Competition

What is the competition?

The StellarXplorers National Space Design Competition is a fun, team building, space system design competition that starts in October and ends in April, where students are challenged to solve orbit planning, satellite component, and launch vehicle selection scenarios presented each round.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Team Director:

An adult (e.g. teacher, JROTC instructor, administrator, parent, etc.) approved by a participating organization to act as the administrative lead of a StellarXplorers team. The Team Director (TD) is the main point of contact for competition-related correspondence. A team can only have one director. A Team Director may register up to 5 teams. If a participating organization has more than 5 teams, more than one Team Director will be required. (Minimum age: 18)

Competitors:

Each StellarXplorers team must consist of between two and six competitors enrolled in the participating school or organization.

Technical Mentor(s):

Mentors, also known as Technical Mentors, are optional (but recommended) team technical advisors/subject matter experts. Once registered, a Mentor may be chosen by a Team Director to assist with a StellarXplorers team. Teams are not required to have a Mentor, and Team Directors may act in the combined role of a Team Director and Mentor. (Minimum age: 18)

Team Assistant(s):

Adult volunteers who provide non-technical support and encouragement to the team (assisting with scheduling, set-up, snacks, etc.). Team assistants must register on the CyberPatriot website and pass a background check. (Minimum age: 18)

In StellarXplorers, all participants compete in one division.

Working in partnership with leaders in the U.S. space industry, the StellarXplorers Aerospace STEM Program challenges students toward careers in space or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines essential to our nation’s future.

When participating in the competition, each team is given one scenario during their six-hour competition period (eight-hour competition period for Finals). This includes determining orbits, picking satellite components, and selecting launch vehicles that meet mission requirements throughout the rounds of competition. Each qualifying round is proceeded by a practice round that covers the corresponding tasking. For example, the first practice round consists of selecting orbit characteristics to meet the mission requirements, and the qualifying round covers selecting an orbit but is a little more challenging. Top teams advance to the Semi-Final Round, and the best of the best advance to the in-person National Finals Competition.
Please note that Team Directors and Mentors may only assist during practice rounds. During qualifying rounds, it is the responsibility of a designated student competitor to serve as Team Captain and ensure all deliverables are submitted on time.

For more information on the rules, please review the Official StellarXplorers Rules Book:

RULES BOOK

StellarXplorers is designed for any student, regardless of prior space or orbital mechanics knowledge. Training materials are available through the StellarXplorers website and AGI. Instructions for competition round preparation are emailed directly to coaches prior to each round.

Here are some training materials to get you started:

TRAINING MATERIALS

Feel free to download this checklist as a guide to help you prepare for the season:

DOWNLOAD CHECKLIST

Registration opens after Finals of the previous competition season towards the end of April. The registration window is open from the end of April until 4 October 2021. Teams are required to pay any required registration fees prior to Qualifying Round 1.

The competition season spans from October to April, during the school year. Teams are welcome, but not required, to train and prepare on their own over the Summer.

If you have any questions, please email info@stellarxplorers.org.

EMAIL US

STLX VIII Competition Season

Registration Open
23 April 2021

Registration Closes
4 October 2021

Practice Round 1
14-17 October 2021

Qualification Round 1
28-31 October 2021

Practice Round 2
18-21 November 2021

Qualification Round 2
9-12 December 2021

Practice Round 3
13-16 January 2022

Qualification Round 3
3-6 February 2022

Semifinal Round
24-27 February 2022

National Final Round
21-23 April 2022

All rounds of competition, except for the National Finals Competition, take place online. Teams may meet at and compete from any location – classroom, computer lab, public library, home, etc.

Teams qualifying for the National Finals Competition travel all-expenses-paid to the Finals location in the spring.

Current Competition – STLX VIII

The competition consists of three practice rounds, three qualifying rounds, a semifinal round, and a final round. The beginning of the season alternates between practice rounds and qualifying rounds. The top 64 teams after the first three qualifying rounds are invited to participate in Semifinals. The top 10 teams from Semifinals are asked to participate in Finals, and this is an all-expense-paid trip! The top 3 teams receive educational grants with varying values, the highest valued award going to the team in first place.

Competition Rounds

STLX VIII Finals is planned to be in-person, and it will be hosted at Space Center Houston, TX.

Scores

Information Coming Soon.

Rules Book

Please note that Team Directors and Mentors may only assist during practice rounds. During qualifying rounds, it is the responsibility of a designated student competitor to serve as Team Captain and ensure all deliverables are submitted on time.

For more information on the rules, please review the Official StellarXplorers Rules Book:

DOWNLOAD RULES BOOK

Training Materials

Looking for a checklist on how to get started?
Check it out here!

GET MATERIALS

Previous Results from STLX

The National Space Design Competition

STLX VII

FIRST PLACE

Aurora Composite Squadron CAP

Portland, OR

(left to right): Team Captain C/Lt Col Rhett Miller, Senior; C/Capt Joshua Vanrenterghem, Junior;
C/Capt Luke Van Sickle, Junior; C/1st Lt Colton Swift, Senior.

SECOND PLACE

Francis Tuttle Tech Center

Oklahoma City, OK

(left to right): Team Mentor Bryan Kitzrow; Sean Rice, Senior;
Renardus Herholdt, Junior; Team Captain Sam Doerflinger, Junior;
Clark Howard, Junior; Team Director Charles Koutahi.

THIRD PLACE

Scripps Ranch High School AFJROTC

San Diego, CA

(top to bottom, left to right): Alex Laskowski, Sophomore;
Team Co-Captain Abel Murtado, Senior; Jovanna Daniel, Senior;
Team Co-Captain Derek Phan, Senior; Tristan Tomasyk, Junior.

FINALIST

Buena Park High School AFJROTC

Buena Park, CA

(left to right) Brandon Ugliano, Junior; Carlos Lopez, Senior;
Skyler Gomez, Senior; Team Captain Martin “Leo” Morales, Senior;
Sophia Fanslow, Sophomore.

FINALIST

Buena Park High School AFJROTC

Buena Park, CA

(left to right) Team Captain Daniel Hong, Junior; Team Co-Captain Samuel Yu, Senior;
Andrew Palacio, Senior; Daniel Ventura, Junior; Stephanie Hong; Freshman.

FINALIST

The Science Academy STEM Magnet

North Hollywood, CA

(left to right): Team Captain Peter Husman, Junior; Vincent Lee, Junior;
Sean DeHaeseleer, Sophomore; Suren Grigorian, 8th grade;
David Tang, 8th grade

(bottom row): Team Director Josh Rosenthal

FINALIST

McMichael HS AFJROTC

Mayodan, NC

(left to right): Jacob Swisher, Junior; Team Captain Austin Smith, Freshman;
Lexi Pell, Senior; Vika Samsonova, Senior; Spencer Stott, Junior; Will Etringer, Junior.

FINALIST

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

Palos Verdes, CA

(top left to right) Jeremy Kim, Sophomore; William Huang, Sophomore;
Team Co-Captain Aksh Garg, Senior;
(bottom left to right) Team Co-Captain Akash Anand, Senior; Jason Apostol, Senior;
Edward Choi, Junior.

FINALIST

North Quincy HS AFJROTC

Quincy, MA

(left to right) Team Director l. Tom Brown; Eliott Trotman, Sophomore; Alexis Finnimore, Freshman;
Team Captain Charles Hulongbayan, Senior; Michael Do, Sophomore; Jaxson Ternlund, Senior

FINALIST

Edmond North HS AFJROTC

Edmond, OK

(left to right) Ethan Ran, Senior; Logan Kihara, Senior; Keean Moise, Sophomore;
Michael Gaona, Senior; Team Captain Alexander Loney, Senior.

STLX VI

FIRST PLACE

Bergen County Technical Schools

Teterboro, NJ

(left to right): Team Captain Toshiki Kakehi, Senior; Pranav Tripuraneni, Senior;
Carlo Dundovic, Senior; Francis Gargiulo, Senior.