RocketriX Challenge: 400 secondary school pupils set out to conquer space

On 13 and 14 March, 400 secondary school pupils set their sights on the stars at the École Polytechnique campus as part of the RocketriX challenge, organised by the school's Equal Opportunities Unit and the AstronautiX student society.

20 Mar. 2026

Diversity & Success

The programme was divided into two phases:
• A scientific project to build water rockets, carried out during the school year by Polytech students acting as mentors alongside their mentees, as part of the 'Cordées de la Réussite' initiative.
• A weekend of rocket launches, talks, and inspiring meetings with professionals from the space sector.

Participants gained a better understanding of the challenges and careers within this exciting field through a number of presentations:
•    A talk by Arnaud Prost (Chief Weapons Engineer at the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), member of the European Space Agency’s astronaut reserve, fighter pilot and professional diver).
•    A round-table discussion on careers in the space sector in France, with General Jean-Pascal Breton (Thales Alenia Space), Evelyne Cortiade (National Centre for Space Studies), Nathanaël Gibert (Safran Space) and Dumitria Sandu (ArianeGroup) in attendance.
•    A talk by Emmanuel Fratel (Latitude) and Benjamin Dicque (ThrustMe) on start-ups in the space sector.
•    A talk by Mathieu Beylard (Air and Space Museum) on ‘The history of the French space industry, from precious stones to Ariane rockets’.
•    A talk by Arnaud Demay (ArianeGroup) and Pierre Serin (National Centre for Space Studies) entitled ‘The French space industry today: the operation and development of Ariane rockets’.

The students presented their projects and launched their rockets in front of a jury comprising Noël Barreau (Safran Space), Dumitria Sandu (ArianeGroup) and Axel Duran (X Space). The winning teams received their prizes from Arnaud Prost.

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