Competition
American Rocketry Challenge (ARC, formerly Team America Rocketry Challenge / TARC)
Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and National Association of Rocketry (NAR)
Recognition
Teams competing for a spot in the National Finals compete for a share of over $100,000 in cash awards; the National Champion team represents the United States at the International Rocketry Challenge, an international airshow event.
Deadline
Dec 6, 2026
The American Rocketry Challenge (ARC), the world's largest student rocket competition, is a yearlong program in which teams of 3-10 students in grades 6-12 design, build, test, and launch model rockets to meet official engineering requirements, with top-scoring teams competing at the National Finals for cash awards and the National Championship title.
Eligibility
- Grade levels
- Middle school, High school
- Citizenship
- Any
- Fields of study
- Engineering, Science, Technology, Mathematics
Application requirements
- Form a team of 3-10 students in grades 6-12, sponsored by a single school or a single U.S. incorporated non-profit youth organization: Application must come from one school or one U.S. incorporated non-profit youth organization (e.g., Scouts, 4-H, Civil Air Patrol), excluding NAR/Tripoli or other rocket clubs. Team must be supervised by an adult approved by the school principal or an officially-appointed leader of the youth organization.
- Register the team online through the official ARC registration portal and pay the registration fee during the open registration window: Registration for the current cycle opens 9:00 AM ET July 15, 2026 and closes 11:59 PM ET December 6, 2026, per the official Important Dates timeline.
- Design and build a model rocket that meets the official rules and technical parameters for the current competition year: Rules and specifications (altitude/duration goals, payload requirements, construction limits) are published in the current-year Rules document and Rocketry Starter Kit.
- Complete official qualification flights observed by a National Association of Rocketry (NAR) member: Teams must fly a minimum of two and up to three qualification flights in front of an NAR observer to record an official score, historically within a window running from mid-July through late March/early April.
- Submit qualification flight results through the online registration portal by the posted deadline: For the current cycle, qualification flight submissions are due April 4, 2027, per the official Important Dates timeline.
- If your team ranks among the top 100 nationally, attend the National Finals to compete for cash awards and the National Championship title: Top 100 finalists for the current cycle are expected to be announced no later than noon on April 13, 2027; National Finals are scheduled for May 15, 2027 (rain date May 16, 2027).
Verified Jul 8, 2026 · View official source