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High school and collegiate student teams gathered just north of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to participate in the agency’s annual Student Launch competition April 13.

Credits: NASA/Charles Beason

Over 1,000 students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico launched high-powered, amateur rockets on April 13, just north of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the agency’s annual Student Launch competition.

Teams of middle school, high school, college, and university students were tasked to design, build, and launch a rocket and scientific payload to an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, while making a successful landing and executing a scientific or engineering payload mission.

“These bright students rise to a nine-month challenge that tests their skills in engineering, design, and teamwork,” said Kevin McGhaw, director of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Southeast Region. “They are the Artemis Generation, the future scientists, engineers, and innovators who will lead us into the future of space exploration.”

NASA announced the University of Notre Dame is the overall winner of the agency’s 2024 Student Launch challenge, followed by Iowa State University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A complete list challenge winners can be found on the agency’s student launch web page.

Each year NASA implements a new payload challenge to reflect relevant missions. This year’s payload challenge is inspired by the Artemis missions, which seek to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

The complete list of award winners are as follows:

2024 Overall Winners

First place: University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Second place: Iowa State University, Ames
Third place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

3D Printing Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Tennessee Chattanooga

Middle/High School Level:

First place: First Baptist Church of Manchester, Manchester, Connecticut

Altitude Award

College Level:

First place: Iowa State University, Ames

Middle/High School Level:

First place: Morris County 4-H, Califon, New Jersey

Best-Looking Rocket Award:

College Level:

First place: New York University, Brooklyn, New York

Middle/High School Level:

First place: Notre Dame Academy High School, Los Angeles

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Reusable Launch Vehicle Innovative Payload Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Colorado Boulder
Second place: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Third place: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Judge’s Choice Award:

Middle/High School Level:

First place: Cedar Falls High School, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Second place: Young Engineers in Action, LaPalma, California
Third place: First Baptist Church of Manchester, Manchester, Connecticut

Project Review Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Florida, Gainesville

AIAA Reusable Launch Vehicle Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Florida, Gainesville
Second place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Third place: University of Notre Dame, Indiana

AIAA Rookie Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Colorado Boulder

Safety Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Second place: University of Florida, Gainesville
Third place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Social Media Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Colorado Boulder

Middle/High School Level:

First place: Newark Memorial High School, Newark, California

STEM Engagement Award:

College Level:

First place: University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Second place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Third place: New York University, Brooklyn, New York

Middle/High School Level:

First place: Notre Dame Academy High School, Los Angeles, California
Second place: Cedar Falls High School, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Third place: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia

Service Academy Award:

First place: United States Air Force Academy, USAF Academy, Colorado

Vehicle Design Award:

Middle/High School Level:

First place: First Baptist Church of Manchester, Manchester, Connecticut
Second place: Explorer Post 1010, Rockville, Maryland
Third place: Plantation High School, Plantation, Florida

Payload Design Award:

Middle/High School Level:

First place: Young Engineers in Action, LaPalma, California
Second place: Cedar Falls High School, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Third place: Spring Grove Area High School, Spring Grove, Pennsylvania

Student Launch is one of NASA’s nine Artemis Student Challenges, activities which connect student ingenuity with NASA’s work returning to the Moon under Artemis in preparation for human exploration of Mars.

The competition is managed by Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM). Additional funding and support are provided by NASA’s OSTEM via the Next Gen STEM project, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space, and Bastion Technologies.

To watch the full virtual awards ceremony, please visit NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel.

For more information about Student Launch, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/stem/studentlaunch/home/index.html

For more information about other NASA challenges, please visit:

https://stem.nasa.gov/artemis/

Taylor Goodwin
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov