Student Rocketeers Soar at NASA’s 2025 National Launch Showcase
Image: NASA/Krisdon Manecke
Over 980 students from across the United States gathered near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama on May 4 for the culminating event of the 25th annual Student Launch challenge. More than 50 teams demonstrated their engineering prowess by constructing and launching rockets to heights between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, all while completing complex payload objectives.
James Madison University emerged as the overall champion, outshining teams from North Carolina State University and The University of Alabama in Huntsville. This year’s mission drew inspiration from the Artemis program, requiring student teams to simulate lunar exploration tasks using “STEMnauts”—astronaut-representative payloads that transmitted real-time sensor data, mirroring how NASA astronauts will interact with mission control during Moon expeditions.
Organized by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement at Marshall, the initiative offers aspiring aerospace professionals an authentic taste of NASA’s design and testing processes.
Student Launch is just one component of a suite of Artemis-focused educational opportunities designed to fuel the next generation’s involvement in space innovation. With support from industry partners like Northrup Grumman and Relativity Space, NASA continues investing in young talent ready to carry humanity’s journey beyond Earth
