More than 165 school students from 15 regions across Ukraine took part in this year’s National Rocket Modeling Competition for Youth. The event was once again organized by Association Noosphere, the Youth Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and Ukrainian Spacemodelling Sport Federation.
Over the course of nearly three months, participants designed, built, and tested their own rocket models, turning classroom knowledge into hands-on engineering experience. For safety reasons, the competition was held remotely: students launched their rockets in their home regions, recorded each flight, and submitted the videos to the judging panel for evaluation.
The competition featured several technical categories, ranging from parachute recovery rockets and rubber catapult gliders to pneumatic rockets powered by compressed air from a plastic bottle.
This year, the organizers placed special emphasis on welcoming newcomers. In the “Air Games” category, where participants compete by launching simple rocket models for maximum flight distance, two new age groups were introduced for the first time: children under 7 and participants aged 8–12. This made the competition more accessible for younger children by taking age-specific abilities into account and giving them an opportunity to take their first steps in engineering and technical creativity.
After reviewing all submitted flight videos, the judging panel announced the winners across the competition categories.
G-3-A
1st Place: Oleksandr Mykhalinchyk (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
2nd Place: Serhii Antonenko (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
3rd Place: Roman Yelisieiev (Cherkasy Region)
G-6-A
1st Place: Timur Khairullin (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
2nd Place: Serhii Antonenko (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
3rd Place: Mariia Dekhtiaruk (Cherkasy Region)
P-1-2
1st Place: Andrii Kovalchuk (Hlukhiv)
2nd Place: Arsen Revko (Lviv Region)
3rd Place: Serhii Antonenko (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
P-1-T
1st Place: Andrii Kovalchuk (Hlukhiv)
2nd Place: Volodymyr Rakitin (Dnipropetrovsk Region)
3rd Place: Danylo Soloshchenko (Hlukhiv)
Theory Challenge
1st Place: Matvii Derzhavetskyi (Dnipropetrovsk Region), Volodymyr Rakitin (Dnipropetrovsk Region), Maksym Khomyk (Lviv Region), Andrii Kryvonosiuk (Dunaivtsi), Hlib Rohovoi (Shostka)
2nd Place: Andrii Kovalchuk (Hlukhiv), Danylo Soloshchenko (Hlukhiv), Taras Bulas (Lviv Region), Oleksandr Dekhtiaruk (Cherkasy Region), Maksym Kozachenko (Dunaivtsi), Ivan Vavila (Shostka)
3rd Place: Mariia Dekhtiaruk (Cherkasy Region)
Air Games
1st Place: Arsen Revko (Zolochiv)
2nd Place: Yeva Vozhomenchuk (Lviv)
3rd Place: Roman Leshkivets (Lviv)
4th Place: Mykhailo Yurynets (Lviv)
5th Place: Andrii Amelin (Lviv)
Under 7
1st Place: Artem Kukharenko (Kyiv)
2nd Place: Maksym Tolov (Chernivtsi)
3rd Place: Platon Tulyk (Chernivtsi)
Ages 8–12
1st Place: Oleksandr Chernii (Vinnytsia)
2nd Place: Frants Vovchuk (Lviv)
3rd Place: Viktoriia Toronchuk (Chernivtsi)
Today, rocket modeling has evolved far beyond a traditional after-school hobby. It has become a powerful platform for developing practical STEM skills. As students prepare their rocket launches, they apply physics and mathematics to calculate flight trajectories, learn to read technical drawings, select appropriate materials, and design stabilization and recovery systems. Just as importantly, every launch serves as an engineering experiment, helping participants analyze results, identify design flaws, and improve their models.
The organizers are already working on expanding the competition with new formats and additional technical categories to engage even more young people of different ages and experience levels. The next season promises even more launches — and even more opportunities for Ukraine’s future engineers to put their skills to the test.
