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Aerospace, Aviation, and Space-Research Programs for High School Students

Updated: 2 days ago

In this article we detail the various Aerospace, Aviation, and Space-Research Programs for High School Students. Make sure to check the reference web addresses given for each program for the latest updates.


Aerospace, Aviation, and Space-Research Programs for High School Students.

1. NASA & Space-Grant-Backed Flagship Programs


1. Texas Space Grant Consortium - SEES High School Summer Intern Program (NASA/UT Austin)


What it is:

The Summer High School Intern Program (SEES) is run by the Texas Space Grant Consortium and UT Austin with NASA support. Students work on authentic NASA-related projects in areas like Earth science, planetary science, space engineering, and coding. The program combines several weeks of remote work with a residential experience at UT Austin.


Who it’s for (year-wise):

  • Typically current 10th and 11th graders (rising juniors and seniors) at application time.

  • Must be U.S. citizens; open to students nationwide.


Format & location:

  • Spring/early summer virtual work + on-site residential week at UT Austin with NASA and university mentors.


Cost:

  • The program itself is free. In recent cycles, the program has covered travel, housing, and meals for students invited to the on-site portion, but you should always confirm the current policy on the official SEES site.


Why it’s strong:

  • Real NASA-style data projects, strong mentoring, and a track record of sending alumni into top STEM programs.

Reference URL : http://rocketcenter.com


2. NASA Johnson Space Center - Texas High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS)


What it is:

High School Aerospace Scholars is a NASA JSC program for Texas students. Participants complete an online STEM course during the school year, then top performers are invited to an on-site summer experience at Johnson Space Center, designing Mars or lunar mission concepts with NASA engineers.


Who it’s for:

  • Texas high school juniors (current 11th graders) with strong STEM interest.

  • Must be U.S. citizens and attend a Texas high school.


Format & location:

  • Online academic coursework during the school year.

  • One-week on-site residential academy at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for selected students.


Cost:

  • Free to students; program materials, housing, and meals for the summer experience are covered. Travel support policies can vary by year; check the current details.


Why it’s strong:

  • Deep NASA involvement, highly selective, and strongly aligned with aerospace/space careers.



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3. Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS)


What it is:

VASTS is run by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium with NASA Langley and other partners. Students complete an online NASA-themed aerospace course, then selected students attend a residential summer academy focusing on space mission design.


Who it’s for:

  • Virginia high school juniors and seniors (often focused on current 11th graders).

  • Must be U.S. citizens and residents of Virginia.


Format & location:

  • Online course during the school year.

  • One-week residential academy at NASA Langley Research Center for selected students.


Cost:

  • No tuition; the program covers most major costs for the academy (housing, meals, materials). Families may have some travel costs—verify each year.


Why it’s strong:

  • Serious aerospace curriculum tied to NASA facilities, plus potential for dual-enrollment college credit at some partner schools.


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4. NASA Glenn Research Center - High School Engineering Institute (HSEI)


What it is:

HSEI is a two-week engineering program at NASA Glenn (Cleveland, OH). Students work in teams on engineering design projects and learn about aerospace research first-hand from NASA engineers.


Who it’s for:

  • Rising 11th-12th graders (typically current sophomores and juniors).

  • Must be U.S. citizens.

  • Preference is given to students from Cuyahoga County and nearby counties in Ohio.


Format & location:

  • Day program (students commute; not residential) on the NASA Glenn campus.


Cost:

  • Free; NASA provides instruction, materials, and lunch. Families handle daily transportation.


Why it’s strong:

  • Direct exposure to real aerospace engineering environments with no tuition cost, but limited geographically.




2. Space & Rocketry Design Challenges (Often Free or School-Funded)

These aren’t classic “summer camps”, but they’re big, structured projects that feel very much like aerospace internships or design studios.


5. NASA TechRise Student Challenge


What it is:

NASA TechRise is a national design challenge for teams in grades 6-12. Teams propose experiments to fly on a high-altitude balloon or suborbital rocket. Winning teams receive funding to build their payloads and get their experiments flown.


Who it’s for:

  • U.S. classroom or after-school teams in grades 6-12; perfect for high school physics/engineering classes or clubs.


Format:

  • School-year or summer project work guided by teacher/mentor.

  • Engineering design, prototyping, testing, and flight operations.


Cost:

  • Winning teams receive about $1,500 in funding plus a free flight for their payload.


Why it’s strong:

  • Real hardware flying to near-space; a very concrete, resume-worthy aerospace project.



6. NASA Student Launch (Artemis Student Challenges)


What it is:

NASA Student Launch is an annual rocketry challenge where middle school, high school, college, and informal teams design, build, and fly high-powered rockets with scientific or engineering payloads, often aligned with Artemis mission concepts.


Who it’s for:

  • School or club teams including grades 6-12 and higher ed.


Format:

  • Long-term design project across the school year, often culminating in a spring launch event at a NASA facility.


Cost:

  • Teams fundraise and seek sponsorships for materials and travel. NASA sometimes offers limited travel stipends; check current rules.


Why it’s strong:

  • Deep, end-to-end aerospace design and testing, with strong NASA visibility.



7. The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC)

What it is:The American Rocketry Challenge is the largest student rocketry competition in the world, with thousands of U.S. middle and high schoolers. Teams design and fly model rockets to precise altitude and time-on-flight requirements.


Who it’s for:

  • Grades 6-12; many teams are formed as school clubs or through organizations like 4-H or Civil Air Patrol.


Format:

  • Local test flights → qualifying flights → national finals in the Washington, D.C. area for top teams.


Cost:

  • Teams pay registration and cover rocket materials.

  • National finalists compete for more than $100,000 in prizes and scholarships and may earn trips to international air shows.


Why it’s strong:

  • Superb hands-on aerospace design experience and a major credential for engineering-minded students.




3. University-Based Aerospace, Aviation & Space-Science Programs


8. Embry-Riddle SKY-CARE Summer Research Program


What it is:

SKY-CARE (Summer Kids and Youth - Community Aerospace Research Experience) is an 8-week summer research experience at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL). High school students work with ERAU faculty and students on aerospace, aviation, and engineering research projects.


Who it’s for:

  • High school students from select Volusia County schools in Florida (the program is currently region-limited).


Format & location:

  • Multi-week, on-campus research internship with mentoring and project presentations at ERAU.


Cost:

  • Run as an educational outreach program; there is no standard tuition, and students may receive stipends depending on funding in a given year—families should verify details for the current cycle.


Why it’s strong:

  • True aerospace research experience on a campus that is entirely focused on aviation and aerospace.



9. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Summer Programs (Aviation & Aerospace Camps)


What they are:

Embry-Riddle’s Prescott (AZ) and Daytona Beach (FL) campuses run a range of aviation, aerospace engineering, spaceflight, and drone summer programs for middle and high school students—everything from “Aerospace Engineering Experience” to “Flight Exploration” and “Spaceflight Operations”.


Who they’re for:

  • Typically ages ~14-18 (exact age and grade ranges vary by camp).


Format & location:

  • 1-2 week residential or day camps on ERAU campuses, often with simulator time, lab work, design challenges, and guest lectures.


Cost:

  • Paid programs; tuition varies by camp (often in the $1,000-$2,000+ per week range, sometimes including housing and meals). Limited scholarships are available for some offerings.


Why they’re strong:

  • Heavily aviation/aerospace-focused environment with access to flight simulators, hangars, and faculty who live and breathe the field.


Reference URL :


10. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) - Aerospace-Relevant Tracks


What it is:

BWSI is a four-week, highly selective STEM program for rising high school seniors, hosted by MIT and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Some courses are directly relevant to aerospace, such as Autonomous Air Vehicle Racing and Build a CubeSat style satellite courses (course list changes year to year).


Who it’s for:

  • Rising seniors (current 11th graders) attending high school in the U.S. (citizen and certain non-citizen students at U.S. schools can apply).


Format & location:

  • Spring: free online prerequisite courses.

  • Summer: 4-week intensive program, in-person and/or virtual depending on course, headquartered at MIT in Cambridge, MA.


Cost:

  • The online prerequisites are free.

  • For the summer program, families above a certain income pay a program fee (recent information suggests about $2,350 for higher-income families), while lower-income families can attend at reduced cost or free through a sliding-scale/waiver system.


Why it’s strong:

  • Very rigorous and well-regarded by top engineering schools, with aerospace-relevant projects in autonomy, satellites, and robotics.


Reference URL : https://bwsi.mit.edu/


11. Summer Science Program (SSP) - Astrophysics


What it is:

SSP is a 39-day residential research program with tracks in astrophysics, biochemistry, genomics, and more. The Astrophysics track is deeply space-focused: students observe near-Earth asteroids using professional-grade telescopes and compute their orbits using real scientific methods.


Who it’s for:

  • Primarily current high school juniors (rising seniors).

  • Applicants must have completed or be completing high school physics and precalculus (or calculus if no physics is available).


Format & location:

  • Residential at host universities (e.g., University of Colorado Boulder, New Mexico State University, UNC Chapel Hill).


Cost:

  • Recent independent guides list tuition around $8,400 for the full program.

  • SSP offers substantial need-based financial aid and commits to meeting demonstrated financial need, so lower-income students can often attend at low or no cost.


Why it’s strong:

  • One of the most respected pre-college science programs in the U.S., with a direct focus on space science and a huge alumni network in astrophysics and aerospace.




4. Aviation & Flight Training Pathways

These are ideal for students who care about aircraft, piloting, and aviation operations, sometimes with extremely generous funding.


12. AFJROTC Flight Academy (Air Force Junior ROTC)


What it is:

The AFJROTC Flight Academy is an 8-week summer aviation scholarship that sends selected AFJROTC cadets to partner universities for intensive flight training, often culminating in a Private Pilot Certificate.


Who it’s for:

  • AFJROTC cadets (so the student must already be in an AFJROTC unit).

  • Typically rising 11th-12th graders (and some rising college freshmen) who are at least 16 by the start of training and U.S. citizens.


Format & location:

  • 7-8 week residential university-hosted flight training at civilian flight schools or partner campuses.


Cost:

  • A full scholarship covering tuition, flight hours, room & board, and often valued around $20,000-$27,000 per cadet. Families usually only handle incidental expenses and travel, depending on year.


Why it’s strong:

  • One of the very few ways a high school student can earn a private pilot license essentially for free.



13. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) - Cadet National Flight Academies & Orientation Flights


What it is:

Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, runs a cadet program (ages 12-18) with aerospace education, leadership, and very real flying opportunities. National Flight Academies (NFAs) give cadets 10-15 hours of powered flight instruction, and CAP also offers free orientation flights with CAP pilots.


Who it’s for:

  • Students must join CAP as cadets (12-18); many are middle- and high-school students.


Format & location:

  • NFAs are 1-2 week summer flight schools at various locations, plus local squadron meetings year-round.


Cost:

  • NFAs charge heavily subsidized fees compared with normal flight training (exact amounts vary), and orientation flights are free for cadets.

  • Note that CAP’s glider program has been scaled back recently; most new NFAs focus on powered flight.


Why it’s strong:

  • An affordable, structured way to get serious flight time and aerospace leadership experience.



14. U.S. Space & Rocket Center - Space Camp / Advanced Space Academy


What it is:

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama runs Space Camp, Space Academy, and Advanced Space Academy, internationally known residential experiences based on astronaut training. Advanced Space Academy is especially relevant for older high school students and dives into mission simulations, space science, and engineering challenges.


Who it’s for:

  • Space Camp programs broadly serve ages 9-18.

  • Advanced Space Academy and Advanced Space Academy Elite are designed for ages 15-18 (high school).


Format & location:

  • 1-week residential camps in Huntsville, AL with astronaut-style simulators, mission control simulations, and teamwork activities.


Cost:

  • Current published tuition for Advanced Space Academy is around $1,999 for a week, with some scholarship opportunities and special programs for Alabama students.


Why it’s strong:

  • Iconic, immersive space environment with huge motivational value and long alumni history.


Reference URL :



5. Aerospace, Aviation, and Space-Research Programs for High School Students

A few practical tips for families and students:


  1. Match grade level and citizenship early.Many NASA and state Space-Grant programs are only for U.S. citizens and may be restricted to specific states (Texas, Virginia, Ohio). Start narrowing by those filters first.


  2. Build a multi-year plan.

    • 9th-10th: Join Civil Air Patrol or a school rocketry club; start with American Rocketry Challenge or NASA TechRise.

    • 10th-11th: Apply to SEES or state aerospace scholars if eligible, plus rocketry competitions.

    • 11th: Aim for major flagships like BWSI or SSP Astrophysics and consider Advanced Space Academy or ERAU camps if budget allows.


  3. Watch costs and financial aid.

    • Truly free or near-free experiences include: HAS, VASTS, SEES, HSEI, AFJROTC Flight Academy, and many NASA design challenges for winning teams.

    • High-cost residential programs like Space Camp, ERAU camps, BWSI, and SSP often provide significant need-based aid or scholarships, so don’t self-reject purely on sticker price.


  4. Double-check current information.All of the details above are accurate to the best of current public information, but dates, fees, and exact eligibility change almost every year. Always confirm on the official program website before you apply.

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