Summer 2026 · planning

Summer programs

Registration Sign-up for all summer tracks is coming soon. Dates and the official form will go out on Band and on this page once advisors approve the program.

Between ARC seasons we run summer programs: you sign up, get placed on a team, and spend the break chasing one engineering question end-to-end with a mentor. At the end, your group turns in a paper — same rigor you’d use for a lab report or design review, formatted for readers outside your team. Accepted papers become part of the AK Rocketry engineering journal on this site so sponsors, teachers, and next year’s recruits can read what you actually built and measured.

When
June – August (TBD)
Who
Anyone enrolled at Ardrey Kell High School
How to join
Band invite · Contact officers

The paper (engineering journal)

Every team submits one paper before the summer window closes. If it clears advisor review, it is assigned a volume and entry in the AK Rocketry engineering journal on this site — that’s our public record of what the club learned. Keep it honest, cite your sources, and put safety first.

  • Title & team — track name, all member names, advisor acknowledgement.
  • Problem statement — what you set out to learn or demonstrate.
  • Approach — design choices, sims, materials, and test plan (no step-by-step for anything unsafe).
  • Results — data, photos, flight or bench outcomes, and what failed.
  • Lessons — what you’d tell a team picking this up next summer.

Prize pool (depends on turnout): judged from your paper, build, and a short presentation (rubric on Band when sign-up opens) — $175 best thrust-vectoring team, $100 best dual-stage (solid) team, and $30 plus a journal spotlight for the best dual-stage water-rocket team (altitude wins; tie-breakers on Band). We only pay out if enough teams sign up for a fair comparison; officers post the minimum headcount before summer starts.

Tracks (hardest to easiest)

Thrust vectoring is the heaviest lift, then solid dual-stage, then dual-stage water rocket — a height contest where the best apogee wins. Each track spells out its prize so you know what you are competing for.

  1. Thrust vectoring

    Difficulty Advanced

    $175 Best thrust-vectoring team, if enough teams enroll for a fair judging pool.

    Anyone at AK who likes CAD, mechanics, or code more than chasing seasonal ARC deadlines.

    A gimbaled mount steers thrust so the rocket can track a target attitude. Expect modeling and simulation first, then a bench rig to prove the loop before anyone talks about putting it on a flight vehicle.

    Status Planning · sim-first, ground-test target

  2. Dual-stage

    Difficulty Intermediate

    $100 Best dual-stage (solid) team, if enough teams enroll for a fair judging pool.

    Members who already understand single-motor flights and want staging, separation, and sustainer ignition done right.

    Two stages, one timeline: booster burnout, clean separation, and sustainer ignition when (and only when) the plan says so. Heavy emphasis on testing, checklists, and advisor-reviewed hazard analysis before any motor work.

    Status Planning · flight not guaranteed this summer

  3. Dual-stage water rocket

    Difficulty Entry

    $30 + journal spotlight Competition format: highest verified apogee wins among dual-stage water rockets (sensors and tie-breakers on Band). Winning team also gets the featured paper slot for that journal volume on this site.

    Great on-ramp if you are new to the club or want staging logic without pyrotechnic motors.

    Two pressure stages, separation, and a second “boost” from water — same sequencing ideas as a solid dual-stage stack, but with classroom-safe pressure only. You still ship a full journal paper: design, flight log, apogee data, and what you would change before the next launch day.

    Status Planning