IREC 2027 · Midland, Texas · 14–19 June 2027
The road to Midland
IREC is the world's largest intercollegiate rocket engineering competition. KFUPM ASTROLAB enters 10K COTS, All Propulsion Types, in its first year.
01Category
Why 10K COTS
Payload: 3U functional payload, 2.27 kg.
A COTS record
Falcon-1 placed second at TEKNOFEST 2026 with COTS propulsion.
Test more, not less
Our own candy motors let us fly the full vehicle at home first.
Safety by design
No student energetics cross a border or enter the IREC range.
02Programme
Timeline
23 Oct 2026
Application submitted
Mid-Nov 2026
Acceptance
14 Dec 2026 (team target 6 Dec)
PDR
30 Jan 2027 (backup 6 Feb)
Flight test 1 · Saudi Arabia
27–28 Feb 2027 (backup 13 Mar)
Flight test 2 · Tripoli North Texas, Seymour; backup Tripoli Houston, Hearne
1 Mar 2027 (team target 20 Feb)
CDR
1 May 2027 (team target 20 Apr)
Technical Report
By 14 May 2027
Video Flight Readiness Review
19 May 2027
Final Launch Data
14 Jun 2027
Check-in · Midland
16 to 19 Jun 2027
Launches · Midland, Texas
03Scoring
Scoring explained
| Element | Points |
|---|---|
| Entry form and progress updates | 60 |
| Technical report | 200 |
| Design and implementation | 240 |
| Flight performance (350 altitude accuracy within ±30 %, 150 recovery) | 500 |
| Cube Unit bonus | 50 |
04Heritage
Where we come from
Falcon-1
TEKNOFEST 2026 : 2nd place, A4 international category.
ASTRO-1
Built for the 2025–2026 Space Grant Midwest competition, flown twice on team-built candy motors in Saudi Arabia.