Group 2026.07.01

20th Student Aerospace Challenge

On June 25, 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Astronaut Club (ACE), ArianeGroup, the National Center for Space Studies (CNES), Dassault Aviation, and the Air and Space Museum organized the closing ceremony of the 20th edition of the Student Aerospace Challenge at the Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget (93).

For this edition, fifteen teams from schools and universities in six European countries (Germany, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom) submitted their final reports along with a poster presenting their projects. This number, which is in line with previous years, demonstrates the maturity of this international student competition.

At the end of the day, the Dassault Aviation Award was presented to the five students of the ImpAerials team from Imperial College London (United Kingdom) for their innovative project involving a hypersonic suborbital vehicle capable of very long-range flights.

Yves Pleindoux, a future passenger on a suborbital flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Delta in 2027, was on hand to share his journey with the students in attendance.

Award Ceremony for the 20th Competition

2026 Winners:

The ESA Grand Prize: the Pangea Astralis team from École Centrale de Lyon (France)
The ArianeGroup Prize: the PoliTOrbital-Propulsion team from Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
The CNES Prize: the ASTRONIKE team from the University of Caen Normandy (France)
The Dassault Aviation Prize: the ImpAerials team from Imperial College London (United Kingdom)
The Communication Prize, sponsored by the ACE: the AeroProp Design Team from Wrocław University of Science and Technology (Poland)
The Special Prize for Aerospace Challenge Day, sponsored by the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace: the PoliTOrbital-Medical Aspects team from the Politecnico di Torino (Italy)