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The DRACO team posed with the Forest Wyvern rocket, a University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez sign, and a Puerto Rico flag at the 2025 NASA Student Launch competition venue
/ Est. 2018About DRACO

A student-led aerospace team, built in Puerto Rico

/ OriginOur Story

From a student project to Puerto Rico's rocketry team

Founded in 2018, DRACO grew out of the Alpha Astrum student organization at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. What began as an ambitious idea became the first Puerto Rican team to represent the island and the university on an international stage.

Today, DRACO is a non-profit, student-led team of more than 70 members across nine divisions. Each year we design, manufacture, and launch high-power, solid-propulsion rockets and a competition payload for NASA's University Student Launch Initiative — culminating on launch day in Huntsville, Alabama.

Along the way the team has earned a Rookie Award, top project-review honors, social-media recognition, and consistent top-20 finishes against the strongest university programs in the country.

/ 01

Mission

Develop future leaders across STEM fields and immerse students in Puerto Rico's growing aerospace industry — building the technical, communication, and teamwork skills needed to excel.

/ 02

Vision

Become one of the top competitors in NASA's University Student Launch Initiative and inspire a meaningful number of people to pursue careers in the aerospace industry.

/ 03

Philosophy

Learn by building. Real engineering happens through hands-on design, manufacturing, analysis, testing, and launch — supported by a culture of transparency and accountability.

Starfire being rolled out to the launchpad
/ PurposeWhy DRACO Exists

Building engineers, not just rockets.

The rocket is the goal — but the real product is a generation of engineers ready to lead in aerospace. Every launch is a training ground for the people who will shape Puerto Rico's place in the industry.
  • Hands-on engineering on real flight hardware
  • A fully student-led program across nine divisions
  • Representing Puerto Rico on an international stage
/ StructureLeadership & Systems Integration

How DRACO is organized

DRACO operates through an integrated leadership and division structure. Executive leadership coordinates mission direction, systems engineers align technical work across the vehicle, and each division owns a critical part of the team's engineering, operations, outreach, and support mission.

CaptainCo-CaptainSYSTEMSENGINEERSSAFETYTREASURERPUBLICRELATIONSLAUNCH VEHICLEFLIGHT PERFORMANCERECOVERYAIRBRAKESPAYLOADBUSINESSOUTREACHSOCIAL MEDIA
/ RecordTrack Record

Recognized on a national stage

Six years at NASA's University Student Launch Initiative in Huntsville, Alabama — every cycle with a new vehicle, and the team that flew it.

The 2026 DRACO team gathered under a canopy at the launch field, holding the purple Koeia airframe and a Puerto Rico flag
/ 20262025 – 2026
Koeia

#11

Overall · NASA Student Launch

Best finish on record

Best finish on record, and the first vehicle to fly DRACO's active-drag airbrakes system.

The 2025 DRACO team at the competition venue holding the Forest Wyvern airframe, a University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez sign, and a Puerto Rico flag
/ 20252024 – 2025
Forest Wyvern

#26

Overall · NASA Student Launch

  • ★ Social Media Presence — 1st Place

First-place recognition for the team's social media presence across the competition year.

The 2024 DRACO team standing in a field beside the blue Starfire rocket on its launch rail, holding a Puerto Rico flag under a clear sky
/ 20242023 – 2024
Starfire

#17of 54

Overall · NASA Student Launch

A successful flight with a functional payload vehicle.

The 2023 DRACO team walking the range at competition, carrying the rocket overhead and holding a Puerto Rico flag
/ 20232022 – 2023
Draco

#15of 52

Overall · NASA Student Launch

A successful flight and a completed mission objective.

The DRACO team gathered outdoors in masks around the rocket during a test launch campaign
/ 20212020 – 2021
Rocket II

Social Media — 2nd Place

NASA Student Launch

Recognized for an outstanding social media presence throughout the competition year.

The early DRACO team posed on the steps of a monument on the UPRM campus with their rockets and launch rails laid out in front
/ 20202019 – 2020
Rocket I

Rookie Award — 1st Place

NASA Student Launch

  • ★ Project Review — 1st Place

DRACO's first year in NASA Student Launch: first place for exceeding rookie-team expectations, and first place for the rigor of the competition reports.

Cosmic Cliffs — a star-forming region of gas and dust

Explore

From ambition to flight

See how the team turns engineering ambition into real, launch-ready rockets.

Explore DivisionsMeet the Team