Aerospace & Space Programs & Competitions for High School Students

Aerospace programs — NASA student challenges, rocketry competitions like TARC, and university aeronautics intensives — combine engineering, physics, and teamwork in the most literal moonshot niche.

Several are federally funded and free, including programs run directly by NASA centers.

34 verified programs match this page; 27 of the featured listings are completely free; 10 can be done online.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• NASA Student Launch — NASA: Design and launch high-power rockets in this exciting STEM competition. Gain hands-on aerospace experience, boost college applications, and explore en
• NASA HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) — NASA: Design and build aerospace hardware used on the ISS in this hands-on high school STEM program. Boost engineering skills and strengthen college applica
• NASA International Space Apps Challenge — NASA: Solve real-world space and climate challenges in NASA’s global hackathon. This free competition lets high schoolers build coding, data science, and te
• Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) — National Center for Earth and Space Science Education: Design and launch a real experiment to the International Space Station through this national STEM competition. Build research skills and boost your co
• USAF Academy Summer Seminar — United States Air Force Academy: Transform your summer with a hands-on leadership program at USAFA. Perfect for rising seniors passionate about aerospace, ethics, and cyber. Boost col
• Air Force Academy Summer Seminar — USAFA: Transform your future with this free summer program! Explore leadership, aerospace, and character development in a hands-on academy designed for high
• Lockheed Martin Code Quest — Lockheed Martin Corporation: Programming competition hosted by major defense contractor. Teams solve coding challenges. Exposure to aerospace industry and STEM careers.
• NSS Space Settlement Contest — National Space Society: International student design competition to create realistic space settlement concepts judged by space experts.
• NASA App Development Challenge — NASA: Build apps for NASA missions. Winners present at NASA center.
• NASA High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) — NASA Johnson Space Center: Online course with an in-person engineering design experience at NASA.
• Texas High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) — NASA Johnson Space Center: Explore aerospace and engineering through a free hybrid program for Texas high school juniors. Build STEM skills, gain hands-on experience, and boost
• Astronaut Scholarship Foundation — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation: Prestigious STEM scholarship awarded by U.S. astronauts to high school seniors. Boost college applications and gain recognition for your passion in sc
• Genes in Space Competition — miniPCR Bio: Winning experiment is conducted aboard the International Space Station
• Civil Air Patrol Cadet Programs — Civil Air Patrol / U.S. Air Force: Develop leadership, aviation, and aerospace skills through hands-on experiences in Civil Air Patrol’s high school cadet program. Boost college applica
• AFRL Scholars Program (High School) — U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory / USRA: Explore a paid high school research internship in STEM with hands-on aerospace and defense projects. Boost college applications and gain real-world ex
• NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative — NASA: Student teams design and build small satellites launched by NASA. Real space mission experience. Demonstrates advanced engineering and project managem
• Underline Space Roundtable — Space Minds Center: The Space Minds Center was created to inspire interest and proactive thinking about space policy in emerging political science and international relat
• Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) National Finalist — Aerospace Industries Association: 100 teams compete at nationals. Design/build rockets to specific altitude/time. Winners represent USA at international.
• The American Rocketry Challenge — AIA & Partners: Design, build, and launch rockets in the largest rocketry competition for grades 7-12. Boost STEM skills, gain hands-on experience, and impress colleg
• NASA Internships - High School — NASA: Gain hands-on STEM experience through a paid NASA internship. Perfect for high school students in grades 10-12 to boost college applications and build
• Air Force & Space Force ROTC High School Scholarship — U.S. Air Force: Earn a full-tuition scholarship through this competitive ROTC program for high school seniors. Develop leadership skills and strengthen college applic
• Zero Robotics Competition (MIT/NASA) — MIT / NASA: Program satellites that run on International Space Station. Finals broadcast from ISS.
• EAA Air Academy — Experimental Aircraft Association: Week-long aviation camps at EAA headquarters. Includes flight training time. Multiple age-appropriate tracks.
• SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition — SpaceX: A global student engineering competition to design and build high-speed Hyperloop pods for testing in a vacuum tube.
• NASA Lunabotics Competition — NASA: University-level robotics competition to design, build, and operate lunar regolith mining robots for simulated Moon environments.
• LAUNCH Student Aerospace Competition — Columbia Space Initiative, Columbia University: LAUNCH is a national high school competition where teams design, build, and test miniature launch vehicles and payloads.
• StellarXplorers Space Systems Competition — Air Force Association: Explore orbital mechanics and space systems design in this free, virtual STEM competition for grades 6-12. Boost college applications with hands-on ae
• Washington Aerospace Scholars — The Museum of Flight: Yearlong Museum of Flight program for Washington high school juniors: a free online UW aerospace course (Nov-Mar) leading to a six-day summer residenc
• Genes in Space — Genes in Space (miniPCR bio and Boeing): Free national competition for students in grades 7-12 to design a DNA experiment for the International Space Station — the winning proposal is launche
• STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer Intern Program — University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research / NASA: NASA-sponsored UT Austin summer internship where rising juniors and seniors analyze real NASA Earth-science data with scientist mentors. Free virtual

Frequently asked questions