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🚀 2026 Space Settlement Design Qualifying Competition
Step into the future. Registration is open NOW!
For the first time ever, the Aerospace Education Competitions (AEC) is opening the Write-In Qualifying Competitionto students worldwide. This year’s challenge invites you to think beyond Earth and into one of the most extreme environments humans have ever considered.
Teams will prepare detailed, realistic proposals to support the expansion of a pioneering space settlement—designing systems that integrate human comfort, industrial production, and long-term sustainability. Your job? To imagine the future as if you were living and working there already. Proposals must balance human factors, infrastructure, operations, safety, and commercial viability, all while meeting the expectations of an ambitious client.
This is not just a school project—it’s a simulation of what it feels like to be an engineer, scientist, or manager working on a real aerospace contract.
👩🚀 Who Can Participate
Open to students ages 14–18.
To attend the International Finals, participants must be at least 15 and no older than 19 by July 22, 2026.
Teams may be formed through schools, clubs, or independently.
⚠️ Students from State-Sponsored Terrorism countries are not eligible.
💲 Cost & Scholarships
$50 per team (paid at registration).
Grants/Scholarships available with a teacher’s letter of recommendation (can cover the full registration fee).
👉 We don’t want cost to be a barrier to participation.
📅 Key Dates
Registration Deadline: February 1, 2026
RFP Release: Within 10 business days of registration & payment or grant approval
Proposal Due: March 1, 2026 (midnight US Central Time)
Zoom Oral Defenses (Top 10 teams): Weekends, April 1 – May 1, 2026
International Finals (Top 4 teams): Late July 2026 in the U.S. (Florida; site details TBA)
🏆 The Qualifying Process
Teams register by February 1, 2026, and pay the $50 fee (or receive grant approval).
The Request for Proposal (RFP) is released to each team within 10 business days of completed registration.
Teams submit their written proposals by March 1, 2026.
The top 10 proposals advance to a Zoom Defense before a distinguished panel of technical, leadership, and business experts from NASA and other global aerospace and industry leaders.
The top 4 teams are invited to represent their region at the 2026 International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) in Florida.
🌍 What AEC Provides for Finalists
Transportation from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to the competition site (on official arrival day)
Hotel rooms: 1 room per 4 students, plus 1 double-occupancy room for chaperones/teachers
All meals during the competition
Full coverage of competition costs
ℹ️ Important Note: If teams request additional hotel rooms or extra days outside the official competition schedule, they will be responsible for those costs.
✈️ What Students & Chaperones Cover:
International travel and visa expenses
Each participant (students + chaperones) is responsible for ensuring they can obtain the required U.S. visa.
🔍 What Makes This Challenge Unique
Without revealing full details, here are a few hints about this year’s design brief:
You’ll be expanding an existing orbital/atmospheric settlement—not building from scratch.
Your design must transform raw resources into usable products while supporting hundreds of new personnel.
You’ll need to consider engineering, operations, human life, and livability in one of the harshest environments known.
Safety, redundancy, and risk management are essential.
🎓 Why Participate?
At ISSDC, qualifiers will join 270 students from around the world for a STEM challenge unlike any other. Over the course of 2 intense days, they’ll be split into 4 “companies” and tasked with delivering visionary, technically rigorous settlement designs—culminating in presentations to a panel of NASA, aerospace, and industry leaders.
This is your chance to design the future, collaborate globally, and step into the role of tomorrow’s innovators.
📌 Quick Links
👉 Register now: Click here to register
🔗 Learn more: www.spaceset.org/qualifying
📧 Questions? Email: [email protected]
Join the 2026 Space Settlement Design Qualifying Competition by AEC. Open to students 14–18 worldwide. Design future space habitats and compete for ISSDC finals in Florida.