2026-2027 DWU: High School Engineering Challenge

1. Engineering Notebook Template
2. Scoring Rubric

The 2026-2027 difficulty style is, “Fueling Flight Design Challenge: New Energy Systems.”

As increasingly more airplane belong of the United States’ National Airspace System (NAS), NASA and partners at the FAA, at universities, and in the air travel market are looking for methods to increase security, make flight more inexpensive, discover brand-new fuels for airplane, and minimize the quantity of time guests and freight invest in the air. This year’s Dream with United States Challenge concentrates on brand-new airplane fuels and how even the addition of one brand-new fuel will alter both the airplane they are utilized in and the airports where airplane remove and land.

The “Fueling Flight Design Challenge: New Energy Systems” obstacle is open to middle and high school trainees, with a various job for intermediate school groups and high school groups. Groups for both classifications will concentrate on the addition of an emerging airplane fuel source, melted gas (LNG) into our air travel environment. This will need groups to read more about LNG, how it may be utilized in air travel, the advantages of an extra fuel source, and what sort of modifications would require to be made to airplane and to airports to adjust to these brand-new modifications.

Considering that the early days of air travel, business airplane have actually depended on standard styles and facilities. Airplane have actually been a comparable “tube-and-wing” style, with restrictions that were made due to the fact that of the products airplane were made with, in addition to the innovation to construct these airplane. With the increasing accessibility of brand-new innovations and brand-new products, airplane no longer require to follow the exact same fundamental style. In addition, brand-new research study about fuel types, increasing need for more flights and more fuel has actually led to several choices that consist of kinds of fuel, increasing electrification, and more. That likewise indicates airports are going to require to change. Modifications in airport facilities will be required to include numerous fuel types, various entrance setups to permit brand-new airplane types, and possibly even various locations for various airplane. What will this all appear like? That partly depends upon scientists and designers in the future considering that these are obstacles the aeronautics neighborhood is beginning to deal with now and will continue to carry out in the future.

Worldwide each year, over 62 million metric lots of air freight are transferred, which is more than 33% of international trade by worth. This corresponds to about$8.3 trillion each year. With these great deals, even a little boost in effectiveness can have a big financial effect.

A significant air cargo business has actually revealed that they are aiming to change a few of their fleet with a brand-new airplane and have an interest in brand-new styles to increase effectiveness which will use a various kind of fuel. Your group has actually been charged by your airplane business to establish a brand-new principle freight airplane to provide to the air cargo business. Your group has actually been directed to concentrate on a style that will utilize melted gas, or LNG. Because LNG should be kept in a different way than standard jet fuel, the airplane style requires to adjust. These modifications, nevertheless, might result in ingenious styles that are more aerodynamically effective.

The air cargo business has actually offered the list below requirements.

• Team: 2 pilots. Presumed weight of 190 lb/person with a luggage weight of 30 pound
• Departure Field Length (Max Takeoff Weight, Sea Level, ISA +15 deg C, over a 35 feet challenge to a runway with dry pavement, well balanced field)≤ 12,000 feet
• Landing Field Length(Max Landing Weight, Sea Level, ISA +15 deg C, dry pavement) ≤ 12,000 feet
• Method Speed (Max Landing Weight, Sea Level, ISA)≤ 150 knots
• Variety: 3000 nmi at max payload weight
• Cruise elevation: 35,000 feet– 40,000 feet
• Cruise speed: Mach 0.8
• Reserve objective: Loiter for 30 minutes at 13,000 feet, Mach 0.8
• FAA Airplane Design Group( ADG )’IV ‘
• Freight
  • Overall freight weight of 125,000 pound
  • Freight volume of a minimum of 15,000 feet³
  • Freight should be carried utilizing basic system load gadgets(ULD ). Choice of the particular ULD type(s)depends on the group. The weight of the ULDs is consisted of in overall freight weight.

Groups will be supplied with efficiency info for the jet engine.

The high school module is for trainees in grades 9– 12. Trainees in grades 6– 8 will utilize the intermediate school module. See the Dream with United States primary website for information.Keep in mind: for groups that have both middle and high school trainees, those groups will complete in the high school difficulty.

The high school difficulty is open to all individuals in grades 9– 12 who are going to public, personal, parochial, and home schools in the United States of America and kids of U.S. military members stationed overseas.

The 2026/2027 Dream with United States Design Challenge for middle and high school trainees opens September 25, 2026. The submission duration for intermediate school entrants starts September 25, 2026, and concludes on January 22, 2027, at 11:59 pm ET. Schools, companies, and neighborhood groups must interact to moms and dads and guardians that submissions are restricted to one entry per group and group registration needs somebody over the age of 13 to develop the account (adult group sponsors might produce the registration on the group’s behalf if wanted). Entries should be sent through the submission link on the Dream with United States Design Challenge website: https://www.nasa.gov/dream-with-us/. Signed consent kinds from moms and dads or legal guardians are needed for all individuals that consent to the terms and requirements noted below and on the submission kind.

Usage of expert system tools for challenge-related work is not allowed. Groups need to not submit, procedure, or produce any material utilizing AI systems, consisting of openly readily available browser‑based GenAI services, AI‑assisted code generation tools, or AI‑generated images. All submissions should be produced exclusively by employee without the help of AI.

The end product for this difficulty is to prepare and send an Engineering Design Notebook.

Groups of judges will assess your work based upon what you send in your Engineering Design Notebook. Your group ought to browse the Scoring Rubric and start to do research study to develop a system to resolve the requirements of the note pad ; specifics about the note pad requirements can be discovered in the Scoring Rubric. The headings in the Scoring Rubric ought to be utilized as the headings in your Engineering Design Notebook. Complete areas of the Engineering Design Notebook as you finish the operate in each area.[19659031]Engineering Design Template(insert)

Scoring Rubric (insert)

The following research study resources can get you begun on your work. This is not an all-encompassing list of resources openly offered however is suggested to offer you a strong beginning point:

AACES 2050

Basic Experimental Tests and Modeling of LOX/CH4 Engines at High Pressures

“As Jet Fuel Supplies Tighten, Can Other Fuels Meet Demand?”

• Sep. 25, 2026— Challenge goes live

• TBD (check back quickly!)– Information Session

• Dec. 08, 2026— Registration Deadline

• Jan. 25, 2027— Submission Deadline

• Mar. 19, 2027— Finalists chosen and revealed

• Apr. 2, 2027— Finalist discussions(virtual)
• Apr. 9, 2027 — Winners Announcement

All high school entries will be sent through the NASA Gateway link discovered INSERT GATEWAY LINK HERE and on the Dream with United States Design Challenge web page. All entries should consist of the following:

1. Signed authorization type finished by moms and dad or legal guardian of each trainee.
2. Discussions need to be sent in a PDF format. PDFs are restricted to 10 MB. While each individual must register for the difficulty in NASA Gateway,ONLY ONE STUDENT SHOULD SUBMIT THEIR TEAM’S PROJECT ON THE TEAM’S BEHALF.
3. Art work should be sent as high-resolution pictures of the initial art work in.jpg or.png format(minimum of 2,400 pixels on the longest edge ). Keep in mind: AI-generated work will not be accepted.
4. The sent Engineering Notebook need to fulfill ease of access requirements.
   • To make your files available and certified with Section 508, it’s crucial to include detailed alt tags to all images, diagrams, and graphics. Alt tags supply text descriptions that help screen readers in communicating visual info to users with specials needs. When including alt tags, utilize clear and succinct language to explain the function and material of each image. In Microsoft Word, right-click the image, choose”Edit Alt Text,”and enter your description. This basic action makes sure everybody can gain access to and comprehend your material, despite their capabilities.
   • Alt Text Sample on a PC(right click over the image and a fall will appear, choose “examine availability homes and it will open the web inspector.”View Alt Text “alternative. If you choose that choice an” Alt Text “window opens with a grey box and guidelines for how to develop the alt tag.
   • Alt Text Sample on a Mac (right click over the image and a fall will appear, choose check ease of access residential or commercial properties and it will open the web inspector. There is a gray location that is highlighted. It is the area of the image alt tag in the code. You might require to click the gray arrow beside the word” image “in order to see the entire alt tag. To conceal the residential or commercial properties window click the X in the leading right corner of the window.

Entries will be assessed by market professionals based upon effect, functionality, creativity, and how well the concept is interacted. Jobs will go through a number of levels of evaluating. Leading groups will be asked to participate in the finalist phase, where individuals will be asked to sign up with a choose group of market judges and practically present their tasks( see timeline for dates ). A panel of Blue Ribbon Judges will then make award choices based to identify which tasks will be acknowledged.

A Scoring Rubric(see above )is readily available as a guide for groups. This does not require to be sentwith the group’s task.

Are you a teacher who requires to understand more about how to support a group or several groups? Are you a trainee would like to know more about how to get involved? Join us in October, when we will establish a mid-point check-in! Stay tuned for those dates to be launched on the Dream with United States style obstacle website.

Concerns:

If you have any extra concerns, please connect to the NASA Aeronautics STEM group at [email protected].

Dream With United States: High School Engineering Challenge

Dream With United States