StellarXplorers Is In Its Fifth Year

StellarXplorers, an education initiative established by AFA, is a space system engineering competition designed to inspire students toward futures in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This year's national finals has been set for Colorado Springs, CO next week.

The fifth StellarXplorers competition season began in October 2018 with 216 teams registered from 35 states and two overseas locations, marking a 20 percent increase from the previous year.  Each team consists of two to six students. Under-represented minorities constituted almost half of the participants, and 34% were female.

At this year's National Finals Competition, teams will compete by defining orbits, spacecraft components, and launch vehicles to meet a set of mission requirements. The teams will also brief an expert panel on their work as a part of their overall score.

StellarXplorers is making strides unlike any other youth competition to teach American youth the importance of STEM education, and instill in them confidence in their analytical skills, teamwork, and leadership.

Program sponsors include the Harris Foundation, U.S. Air Force STEM Program, United Launch Alliance, Aerojet Rocketdyne, DynCorp International, and Space Exploration Technologies, with additional support from the Educational Alliance of Analytical Graphics, Inc, The Space Foundation, and Coyote Enterprises.

(Source: Air Force Association news release)

FMI: www.afa.org