The truth is that StellarXplorers is my favorite competition and program, of course besides my very own Project Horizon.  I was blown away how well the program was designed and how much integrative STEM knowledge is required to compete.  When I first learned of this second AFA program involving space, I jumped at the opportunity.

I was the school sponsor for the program back in 2016 and 2017.  It was an unbelievable experience as we made to nationals both years.  In 2017, I had two teams make it to nationals and we took 2nd place.  This was a true honor!!  We were able to meet Buzz Aldrin and also attend SpaceX's induction into the International Space Hall of Fame.

As much as I love this program and want to sponsor it each year, I had to relinquish my position as my Tech Club was growing immensely and had a 3 or 4 days afterschool program focusing primarily on IT projects and Cyberpatriot.  I could not fully devote myself to both Cyberpatriot and StellarXplorers as this is a huge time commitment, not only during the week, but the weekend competitions.  

Our school has never obtained the kind of success we obtained back in the early days of the competition.  The program is now being managed by our JROTC cadets.  I help them when I can and offer them mentors in the field, but in the end, its all about the training and focus.

To be honest, the key to our success was spreadsheets and macros.  We would write macros to compare data and spit out the best configuration required for the scenario.

Love this program!!!