About this competition
StellarXplorers is the rare aerospace competition with almost no barrier to entry. Teams of two to five students work through online rounds using professional orbital-mechanics and satellite-design software, solving scenarios like selecting an orbit for an imaging mission, sizing a satellite bus, or choosing a launch vehicle and window.
Because everything happens in software, there is no airframe to build, no launch field to find, and no motor certification to chase. A school with a computer lab and a willing teacher can field a team. That makes it the single most practical entry point for students interested in space systems rather than rocketry hardware.
Run by the Space Force Association, the competition moves through qualifying rounds to semifinals and a national final. The skills map unusually directly onto what aerospace engineers actually do at a desk.
Season & deadlines
Team registration opens in late summer; qualifying rounds run from fall through winter, with the national final in spring.
Season window: September through April.
Cost
Up to $300 — Modest per-team registration fee; the design software used in competition is provided. No hardware costs at all.
Prizes & outcomes
National finalist placings, scholarships