American Rocketry Challenge
The American Rocketry Challenge
Design a rocket that carries eggs to an exact altitude and returns them intact, to the second.
Run by National Association of Rocketry and the Aerospace Industries Association
Key facts
- Eligible grades
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Grades 6 to 12, currently enrolled in a US school or homeschool programme.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Eligible ages
-
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.Eligibility is by grade, not age.
- Individual or team
- Team · Teams of at least 3 and no more than 10 students, plus a supervisor and an official Rocketry Challenge mentor. Members may come from different schools, but the application must come from a single US school or a single US-incorporated nonprofit youth organisation such as Scouts, 4-H, FFA or Civil Air Patrol. The National Association of Rocketry, Tripoli and other rocketry organisations cannot sponsor a team.
- Where it runs
- In person · United States
- Entry cost
- A team registration fee plus rocket materials and motorsTeam registration was $165 in an earlier cycle and $175 for 2026 per third-party guides; the 2027 figure was not confirmed on the official pages checked. Separately and importantly, attending the National Finals costs an additional $395 per team, which is confirmed by the organiser's FAQ. Budget for rocket parts, motors and travel on top.
- Registration deadline
- Registration closes 6 December 2026 at 11:59 PM EST, and the competition is open only to the first 1,000 teams to complete payment and submit their registration. 88 days leftThe 1,000-team cap means the real deadline may come earlier than the published date. Register early rather than at the deadline.
- Competition dates
- The 2027 National Finals are 15 May 2027 at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia, about 45 to 50 miles west of Washington, D.C. The rain date is 16 May, with the decision made at 7:00 PM on 14 May.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- Over $100,000 in total awards. First place receives $20,000 for the team plus $1,000 for the school, and represents the United States at the International Rocketry Challenge, held at either the Farnborough or Paris air show.The national finals distribute a substantial prize pool in cash and scholarships across the top finishing teams, with the winning team historically invited to represent the US at an international fly-off. Confirm current amounts on the official site.
What American Rocketry Challenge is
The American Rocketry Challenge is the world's largest student rocket contest. Each year the rules specify an exact target altitude, a flight duration window and a payload of raw eggs that must land unbroken. Scoring is a penalty system: every foot off target altitude and every second off the target duration adds points, and the lowest score wins. That objectivity makes it one of the fairest engineering competitions available to students.
How the competition works
The 2027 mission: design a rocket carrying two raw Grade A Large eggs of 55 to 63 grams, in any orientation, that must survive uncracked; reach 800 feet; and return within a flight time of 37 to 40 seconds. Rockets must be no less than 650 mm long, no more than 650 grams at liftoff, single-staged, and use no more than 80 N-sec of combined total impulse from approved motors. All parts must remain tethered and recover by parachute.
Eligibility notes
Teams must have an adult mentor. US teams only for the national competition, though international student rocketry competitions run in parallel in several countries.
How to register
- Find an adult mentor and register the team on rocketcontest.org during the registration window.
- Read the year's rules carefully. The target altitude, duration window and payload change every season and are the entire design brief.
- Find a local National Association of Rocketry club. You need certified adults and a legal launch site, and clubs provide both.
- Fly test flights early and often. Simulation is not enough; the scoring is unforgiving of untested designs.
- Submit your two best qualification scores before the spring deadline.
What skills you need
- Aerodynamics
- Rocket simulation software
- Precision construction
- Recovery system design
- Data analysis from altimeters
- Iterative testing
Recommended resources
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American Rocketry Challenge official site
Rules, registration, qualification procedures and grant information.
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OpenRocket
Free open-source rocket simulation software. The standard design tool for this competition.
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National Association of Rocketry
Find a local club with a certified launch site and experienced adults. Essential rather than optional.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- Past years' rules and results
Published rules from previous seasons show how the specification changes and what scores have won.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a special launch site?
Yes. Model rocket launches of this size need appropriate airspace and safety supervision. Join a National Association of Rocketry club, which provides a certified launch site and experienced adults.
How many test flights should we plan?
As many as the budget allows, and more than you first think. Teams that place well typically fly ten or more test flights, changing one variable at a time.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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