| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Catalog terms: $1,799–$1,999; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Need-based fee and participant-travel assistance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. SSP committed to cover 100% of demonstrated need; exact award depends on family circumstances and may include participant airfare or other required travel.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Catalog terms: Individual reservation registration fee: $100. Published as nonrefundable; verify at checkout because policy terms can change.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Residential university housing: $0. Scholars live in campus dormitories as part of the 100%-free residential program.; Residential-session meals: $0. The organizer describes scholars eating in the dining hall within the 100%-free experience.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 application fee: $0. Completely free to apply.; Need-based fee and participant-travel assistance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. SSP committed to cover 100% of demonstrated need; exact award depends on family circumstances and may include participant airfare or other required travel.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Lost-wages stipend: $3,000; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Eligibility | Grades 4–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 10–11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher | Grade 11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher |
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| Additional eligibility | Ages 9–18; Requirement: Enroll in the correct program for age at camp: Space Camp 9–11, Space Academy 12–14 or Advanced Space Academy 15–18; Requirement: Nine-year-olds must have completed or currently be enrolled in fourth grade; Requirement: Complete payment, releases, health, medication, emergency and other required forms by the session deadlines; Requirement: Be able to participate safely in the selected program with any required accommodations arranged in advance; Requirement: International participants need proper United States entry documents and conversational English; Exclusion: Family, adult, educator, group, aviation, cyber, robotics and Elite programs have separate requirements and prices; Exclusion: Registration does not guarantee a preferred roommate, activity, simulator access or session until confirmed; Exclusion: Some water, motion, physical or specialty activities can have medical restrictions; Exclusion: The program is educational simulation and not affiliated with astronaut selection or NASA employment | Residency: Preference for students at target schools or living within the published radius of Atlanta, Boston, Detroit/Ann Arbor, or Bay Area sites; Requirement: Minimum 3.0 GPA or equivalent; Requirement: Be in grade 10 or 11 when applying; Requirement: Demonstrate strong grade-level mathematics skills through state-standardized scores; Requirement: Attend a public high school or a private high school through scholarship; Requirement: Show strong interest in a computer-science degree or certification and a CS career; Requirement: Meet site-specific gender eligibility: male for Morehouse and female for Spelman; Exclusion: Applicants who do not meet every published requirement; SMASH states that there are no eligibility exceptions | Ages 15–18; Requirement: Be a current high-school junior; Requirement: Be at least 15 and not yet 19 during all program dates; Requirement: Complete for credit and a grade by June any high-school physics plus precalculus; Requirement: If the school does not offer physics, complete calculus for credit and a grade by June instead; Requirement: Commit exclusively to the entire assigned residential session; Exclusion: Current freshmen, sophomores and seniors; Exclusion: Self-study used in place of the required graded coursework; Exclusion: Applicants unable to attend the complete assigned session; Exclusion: Applying to more than one SSP project in the same cycle |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 1 week; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 3 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 5 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Huntsville, Alabama | Atlanta, Berkeley, Boston, Ann Arbor, Georgia, California, Massachusetts, Michigan | Albion, Milledgeville, McMinnville, River Falls, Waterville, Bethlehem, Galesburg, 2026 campus assigned after admission; campus list can change by cycle |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Standard student programs are purchased first-come, first-served by age and session capacity; they are not merit-selective. Invitation-only Elite and scholarship programs are separate. | Selection: Applicants must satisfy all published requirements, and geographic preferences apply; the current pages do not publish applicant counts or an acceptance rate. | Selection: Admission is limited and holistic. SSP reported about 700 participants admitted across every 2026 track, but did not publish Astrophysics application totals or a track-specific acceptance rate. Application materials: One required recommendation from a current school math or science educator; Optional second recommendation, preferably from a math or science educator |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-22Source 6 · checked 2026-08-22Source 7 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-21 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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