★ Grades 7–12 & College · Live Online · Small Cohorts
Aerospace Engineering Programs for Serious Students
Three live online programs covering the three ways engineers actually work in aerospace — designing missions, proving them in simulation, and building the hardware that flies. Taught in small cohorts by aerospace and embedded-systems instructors. No prior experience required for any of them.
The programs
One foundation. Two specialisations.
The Aerospace Lab is where most students start — it covers the whole field and helps them find the part that grabs them. The Rocket and CanSat labs go deep in two different directions. None is a prerequisite for another, and every one is built for students starting from zero, so you can begin wherever the interest already is.
Level 1 · FoundationWhere most students start
✈️
Aerospace Engineering & Mission Design Lab
The broad survey, and the fastest way to find out which part of aerospace a student actually loves. Aerodynamics and flight mechanics, aircraft systems and avionics, aviation weather and navigation, drones and autonomy, satellites and orbital mechanics — each concept paired with a hands-on simulator lab, building to a Capstone Mission Design Defence.
- 6 weeks × 90 min · grades 7–12
- College-level concepts, accessible delivery
- No maths or coding prerequisites
- Leads naturally into either Level 2 lab
$999
tuition · no hardware
Explore the Foundation →
Level 2 · SpecialisationsTake either, both, or start here directly
🚀
Go deep · The analysis
Rocket & Launch Vehicle Design Lab
The computational one. Design a launch vehicle in OpenRocket, simulate its flight in Python with RocketPy, run Monte Carlo dispersion studies to see how far it scatters, then fly a scored mission and defend the design in a formal Mission Design Review.
- 8 weeks × 90 min · grades 9–12 & college
- Real Python — from starter notebooks, no experience needed
- No hardware to buy; all software is free
🛰️
Get hands-on · The build
CanSat Space Engineering & Mission Control Lab
The hardware one. Wire and program a real satellite engineering prototype — ESP32 flight computer, environmental and motion sensors, GPS, LoRa radio telemetry — build your own ground station and mission-control dashboard, and run a live telemetry mission.
- 8 weeks × ~2 hr · grades 8–12 & college
- Coding, electronics & radio taught from scratch
- The finished satellite is yours to keep
Which one is right?
Pick by what your student enjoys, not by difficulty
All three are demanding and all three start from zero. The right choice is about temperament — does your student want breadth, analysis, or something they can hold?
"I like space, but I don't know which part yet."
Start at Level 1. Six weeks across flight, drones, weather, satellites and mission design will tell you — and them — where the interest actually is.
Aerospace & Mission Design Lab →"I like maths, modelling and getting the answer right."
Go straight to Level 2. Design a vehicle, simulate it, quantify how wrong the model might be, and defend the decisions — the way engineers actually settle arguments.
Rocket & Launch Vehicle Design Lab →"I want to build something real and keep it."
Go straight to Level 2. Solder, wire, code and debug real avionics hardware, then run a live mission with telemetry streaming to a dashboard you built.
CanSat Space Engineering Lab →| Aerospace & Mission Design | Rocket & Launch Vehicle | CanSat Space Engineering | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Level 1 · Foundation | Level 2 · Specialisation | Level 2 · Specialisation |
| What it is | Broad aerospace survey | Computational engineering | Hardware build |
| Grades | 7–12 | 9–12 & college | 8–12 & college |
| Length | 6 weeks × 90 min | 8 weeks × 90 min | 8 weeks × ~2 hr |
| Main tools | College-level simulators | OpenRocket, Python, RocketPy | ESP32, sensors, LoRa, Serial Studio |
| Maths needed | None beyond school maths | Basic algebra & reading a graph | None |
| Coding | None | Python, from starter notebooks | Arduino / C++, taught from scratch |
| Hardware | None | None | Required, $300–$500, yours to keep |
| Capstone | Mission Design Defence | Scored mission + Design Review | Live telemetry mission + portfolio |
| Tuition | $999 | $999 | $999 + hardware |
| Prerequisite | None — any programme can be taken first, and each starts from zero | ||
Still unsure? Talk to an advisor — a ten-minute conversation usually settles it.
Where it leads
A pathway, not a single course
Students often take more than one. A common route is breadth first, then a specialisation, then mentored research — but you can start anywhere.
Step 1 · Explore
Aerospace & Mission Design Lab
Find out which part of aerospace actually holds their attention.
Step 2 · Specialise
Rocket Lab or CanSat Lab
Go deep on analysis, or deep on hardware. Many students do both.
Step 3 · Apply
Competitions & clubs
Take the engineering into student rocketry competitions or an organised club — independently arranged by your family.
Step 4 · Research
Aerospace Research Fellowship →
1:1 PhD mentorship turning an aerospace interest into an original research project.
Free to read
Start learning before you enrol
Written by our instructors — genuinely useful whether or not you ever join a programme.
Satellites
CanSat vs CubeSat: the complete guide
What each one is, what they really cost, the competitions you can actually enter, and which to build first.
CompetitionsStudent rocketry competitions explained
The American Rocketry Challenge, NASA Student Launch, deadlines and what a team needs before entering.
EngineeringRocket stability: CP, CG and static margin
Why rockets tumble — and why too much stability is also a problem.
Aerospace engineering, taught properly, from anywhere.
Live small-cohort programmes for grades 7–12 and college. Real tools, real engineering, and a portfolio worth showing. No prior experience required.