Melbourne, AU  —  Mechanical Engineering

Lachlan Miegel

Final-year Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate student at the University of Melbourne and Hansen Scholar — one of 17 selected nationally. I design, analyse, and build high-performance sounding rockets. I lead ARES Rocketry, a 120-member student engineering organisation building ARES' first student researched and developed hybrid rocket, Project Odyssey, with my Tripoli Level 3 certification rocket launching Q3 2026!

Background

I entered university with a strong existing commitment to engineering, particularly in composites manufacturing, which I had already begun developing independently. Joining ARES Rocketry allowed me to explore my passion for rocketry in a team environment, and within six months I became Structures Lead. Since then, my involvement has significantly deepened my technical capability and strengthened my long-standing passion for engineering.

I currently work as a Quality Control Engineer at Hargo Engineering, performing dimensional inspection and FAI of precision aerospace components to AS9100 standards. I also serve as Secretary and Launch Control Officer of the Victorian Rocketry Association — Australia's largest Tripoli prefecture.

Alongside launching my Level 3 later this year, I am manufacturing a fin-can for what will be the altitude record on an O3400 rocket motor. This record stands at 75 000 ft, we are projecting 81 000 ft, where I am constructing the fin-can to withstand Mach 3.5 flight.

I want to work on launch vehicles and rocket systems - please get in touch if you want to chat!

Lachlan with Project SA Great

Selected projects

All projects →
Project SA Great
Mach 2 · 24,000 ft · Solo build
SA Great
Tripoli L3 cert. rocket. Designed and built entirely by me.
Project Odyssey
M Class · 10,000 ft · Team Lead
Project Odyssey
ARES' first student designed and researched hybrid rocket.
O3400 Record Rocket
Mach 3.5 · 81,000 ft · Record Attempt
O3400 Record Rocket
Fin can lead. Aerodynamic carbon sleeve for Mach 3.5 flight.