From local test launches to national competitions, the SmilingTree Rocketry team has soared higher each year. This gallery showcases our proudest moments—flights, awards, and experiences from the American Rocketry Challenge (ARC) and NASA Student Launch Initiative (SLI).
Through our outreach efforts at NASA's Student Launch Initiative (SLI), we engaged over 300 students, sharing knowledge and sparking interest in rocketry and aerospace through hands-on learning and mentorship.
Our team was recognized for innovation and excellence in payload design, a core part of the NASA SLI challenge. This award reflects our creativity, technical rigor, and dedication to building meaningful experiments.
Months of dedication led our team to Huntsville, Alabama, to stand among the nation’s top student rocketry teams at NASA SLI. Watch the highlights of our national launch and hear directly from our team leaders during an on-field interview with NASA.
Our first big step in the SLI program—testing a smaller version of our rocket to validate design choices, safety, and flight performance. This milestone laid the groundwork for our full-scale launches.
The first full-scale test flight of our SLI rocket in Pasco, WA. The team worked through months of preparation to bring our design from blueprint to sky.
A second launch in Pasco allowed us to refine our recovery system and improve overall flight performance. Every flight brought valuable lessons in engineering, safety, and teamwork.
Visit our full YouTube channel for more launches, behind-the-scenes clips, and achievements: