President of UCSC Rocket Team Teodor Langan (B.S., Robotics Engineering) shares about the team’s 2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) experience.

What is UCSC Rocket Team?

The UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team participates in the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), designing and building a rocket and its subsystems from the ground up. The team includes multiple subteams, both technical and administrative. Technical subteams focus on specific components—such as the vehicle, payload, or avionics—while administrative subteams manage operations, including outreach.

Although the team has existed for more than eight years, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a full reset. Since then, the team has steadily rebuilt and expanded. Just a few years ago, roughly 10 members represented UC Santa Cruz in the NASA Student Launch Initiative (SLI), competing against teams with more than twice their numbers. The following year, membership grew to more than 25 active participants. Today, more than 70 students are involved in the IREC challenge, supported by twice the number of subteams as before. 

The team’s mission is to foster a passion for rocketry and aerospace across the UC Santa Cruz campus and the wider community. Through IREC and other initiatives, members work to build upon collective knowledge year after year—reaching ever greater heights (literally).

What is the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC)?

The International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) is the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket competition, drawing more than 150 teams from around the globe to compete in multiple divisions. Each rocket must carry a payload and target an altitude of 10,000, 30,000, or 45,000 feet above ground level. The competition emphasizes science and innovation, with many teams pushing the boundaries of aerospace and rocketry each year.

The UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team made the leap from the NASA Student Launch Initiative to IREC out of a desire to reach greater heights and design larger, more complex rockets. IREC carries more prestige than any other rocket competition, and offers the team a platform to grow—and fly— even higher in the years ahead.

How did the team prepare for the competition?

The UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team competed in IREC’s 10,000-foot Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) division, which requires teams to design and build a high-powered rocket from scratch. Each rocket must fly as close as possible to 10,000 feet, carry a five-pound research payload, and return safely to the ground—all using a commercially purchased motor. 

Unlike many other engineering or robotics challenges, rocketry allows for limited testing. The team can only afford a few launches per year, each requiring weeks—or even months—of preparation and significant investments of time and materials. This makes early-stage research, computer simulations, and small-scale testing essential for validating designs before attempting a full-scale launch.

What was it like being at IREC and competing alongside teams from around the world?

Despite it being our first year competing in IREC, I was surprised to see how many other teams were also newcomers. College rocketry continues to grow in popularity around the world, drawing more teams to the competition each year. Once we arrived, it was clear we could stand alongside any other team—regardless of how many years they had participated.

What did you achieve at IREC?

We placed fourth in the 10,000-foot Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) division—third among U.S. teams—and approximately fifth overall out of 156 teams at the International Rocket Engineering Competition. Final rankings are still being confirmed. 

As first-year participants, the team opted for a more traditional rocket design compared to some of the more complex entries. While the rocket wasn’t at the cutting edge of aerospace innovation, its simplicity allowed the team to focus on meeting the competition’s core objectives with minimal risk.

How did UC Santa Cruz and Baskin Engineering support your project?

Baskin Engineering played a key role in supporting the UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team’s work. Much of the funding required to participate in IREC came from Baskin Engineering’s student organization grants and Giving Day contributions. Without that financial support—and support from other campus organizations—the team would not have been able to conduct as much testing over the past year.

Access to the Slugworks makerspace was also essential, providing the space, tools, and equipment needed to build and refine the rocket. 

For components involving robotics, such as the research payload, many team members relied on knowledge gained from electrical engineering courses. One course frequently cited by payload members was ECE 101, which covers foundational principles of electrical circuits that helped make the payload functional.

What skills are UCSC Rocket Team members gaining?

The UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team offers members the chance to gain experience across a wide range of disciplines through its many subteams. On the technical side, students can develop hands-on skills in areas such as computer engineering, embedded programming, robotics, PCB design, CAD, and composite or chemical work.

Rocketry is an all-encompassing field, and competing in IREC provides more than just technical experience. Team members also build essential skills in communication, collaboration, and time management while working under tight deadlines.

What are the team’s goals for the next year or for future competitions? How do you see your experience on the UCSC Rocket Team shaping your future careers?

Throughout this year’s competition cycle, the team also supported several parallel projects aimed at future rocket development, including work by the ground systems and avionics subteams. These teams have now progressed enough to be integrated into upcoming competition rockets. 

A key goal for the UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team is to continue developing each subteam and expanding into new technical areas year after year. As the team grows in size and capability, the aim is to advance into higher target apogee divisions—moving from the current 10,000-foot class to 30,000 feet, and eventually, 45,000 feet.

The purpose of launching sounding rockets is to push the boundaries of science and engineering. By entering IREC and exploring new frontiers in rocketry and aerospace, the team hopes to inspire members to carry that same spirit of innovation into their future careers. Even if they pursue paths outside of aerospace, the goal is to instill a lasting passion for engineering, problem-solving, and discovery—something that stays with them long after graduation.