STAR is UC Berkeley's high-power rocketry team, with eighteen complete student-designed vehicles and three liquid engines built over a decade. Members join one of ten subteams, from propulsion and avionics to payload and recovery, and work toward national competitions like the ESRA Spaceport America Cup. No prior experience is needed: new members get a mentor and complete an intro project to get up to speed. All majors are welcome.
ApplicationsRegular recruitment season begins at the start of Fall semester
18
Complete vehicles engineered
3
Liquid engines built
10
Years active (more than a decade)
$10,000
Scholarship total per year, split among five recipients
$2,000
Scholarship amount per recipient
27,326
Caldera apogee record, in feet
Events They Host
ESRA Spaceport America Cup
National intercollegiate rocketry competition that STAR currently participates in.
Far Out Competition
Rocketry competition that STAR currently participates in alongside Spaceport America Cup.
IREC (Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition)
International rocketry competition. STAR competed in 2023 (Calvisitor), 2024 (Caldera, reached 27,326 ft), and is preparing Excalibur for 2025.
School Outreach Events
STAR hosts outreach events with elementary, middle, and high schools on and off campus, focusing on careers and education in aerospace. Past participants include Alameda and Palo Alto High School.