About

In the past year, we had over 40 students travel to nine national and international conferences, competitions, and events. We secured NASA funding for a satellite launch in 2027, launched our first hybrid rocket in the Mojave Desert, and flew a biological payload on a parabolic plane to study mitochondrial changes pre- and post- flight. In the past, we have sent a payload to the International Space Station, tested devices in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab, presented official mission proposals at Cape Canaveral, and launched high altitude balloons (with our mascot Roaree onboard!).

We’ve hosted over twenty space-related public events featuring astronauts and other champions of the space industry, often with over 200 students and community members attending. In addition, we work closely with the non-profit Sophie Gerson Healthy Youth to conduct outreach programs for public middle school students around New York City, including events at the Intrepid Museum and Columbia’s campus, an annual week-long astronomy summer camp in Pennsylvania, and auditorium programs that give students hands-on experience with science and engineering. Last year, we taught over 1,000 students about space fundamentals and had them design and launch their own model rockets!

Because Columbia does not offer an aerospace degree program, our club provides one of the only opportunities for students to pursue or discover their interests in space technology and outreach. Our collaborative missions teach our students hands-on engineering skills that aren’t built in the classroom, foster new passions for science research and communication, and have grown CSI to be the largest STEM organization at Columbia. Our members and alumni consistently succeed during their internships at places like Boeing, SpaceX, and NASA, have continued to higher education at universities including MIT, Stanford, and Georgia Tech, and have earned some of the world’s most prestigious fellowships along the way.