The 2025 Ukrainian Rocket Modeling Competition for School Students brought together young engineers from across the country—but its impact reached far beyond the competition itself. For some educators, it became the inspiration to introduce rocket modeling to their own communities. This is the story of how a new rocket modeling club came to life in Chernivtsi.
It all began with the initiative of Olha Kosylo, Deputy Director of the Leonid Kadenyuk Chernivtsi Center for Young Technicians and Head Coach of Ukraine’s National Junior Aeromodelling Team. Over the years, Olha has played a key role in reviving youth aeromodelling in the region and helping it reach a new level. At the same time, she had a long-standing dream: to bring rocket modeling back to Chernivtsi, where the discipline had been absent for more than 25 years.
After seeing how successfully the sport was developing among colleagues in Chișinău, Olha began looking for a way to make the same thing happen at home. The opportunity came with the announcement of the 2025 Ukrainian Rocket Modeling Competition for School Students, organized by Association Noosphere together with the Ukrainian Spacemodelling Sport Federation.
The competition became the spark that turned an idea into reality. The team built its first launch pad, assembled its first pneumatic-powered model rockets, and started preparing for the event. What began as competition training quickly grew into something much bigger.
Following the first successful launches, Olha developed an extracurricular educational program in rocket modeling based on pneumatic and rubber-powered launch systems. The curriculum was officially approved by the Ukrainian State Center for Out-of-School Education, and in September, the city’s first official rocket modeling club opened its doors.
To introduce more children to the field, rocket modeling was also added to the regional beginner technical modeling competition. This encouraged more teachers to explore the discipline. Many initially assumed it would be too complicated, but after trying it themselves, they discovered just how engaging and accessible it could be. Most recently, to mark the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, students from the Leonid Kadenyuk Chernivtsi Center for Young Technicians launched rockets they had designed and built themselves using pneumatic launch systems.
Today, around 50 children attend Olha’s rocket modeling classes. Looking ahead, the team plans to compete in additional categories at future Ukrainian Rocket Modeling Competitions while continuing to expand opportunities for young people interested in engineering and technical creativity.
Noosphere is proud to see its initiatives inspiring educators across Ukraine to revive long-standing traditions and open new doors for children in science and technology.
Rocket modeling helps students develop engineering skills while gaining practical knowledge of physics, aerodynamics, and mechanics. As part of STEM education, it gives young people the opportunity to discover their talents, pursue careers in engineering and science, and one day contribute innovations — including future space technologies — that will help shape Ukraine’s future and the world beyond.
