The Aerospace & Rocketry Pathway
Aerospace is the rare K-12 track with a real local network behind it: most states have a rocketry club that launches monthly, lends a beginner a pad, and certifies high-power flyers. That matters, because the ceiling here is set by certification rather than age — a student cannot fly the motors NASA Student Launch requires until they have passed a Level 1 flight in front of club observers. The cheap entry points are model rocketry and drones; the software-only competitions need no hardware budget at all.
The progression, grade by grade
8 programs in this pathway, ordered from earliest grade to most advanced. Click any step for full details.
Aerial Drone Competition (Aerial Drone)
Piloted and autonomous drone matches in a netted arena — the cheapest way into aviation competition.
Zero Robotics
Write code that flies free-floating robots aboard the International Space Station.
American Rocketry Challenge (TARC)
The world's largest student rocket contest. Team event for grades 7–12 — design, build and launch a rocket that hits a specific altitude and flight time.
CanSat Competition (CanSat)
Build a satellite that fits in a soda can, then survive a rocket launch and a controlled descent.
International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC)
A 40-hour simulated aerospace-industry contract bid, run as an overnight engineering marathon.
NASA HUNCH (HUNCH)
Build real hardware and software that NASA actually flies or uses on the ISS.
NASA Student Launch (Student Launch)
Nine-month NASA engineering challenge: design, build, and fly a high-power rocket to one mile.
StellarXplorers National Space Challenge (StellarXplorers)
Space-systems design done on a computer — orbits, satellites, and launch vehicles, no hardware budget.