Our Mission
The Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 for the purpose of fostering and promoting engineering knowledge and experience in the field of rocketry. ESRA's mission is to provide safe and exciting opportunities for academic groups to compete in aerospace challenges.
Each year, the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association hosts International Rocket Engineering Competition, the largest collegiate rocket competition in the world, accepting over 150 collegiate teams to compete for the prestigious title of overall winner! Each team designs, builds, tests and launches rockets with a payload size of 2kg or 4.4 pounds and target altitudes of either 10,000, 30,000 or 45,000 feet. Rockets are typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 ft. long. Multistage rockets and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, and hybrid) are allowed.
The IREC has been an annual occurrence since 2006. The competition achieved international status in 2011 – when schools from Canada and Brazil joined – and has continued to grow rapidly ever since. More than 2,000 students attended the 2025 competition, representing over 150 schools from 22 countries on 6 different continents.
ESRA has operated the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) since 2006.
2006-2016 - Green River, Utah
2017-2024 - Spaceport America, New Mexico
2025 - Spaceport Midland, Texas
2026 - Returning to Midland, Texas
