Events Category: Student Competitions and Events

Robert Goddard: First Launch Centennial

Thousands of adults and young people (students, parents, engineers, technical professionals, and more) will celebrate the centennial of Robert Goddard’s first successful liquid-fueled rocket launch on 16 March 1926.

To acknowledge the pivotal role that both Robert and his wife, Esther, played in shaping our modern world, AIAA is working with dozens of aeronautic, rocketry, and aviation organizations to jointly celebrate and recognize the advancements made by these brilliant people. Between 16–22 March, join thousands of other rocketry and space enthusiasts of all ages in honoring the Goddards by launching a rocket and sharing it on social media using the hashtag #Goddard100Launch.

No matter where in the world you are, you can be a part of this celebration by posting pictures and descriptions of your experience with rocketry at any level. Whether it’s a stomp rocket in the backyard, or a high-powered rocket launched by a university team – join the mass of people saluting and remembering (or perhaps learning about for the first time) Robert and Esther Goddard.

Available Resources

Exploration Generation Free Rocketry Lessons (elementary, middle, and high school content). Learn More
You can purchase the new Robert Goddard Rocket by Estes Rockets for a hands-on connection to the moment modern rocketry began. Purchase a Robert Goddard Rocket
The Robert Goddard Rocket STEM Toolkit is a downloadable PDF resource that extends the build and launch experience through hands-on activities, reflection prompts, and historical context. The toolkit includes student challenges such as quizzes, science writing exercises, engineering design activities, and simple experiments that explore liquid-fueled rocketry, cause-and-effect in launches, and iterative problem-solving. Designed to be flexible, the activities can be used individually or together to help students connect Robert Goddard’s early innovations to modern STEM concepts and engineering practices.
Download the Robert Goddard STEM Kit

Robert Goddard Illustration1 — Robert Goddard (1882-1945). American physicist. Goddard’s first successful launching of a liquid-fuel rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts, 16 March 1926. | Credit: Clark University Archives and Special Collections

Goddard With First Liquid Propulsion Rocket Pic Credit Clark University Archives And Special Collections 1 — Goddard With First Liquid Propulsion Rocket. | Credit: Clark University Archives and Special Collections

2026 International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC)

The 2026 International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) will take place in Midland, Texas from June 15–20, 2026.

The Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 for the purpose of fostering and promoting engineering knowledge and experience in the field of rocketry. ESRA’s mission is to provide safe and exciting opportunities for academic groups to compete in aerospace challenges.

In 2006, ESRA established the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) which has since grown from a handful of U.S. based collegiate teams to welcoming over 180 collegiate teams from 22 countries on 6 different continents. During the IREC each team designs, builds, tests and launches rockets with a payload size >2kg and target altitudes of 10,000 to 100,000 feet. Rockets are typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 ft. long. Multistage rockets and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, and hybrid) are allowed.

The IREC isn’t just a competition, it’s a launchpad for innovation and careers. This year, 175 teams have successfully applied and been accepted to participate in the 2026 IREC to push the limits of high-powered rocketry, applying classroom theory to real-world engineering challenges, and break new IREC records!

In partnership with the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association, AIAA is proud to support the world’s largest university rocket engineering competition.

For more information about the competition, please visit: esrarocket.org

Organized by

2026 American Rocketry Challenge National Finals

The American Rocketry Challenge, the world’s largest student rocket competition, has engaged over 100,000 middle and high school students in model rocketry. The challenge provides a yearlong opportunity to gain hands-on engineering experience by designing, building, testing, and launching model rockets to meet rigorous requirements. The program fosters leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills as students deepen their interest and passion for aerospace and STEM.

The Top 100 teams are invited to compete at National Finals for a share in $100k in awards and the chance to represent the United States at the International Rocketry Challenge at the Farnborough or Paris Air Show.

National Finals is open to the public and is an opportunity for aerospace enthusiasts and families to see these young innovators in action, connect with aerospace organizations, and join in some hands-on fun.

Learn More

30th Annual Design/Build/Fly Competition

The AIAA through the Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Design Engineering and Flight Test Technical Committees and the AIAA Foundation invites all university students to participate in the Cessna/Raytheon Missile Systems Student Design Build Fly competition. The contest will provide a real-world aircraft design experience for engineering students by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytic studies;

Student teams will design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric powered, radio controlled aircraft which can best meet the specified mission profile. The goal is a balanced design possessing good demonstrated flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance.

To encourage innovation and maintain a fresh design challenge for each new years participants, the design requirements and performance objective will be updated for each new contest year. The changes will provide new design requirements and opportunities, while allowing for application of technology developed by the teams from prior years.

2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC)

The 2025 IREC will be hosted in Midland, Texas, from 9–14 June 2025.

ESRA hosts an International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) for over 150 student rocketry teams from across the USA and around the world. With a minimum payload size of 2.2 pounds and target altitudes of either 10,000, 30,000, or 45,000 feet above ground level. Competing rockets are typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 ft. long. Multistage rockets and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, and hybrid) are allowed.

In partnership with the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association, AIAA is proud to support the world’s largest university rocket engineering competition.

For more information about the competition, please visit: www.soundingrocket.org/

Organized by

Cancelled – 2020 Region III Student Conference

The student and volunteer organizers of the AIAA Region III Student Conference have cancelled their conference due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The Region III Student Conference was scheduled to be held 27-28 March at Ohio State University and has been cancelled at this time because the university has suspended all face-to-face events on campus until further notice due to a concern for the health and safety of visitors, students, faculty, and staff. AIAA will provide a full refund of conference registration fees in the next 3 to 5 business days.

Student papers submitted to the conferences will still be evaluated by technical judges, and feedback will be provided after reviews have been completed. Additional information about rescheduling is forthcoming. We apologize for this inconvenience, and we appreciate your understanding and patience. For any questions, please contact Michael Lagana at [email protected].

We encourage everyone to follow the coronavirus safety guidelines set out by the  WHO  and  CDC.

For updates about how the coronavirus could impact AIAA events and forums, please visit https://aiaa.org/coronavirus

2019 Region II Student Conference

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) sponsors student conferences in each AIAA Region as a means to encourage students in aerospace-related fields to discuss research, exchange knowledge, and generate interest in the field of aerospace engineering.

The AIAA Region II Student Conference is an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to present their research to their peers and professional members from industry. The students’ papers and presentations—in three categories: Undergraduate, Masters, and Undergraduate Team— will be judged and eligible for monetary prizes.

2019 Region II Student Conference Winners

Undergraduate Category

1st place – Airfoil Lift Calculation Using Wind Tunnel Wall Pressures, Sreevishnu Oruganti and Shreyas Narsipur, North Carolina State University
2nd place – Developing a Robust Crack Detection System for Deployment on a UAV Platform, William J. Bell, Mississippi State University
3rd place – Damage Tolerance Investigation of Hybrid Structure under Low-Velocity Impact, Benjamin R. Ingling and Dr. Stephanie C. TerMaath, University of Tennessee

Masters Category

1st place – Design and Testing of a Fault-tolerant Space Suit, J. Sublett, Georgia Institute of Technology
2nd place – Simulation of Langmuir Probe Response to a Non-Maxwellian Plasma, Alicia C. Sherrod and Trevor Moeller, University of Tennessee Space Institute
3rd place – Experimental Evaluation of Methods for Performance Enhancement of Paraffin Fueled Hybrid Rocket Motors, Reed M. Clay, Mississippi State University

Team Category

1st place – Implementation and Vårification of a Versatile GN&C and Flight Software Architecture for an Active Control Launch System, Kunal S. Gangolli, Athreya Gundamraj, Wyatt Hoppa, and Shrivathsav Seshan, Georgia Institute of Technology
2nd place – High Altitude/Mach Rocket, Reed Antonich, Jarrett Elrod, Ethan Hunt, David Lomonte, William McCormick, Amanda Noori, Jesse Nyffenegger, and Siliviu Solomon, Florida Institute of Technology
3rd place – Design and Development of an Autonomous Payload Return Vehicle, Sean Widmier, Thomas Salverson, Colin Oberthur, An Nguyen, Sean Mitchell, Kyle Daigle, and Trystan May, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Region II Sponsors Additional Categories for this Student Conference. The Winners are as Follows:

Freshman/Sophomore Open Topic Competition

The Freshman & Sophomore Open Topic category provides students an opportunity to experience participating in the paper competition without requiring the submissions to held to the level of depth of the technical paper competition.

1st Place – Propulsion Methods for Interplanetary and Interstellar Space Travel Alyssa Dellinger, North Paulding High School

Community Outreach Competition

The Community Outreach category allows university students to describe activities where they have mentored students from Kindergarten to High School.

1st Place – FIT Community Outreach, Florida Institute of Technology
2nd Place – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Community Outreach, Daytona Beach, FL
3rd Place – AIAA Community Outreach for Student Branch at the University of Alabama in Huntsville

Regional Design Team Competition

The Regional Design Team Category is for teams of three or more students that have worked on an engineering project together. No written paper is required as this is a presentation only category.

1st Place – 2018-2019 AIAA Textron Aviation/Raytheon Missile Systems – Student Design, Build, Fly Competition. Florida Institute of Technology
2^nd Place – Development of an Attitude Determination and Control System for a 27U CubeSat, University of Alabama
3rd Place – Advanced Transport via Electro Magnetic Injection System (ARTEMIS) Design Project, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

2019 Region VI Student Conference

The conference’s three categories—Undergraduate, Masters, and Undergraduate Team— each have three prizes that are funded by the AIAA Foundation.

Registration Cost

$30.00

Once you register, you will be subject to all fees, terms, and conditions applicable to the conference as outlined on this page. If you choose not to attend the conference after you’ve registered and you do not notify the conference administration before the cancellation deadline of 2359 hrs EDT on 24 March 2019, you will be required to pay a $50.00 cancellation fee.

2019 Region V Student Conference

The conference’s three categories—Undergraduate, Masters, and Undergraduate Team— each have three prizes that are funded by the AIAA Foundation.

Registration Cost

$50.00

2019 Region IV Student Conference

The conference’s three categories—Undergraduate, Masters, and Undergraduate Team— each have three prizes that are funded by the AIAA Foundation.

Registration Cost

$25.00