Students will be launching solid, liquid, and hybrid rockets to target altitudes of 10,000 and 30,000 feet. The IREC has been in annual occurrence since 2006.
The Spaceport America Cup is designed in conjunction with IREC – the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition for student rocketry teams from all over the country and around the world. The Spaceport America Cup is a joint project by Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, and the Experimental Rocket Sounding Association (ESRA). The Spaceport America Cup is de
signed around IREC—the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition for student rocketry teams from across the country and around the world. The competition achieved international status in 2011 – when schools from Canada and Brazil joined – and has doubled in size every year since 2013. More than 600 students participated in the 2016 competition, representing over 50 schools from six different continents. In 2022, 150 twams from 26 countries were accepted into the competition. The event organizers welcome science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students from all over the world for a week of rocketeering and comradery. We hope to inspire future generations to consider a career in space exploration and encourage spectators from all walks of life to join in. About ESRA:
The Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 for the purpose of fostering and promoting engineering knowledge and experience in the field of rocketry. ESRA's current focus is in the field of experimental sounding rocketry, which we define as roughly between "experimental" or "research" high-power rockets and sounding rockets capable of reaching space (generally defined as 100 km altitude). Visit http://www.soundingrocket.org/for more information. About Spaceport America:
Spaceport America is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world. The FAA-licensed launch complex, situated on 18,000 acres adjacent to the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, boasts 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot spaceway, and 340+ days of sunshine and low humidity. Some of the most respected companies in the commercial space industry are customers at Spaceport America: Virgin Galactic, AeroVironment, HAPSMobile, UP Aerospace and SpinLaunch. Visit http://spaceportamerica.com for more information.
