Built by students. Flown for real.

Bearospace is a student-led aerospace engineering program at UCLA. Every year our members take a high-power rocket from a blank CAD file to the launch rail — designing it, defending it in technical reviews, building it by hand, testing it on the ground, flying it, and learning from the data. Our structure mirrors a professional aerospace program, so members grow as engineers and as leaders while contributing to one integrated flight vehicle.

How a Bearospace rocket comes together

1. Concept. Set the mission and requirements for the season’s vehicle and payload.
2. Design reviews. Defend the design in technical reviews before anything is built.
3. Manufacturing. Lay up composites, machine hardware, and build every part by hand.
4. Integration. Bring the airframe, recovery, avionics, and payload together as one vehicle.
5. Ground testing. Prove recovery charges, electronics, and mechanisms on the ground.
6. Launch. Fly the rocket — at competition and at team launches.
7. Post-flight analysis. Read the data, find what worked, and carry the lessons forward.

Organized like an aerospace program

Members work across four divisions, each with its own leads:

• Vehicle

  The rocket itself: how it flies, what it is made of, and how it comes home.

• Avionics & Recovery

  The electronics that sense, record, and communicate during flight, and the parachutes that bring the rocket home.

• Payload

  The year's payload challenge, from mission concept to flight hardware.

• Safety & Operations

  Procedures, documentation, and compliance that keep every build and launch safe.

Explore our subteams

A note from our Project Managers

Welcome to Bearospace! We believe the best way to learn aerospace engineering is to build aerospace systems. Whether you’re an experienced engineer or a first-year who has never opened a CAD program, there’s a place for you here — on our Vehicle, Avionics & Recovery, Payload, or Operations teams, from first concept to post-flight analysis.

The friendships, mentorship, and connections you make here matter as much as the rockets we launch. Our goal is a team where everyone can grow technically, professionally, and personally. Explore our work, meet the team, and follow the journey.