Experimental Sounding Rocket Association

What Experimental Sounding Rocket Association does

The Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) is a U.S. non-profit organization founded in 2003 to foster and promote engineering knowledge and experience in the field of rocketry. ESRA operates the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), an annual collegiate rocketry competition held every year since 2006. Each year, the organization accepts over 150 collegiate teams from more than 120 schools across 22 countries and 5 continents, with more than 1,800 students participating in the 2024 edition alone.

The competition's core product is a structured engineering challenge in which teams design, build, test, and launch sounding rockets carrying a 2 kg (4.4 lb) payload to one of three target altitudes — 10,000, 30,000, or 45,000 feet. Rockets are typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 feet long, and multistage designs using solid, liquid, or hybrid chemical propulsion are permitted. The competition has operated from three successive launch venues: Green River, Utah (2006-2016), Spaceport America, New Mexico (2017-2024), and Spaceport Midland, Texas (2025 onward). ESRA is headquartered at the Spaceport America, NM mailing address with a mailing address in Lansing, MI 48917, and operates with a small staff of approximately 9 employees.

ESRA's business model is community-led and built around the IREC. Revenue is generated primarily through competition participation fees paid by collegiate teams, although the exact fee structure is not publicly disclosed. Outreach is conducted through academic networks and the organization's competition website (esrarocket.org). The organization achieved international status in 2011 when schools from Canada and Brazil joined, and has since grown into the principal international forum for collegiate rocketry engineering competition.

Name

Experimental Sounding Rocket Association

Legal name

Experimental Sounding Rocket Association

Website

https://soundingrocket.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ESRA is a U.S. non-profit founded in 2003 that operates the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), an annual collegiate rocketry challenge drawing 150+ teams from 120+ schools across 22 countries each year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Engineering Education / Collegiate Rocketry Competition

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts Manufacturing (336415)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Launch Vehicles & Orbital Rockets (IMABACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rocket Engines (Solid) (IMABADAF), Rocket Engines (Liquid) (IMABADAE), Hybrid Rocket Engines (IMABADAG)

Keywords

• Collegiate rocketry competition
• Aerospace engineering competition
• Sounding rocket competition
• Student rocketry challenge
• Engineering education program

Headquarters

HQ city

Spaceport America, NM

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Competition Participation Fees: ESRA likely generates revenue through collegiate team participation fees for the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC). The exact fee structure is not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

ESRA operates the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), an annual collegiate rocketry competition held since 2006. Each year, more than 150 teams from universities worldwide design, build, test, and launch sounding rockets carrying a 2 kg (4.4 lb) payload to one of three target altitudes — 10,000, 30,000, or 45,000 feet — competing for the title of overall winner. Multistage rockets and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, hybrid) are permitted, with rockets typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 feet long.

Product overview

ESRA operates a single primary offering: the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC). This is an annual collegiate rocketry competition where academic teams design, build, test and launch sounding rockets. The competition features rockets typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 feet long, with payload capacity of 2kg or 4.4 pounds targeting altitudes of 10,000, 30,000, or 45,000 feet. Multistage rockets and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, and hybrid) are allowed. The IREC has been held annually since 2006 and achieved international status in 2011.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) Annual collegiate rocketry competition where university teams design, build, test, and launch sounding rockets with a 2 kg (4.4 lb) payload to target altitudes of 10,000, 30,000, or 45,000 feet. Rockets are typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 feet long; multistage configurations and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, hybrid) are allowed. The competition accepts over 150 teams annually from more than 120 schools across 22 countries, with launches conducted at professional spaceports.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,800+ students trained and engaged in 2024 alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA): EAA is a non-profit aviation organization running youth and collegiate programs (including AeroEducate and Young Eagles) and major events like AirVenture. Comparable as a non-profit membership organization that engages student aerospace communities and operates major annual experiential events, though focused on fixed-wing aviation rather than rocketry.
• Spaceport America: Spaceport America hosted IREC from 2017-2024 and is a key infrastructure partner. Relevant as an ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor, since its launch range, scheduling, and educational programming directly support ESRA's competition execution.
• Midland International Air & Space Port: Spaceport Midland is the host venue for the 2025 IREC. Relevant as the current infrastructure partner enabling ESRA's competition, with comparable operational role to Spaceport America in prior years.

Direct peers

• Tripoli Rocketry Association: Tripoli is the other major U.S. high-power rocketry sanctioning body, certifying members to fly complex propulsion including hybrid and liquid motors. Comparable to ESRA because it enables the same advanced collegiate rocketry activity, though it is a membership/club model rather than a competition organizer.
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS): SEDS is a student-run aerospace organization with chapters at universities worldwide that organize rocketry and space-related projects and competitions. Directly comparable because it recruits from the same collegiate pool (overlapping with ESRA's 120+ schools) and provides alternative structured rocketry engagement outside IREC.
• National Association of Rocketry (NAR): NAR is the principal U.S. hobby rocketry organization, sanctioning launches, certifying range safety officers, and serving both collegiate and amateur high-power rocketry teams. Directly comparable because it provides the regulatory/safety infrastructure that collegiate teams (including ESRA competitors) rely on, and competes for the same community's attention and dues.

Regional players

• British Interplanetary Society (BIS): BIS is the UK's principal space advocacy organization supporting student rocketry and astronautics projects through publications and conferences. Comparable as a non-profit engaging collegiate aerospace communities internationally, with regional (UK/Europe) focus versus ESRA's U.S.-anchored but globally attended competition.

Emerging players

• Base 11 / Stellar Explorations: Base 11 runs workforce-development rocketry and STEM programs targeted at community college and underrepresented students, including high-power rocketry challenges. Comparable because it competes for the same collegiate rocketry talent and sponsorship dollars via structured competitions, but with a narrower workforce-mission framing.

Broad incumbents

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA): AIAA is the largest aerospace professional society and runs student design competitions and conferences (e.g., AIAA Design/Build/Fly, student conferences). Comparable because it serves the same collegiate aerospace engineering community with structured competitions and educational programming, though at much broader scope than ESRA's launch-focused IREC.
• NASA Student Launch: NASA's Student Launch is a research-based rocketry competition for college and university teams, with similar design/build/launch requirements and high-power motor categories. Directly comparable as a parallel collegiate rocketry competition and arguably the strongest alternative to IREC for U.S. teams, though it is government-funded and structured around research payloads rather than pure competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esra-rocket

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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