August 27, 2020

The U.S. Department of Education has launched CTE Mission: CubeSat, a national challenge to build technical skills for careers in space and beyond. The Department invites high schools to bring space missions to students by designing and building CubeSat prototypes — in the classroom or at home.

Investors predict that space will be the next trillion-dollar industry, and as missions in space continue to expand, so do the career opportunities. This multiphase challenge offers high school students across the United States the chance to learn creative, collaborative, and technical skills for 21st century careers.

Help us share this opportunity with high schools in your state
Please share this information with the districts in your state. Any public school that is eligible to receive funding under the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006, as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), may participate in this challenge.

Schools interested in entering CTE Mission: CubeSat should form a team and submit a mission proposal by 5:59 p.m. ET on October 16 — no in-person collaboration or prior experience with CubeSats is required. The online submission form asks for school information, a team profile, a project proposal, and anticipated learning outcomes. Curated educational resources are available to students and teachers online in the CTE Mission: CubeSat resource hub.

We encourage interested schools to join a virtual information session on September 1. This will provide an overview of the challenge and allows schools an opportunity to ask questions about the challenge and submission process.

Please feel free to reach out to Alicia Criscuolo at alicia.criscuolo@ed.gov or contact hello@ctemissioncubesat.com if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Scott Stump
Assistant Secretary
Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education