Bearcat Spaceport Cup is a University of Cincinnati student engineering team that designs and builds high-powered rockets and competition payloads for the Spaceport America Cup. Its first rocket launch, in April 2024, reached 7,184 feet—the university’s highest recorded altitude at the time—and successfully deployed and recovered the rocket’s payload capsule. Alongside its rocketry work, the team mentors UC students and brings hands-on STEM activities to local schools.
Cornell Rocketry Project TeamSince 2012, Cornell Rocketry Project Team has given Cornell students hands-on aerospace experience by designing, assembling, and launching high-powered rockets for the Spaceport America Cup. A 50-member, six-subteam team, it builds a new rocket from scratch each year, including in-house hybrid motors and guided descent systems. Its 2025 rocket, Andromeda, reached 12,100 feet on a test flight and earned third place in the competition’s 10K Hybrid SRAD category.ITHACA, NY
Case Rocket TeamCleveland’s Case Rocket Team is Case Western Reserve University’s undergraduate aerospace design team, building and flying high-power rockets for nationwide competitions and aerospace events. Open to students from every major and skill level, the team has reached the Spaceport America Cup podium and set a team altitude record above 24,000 feet. Its work also gives members hands-on experience in composite manufacturing, propulsion, recovery systems, and National Association of Rocketry certification.CLEVELAND, OH
Clarkson University RocketryClarkson University Rocketry is a student-run competitive engineering team that designs, fabricates and launches high-power rockets for personal missions and international competitions. Working through Clarkson University’s SPEED program and composites laboratories, students take projects from modeling and in-house composite construction through flight testing. The team also supports members pursuing Tripoli Level 1 and Level 2 high-power rocketry certifications.POTSDAM, NY
Buckeye Space Launch InitiativeAt The Ohio State University, Buckeye Space Launch Initiative is a student-run aerospace organization that designs, builds, and launches rockets through competitive and research-driven projects. Its teams develop university-built vehicles for NASA’s Student Launch Initiative and the International Rocket Engineering Competition, while Liquid Rocket Systems has hot-fired its own additive-manufactured engine. Working from the College of Engineering Makerspace, BSLI brings together students from a wide range of fields for hands-on rocketry.COLUMBUS, OH