Civilian Space Exploration

Technological advances in computational processing, and digital manufacturing are now enabling civilians to design, build and operate simple space craft and launch vehicles at an affordable cost. These new technologically driven capabilities are reigniting the passions and interests of students, private citizens, and communities around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and are creating in our youth a renewed interest to apply knowledge in STEM disciplines to facilitate their aspirations as active participants in a new space renaissance. These new aspirations represent key opportunities to re-engage students and the communities around them, in a comprehensive activity that embraces all areas of science, technologies, engineering and mathematics to accomplish as a group something greater than they can do by themselves; Civilian space exploration.

MAVERICKS CIVILIAN SPACE FOUNDATION is leading the world as the enabler of civilian space exploration through STEM education, civilian space research, and competitive challenges. Our vision is to build on the efforts of the model and amateur rocketry community and enable the common man to build vehicles and conduct space exploration missions in near-space, sub-orbital space, orbital space, and even planetary exploration one day.

In pursuit of this vision, the foundation is focused on creating the next generation of space explorers by enabling students in middle schools, high schools, and universities in partnership with educators and mentors in their communities, to design, and build space craft and launch vehicles, and operate their own space exploration missions in their classrooms and communities. We intend to establish 24 high school and middle school programs, serving over 6000 students and conducting over 300 sub-orbital flights over a five year period. The goal of this 5 year mission is to demonstrate the success, feasibility, and scalability of space flight missions at the secondary education, undergraduate, and graduate level, quantifying and qualifying the impact this opportunity has in engaging students in STEM discipline enrollment in post-secondary education, as well as assessing the programs impact on science and math skills as demonstrated by their performance on state education assessment tests, and pursuit of careers in STEM related fields.