C3: COSMIC Capstone Challenge
The COSMIC Capstone Challenge (C3) is a competition that invites students to develop conceptual missions & designs for spacecraft operations in-orbit or on the lunar surface.
Four challenge tracks are offered in 2025-26: (1) Orbital Manufacturing and Assembly; (2) Lunar Operations; (3) Orbital Servicing; (4) In-Space Assembly.
For full details: Download the 2025-2026 Information Packet
Register Today!
The Challenge Tracks
Track 1 Challenge: Orbital Manufacturing and Assembly (C3-Manufacturing)
Design a payload, to be hosted aboard Arkisys’ Bosuns Locker, that would demonstrate a chain of three or more discrete operations providing a capability important for orbital manufacturing or assembly.
Track 2 Challenge: Lunar Operations (C3-Lunar)
Design a payload, to be delivered by the Griffin lunar lander, that can create infrastructure for a permanent lunar outpost.
Track 3 Challenge: Orbital Servicing (C3-Servicing)
Design a modular and maintainable spacecraft, capable of autonomously servicing multiple client satellites, to provide critical functions. The spacecraft can be designed around platforms such as ESPAStar, or other practical, existent spacecraft that can accommodate the necessary servicing features, like robotic arms, refueling ports, grappling stations, etc.
Track 4 Challenge: In-Space Assembly (C3-Assembly)
Design orbital or surface infrastructure element(s) and outline the mission describing its construction using autonomous robotic assembly technologies. Teams should leverage previous work in modular building blocks and “builder robots” as referenced; teams may choose NASA’s Project ARMADAS or other types of building blocks and robotic systems to address their mission needs.
Who Can Join
C3 is open to US-based high school and college students. In addition to class-based teams, students can pursue C3 through student clubs, directed study or independent study.
Anyone who is interested in In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) or engineering capstones broadly.
Key Dates
While C3 has recommended milestones, including a Midpoint Showcase in December 2025, the main deliverables are the Final Outbrief (required) and technical paper (recommended), both due before the April 2026 C3 Final Showcase, on which the judge’s scores will be based.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Preferred Registration Deadline | August 4th, 2025 |
| Virtual On-boarding Session for Students (Recorded for later registrants) | September 8th, 2025 |
| Virtual On-boarding Session for Teams and Mentors (Recorded for later registrants) | September 10th, 2025 |
| Late Registration Deadline* | October 13th, 2025 |
| Midpoint Showcase | December 8th-12th, 2025 |
| Presentation and judging | April 13th-17th, 2026 |
Download the 2025-2026 Information Packet
Want to be a Mentor?
Experienced professionals — we need you! Become a C3 mentor, judge, or sponsor and inspire the next generation of ISAM leaders. If you are not a COSMIC Member, join COSMIC to participate in C3.
Inspire
Inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists, artists, and other visionaries to engage in, and contribute to ISAM challenges, create new methods, and grow our future workforce.
Innovate
Innovate within C3 and beyond. Mentors could continue design development of promising concepts post-competition, either by providing funding or through internal efforts.
Connect
Connect with fellow ISAM professionals in COSMIC serving as C3 judges, mentors, and sponsors. Identify future job candidates that will develop interest and expertise in ISAM.
Questions, suggestions, and concerns can be directed to C3@cosmicspace.org.
See previous correspondence to students and mentors here.
2024 – 2025 C3 Showcase
2024-2025 C3 Final Presentations took place April 14-16. Over the three-day competition, presentations were made in-person and virtually by twenty-three groups of 230+ college students from around the country.
“The COSMIC C3 participants have been absolutely brilliant. The creativity and ingenuity brought forth by the students, combined with the mentorship and perspective of the experts who are volunteering their time, have produced some truly novel concepts that I suspect could be adopted for real demonstrations over the next few years.”
-Jacob Rome, COSMIC Workforce Development Focus Area Co-Lead.
2024-2025 C3 Results and videos can be found HERE.