How to Compete
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.
Registration for teams is now open via the link in the upper right corner of this screen!
2026 Competition Key Dates
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12.06.25
Registration & Northrop Grumman Foundation STEM Innovation Grant Applications Close
Submit by 11:59 PM ET
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03.30.26
Qualification Flight Submissions Due
Submit by 11:59 PM ET via the online registration portal.
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04.06.26
Northrop Grumman Foundation Mission Debriefing Challenge Submissions Due
Submit by 11:59 PM ET. Learn more about the Northrop Grumman Foundation Mission Debriefing Challenge.(Formerly called the Presentation Competition)
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04.06.26
National Finalists (Top 100) Announced
National Finalists will be announced no later than noon on this date, but may be announced sooner.
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04.13.26
Rocket Reels Challenge Submissions Due
Submit by 11:59 PM ET. Learn more about the Rocket Reels Challenge. (Formerly called Marketing Competition)
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05.06.26
Launchpad League Miles Reports Due
Submit by 11:59 PM ET. More information coming soon.
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05.16.26
2026 National Finals Fly-off
Alternate Rain Date – May 17, 2026
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05.17.26
National Finals Rain Date
A determination will be made at 7:00pm on May 16, 2026 if the rain date is needed. Any change would be posted first on our main landing page – www.rocketrychallenge.org.
Let's Talk Awards
Teams that qualify for the American Rocketry Challenge National Finals have the chance to win some amazing cash awards!
Find A Mentor
New to rocketry? Our nationwide network of official mentors can teach you everything you need to know about rocketry! From design and build specifications, to a list of supplies and the perfect launch site, these rocketry experts are here to help your team go from rocketry rookies to rocket scientists. Find out if there’s a mentor near your area today!
Northrop Grumman Foundation STEM Innovation Grant Program
Secure Funding to Launch Your Rocketry Team
To bring STEM opportunities to more students, the American Rocketry Challenge developed the Northrop Grumman Foundation STEM Innovation Grant program to help Title I schools across the country compete in the rocketry challenge. Previously known as our Title I grants, these grants provide schools with the resources needed to launch a rocketry program, including an opportunity to secure initial funding.
Mission Extension Challenges
Rocket Reels Challenge
Our Rocket Reels Challenge invites students to create a video to generate excitement about their team, the American Rocketry Challenge, and aerospace and space exploration.
Learn MoreNorthrop Grumman Foundation Mission Debriefing Challenge
Successful launches are one thing, but can you show your work and explain how you designed your rocket? Our Northrop Grumman Foundation Mission Debriefing Challenge invites teams to show off their hard work, explain their design, and demonstrate how test flight data drove decision making!
Learn MoreLaunchpad League
In this league, your ARC team will blast off by attending interactive webinars, submitting questions that ignite great discussions, and lending a hand to your fellow rocket teams.
Learn More
The American Rocketry Challenge provides me the opportunity to give my students an endeavor that fosters curiosity, imagination, and scientific skills in the firmest spirit of collaborative enterprise.
Greg Severino, Teacher
Philadelphia, PA
The American Rocketry Challenge allows me to engage and participate in a nationwide competition while learning and having fun with people that have similar likes and talents.
Kyra Wagner, Team Captain
Webster City, IA
TARC introduces students to the realities of the real world engineering pursuits, teaching them to attack not just the solvable problems but also face and learn how to mitigate the factors that they do not have control over.
Pavel Pinkas, Mentor
Madison, WI
Frequently Asked Questions See All FAQs
Can team members be changed at a later date?
Yes, but they cannot be added after the team’s first qualification attempt. The only exception to this is that if a school has more than three teams that have qualification scores better than the national selection cutoff score for the Finals, membership of the three teams from that school that are invited to the Finals may be adjusted to include students from other teams with qualification scores better than the cutoff (within the limit of ten students per team).
Get in Touch
Don’t see the answer to your question? Want to learn more? Get in touch and someone from our team with reach out to you shortly.
Contact UsSubscribe to The American Rocketry Challenge mailing list to learn more about the competition.
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