Arlington, VA – The Department of Defense announced 14 high school and undergraduate student teams as winners of the second annual “Hypersonic Horizons High Speed Video Challenge” today. Designed to inspire the next generation of hypersonic technology experts, the 2024-2025 challenge tasked students with developing innovative solutions for space exploration and high-speed flight within thin atmospheres. The winning teams, representing schools across the country, will receive a total of $32,000.

Students tackled two separate real-world challenges facing hypersonic travel in this year’s competition. High school teams designed conceptual spacecraft capable of landing on celestial bodies like Mercury, Venus, Titan, Ceres, and Pluto, taking into consideration the unique environmental challenges each destination presents. Undergraduate teams focused on developing plane-like spacecraft capable of achieving hypersonic speeds within Mars’s thin atmosphere, exploring innovative solutions for lift generation, propulsion, and control. Teams submitted three- to five-minute videos presenting their solutions.

“The students competing today are the hypersonic engineers and scientists of tomorrow. Their creativity is proof that the future of this field is bright,” said Mark Glenn, director of DoD’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office (JHTO), which sponsors the Hypersonic Horizons competition.

Dr. Lori M. Stiglitz, the JHTO workforce development lead, noted the enthusiasm and dedication of participating students and their educators. “This year’s challenge built upon the success of last year’s competition with incredible momentum. Students dove into research and emerged with remarkably innovative solutions to the complexities of hypersonic travel, impressing judges with their technical understanding, creativity, and presentation skills.”