Canada is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing rocketry and aerospace innovation through hands-on learning. Their mission is to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators by giving students real-world experience in design, manufacturing, testing, and teamwork.
“Spectre was a journey of planning, designing, building, and working together. It was truly an engineering experience,” said TFRA members Dhyan Soni, Nishargo Syeed and Divyansh Thangudu. “Building three rockets this year showed us that with dedication and hard work, anything is possible,” adding that “watching Spectre soar and return safely was unforgettable.”
The Spectre rocket, measuring 102 inches and made of fiberglass, was powered by a Cesaroni rocket motor targeting an apogee of approximately 3,220 meters. This technological achievement by high school students competing against university teams demonstrates the effectiveness of hands-on STEM education programs.
Turner Fenton Secondary School’s Rocketry Association launched and recovered their Spectre rocket at Launch Canada 2025, marking the first time in Canadian history that a high school team has launched and recovered a competition rocket.
