Introducing a New Kind of (Virtual) Rocket Contest!

Click here to learn more about the Kerbal Rocketry Challenge.

Congratulations! We’ve been so impressed with your rocketry skills that we’re promoting you and your TARC 2020 team to lead a new aerospace company.

Well, not an actual company, but one in a video game.

Since the 2020 American Rocketry Challenge was postponed, we’re partnering with Private Division, publishers of the hit astrophysics and aerospace video game, Kerbal Space Program (KSP), to bring you a NEW kind of rocket contest with more cash prizes!

“The Kerbal Rocketry Challenge” puts you in the shoes of Kerbals, a race of humanoid green aliens destined for the stars. Using the game’s realistic orbital physics engine, you’ll be tasked to recreate one of our world’s crowning achievements: a crewed lunar landing. But there’s a catch – you and your team will act as your own aerospace firm who received a “fixed-price” contract to make it to the “mun” and back. Outside of the budget restrictions, you’re free to design and run your program as they see fit.

Teams registered for the 2020 American Rocketry Challenge are eligible to receive a FREE COPY of Kerbal Space Program to compete against teams across the country for $6,000 in prizes. And the best part? The game is yours to keep when the competition ends!

All team members will receive a free copy of KSP, but you can only submit one design and one flight. This means you’ll get to run a program similar to how NASA is currently doing it: remote. Prepare to face new and unique challenges, such as figuring out a way to work individually while focusing on developing everything needed for the mission, or in some cases, sabotage from your own pets.

Kerbal Space Program allows you to join the aerospace industry and have fun as you gain relevant STEM and management experience. You’re about to quickly learn that space is not easy but it is worth doing.

Registration for the Kerbal Rocketry Challenge opens on July 13 and closes July 19. To prevent teams from getting a head start, you’ll receive the official rules in late July and are officially go for launch.

Get ready for your new mission, rocketeers!

For more information on how to register and compete, click here to visit our Kerbal Rocketry Challenge page.

To get a preview of the fun check out this video of the Kerbal aliens and Kerbalnauts as they complete a mission: