American Rocketry Challenge

The American Rocketry Challenge is the world’s largest rocket contest with nearly 5,000 students nationwide competing each year. The contest gives middle and high school students the opportunity to design, build and launch model rockets and hands-on experience solving engineering problems.

ARC is organized by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry with the support of over a dozen aerospace company sponsors and partnerships with organizations including NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. The annual challenge is the aerospace industry’s flagship program designed to encourage students to pursue academic and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math.

What are the Rules

• Teams are made up of 3 to 10 students between 6th and 12th grade, a supervisor, and an official Rocketry Challenge mentor.
• The rules vary slightly each year to provide a new challenge to competitors. The 2024 Rules require teams to design, build, and launch a model rocket that carries one raw egg to an altitude of 820 feet, stays airborne for 43 - 46 seconds, and return the rocket to the ground safely with the egg intact.

What is I Don't Know Much About Rocketry

The American Rocketry Challenge features a nationwide network of aerospace professionals and rocketry experts from the National Association of Rocketry and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics who are willing and available to mentor your team. These mentors can help with the organizing, rocket building, and career pathway exploration.

What Happens When We Win

• After official qualification flights are submitted, the top 100 teams are invited to attend the National Finals in Washington, D.C.
• Teams competing at the Finals aim to capture their share of more than $100,000 in cash prizes. There are also special awards for activities throughout the day.
• The team that places first at the National Finals wins an all-expenses-paid trip to represent the United States in the International Rocketry Challenge, hosted at the Farnborough Air Show in London, UK in July 2024. The United States Rocketry Team competes against the winning teams from Japan, the United Kingdom, and France.