European Space Camp (ESC) is an annual one-week residential summer camp held at Andøya Space in Andenes, Northern Norway, bringing together 24 young people from around the world to participate in a real rocket campaign. For 2027, the FAQ uses a calendar-year age rule: entrants may still be 16 at camp if turning 17 during 2027, but must not turn 21 during that year. Participants are divided into four working groups — Payload, Sensor Experiment, Telemetry, and Flight Modeling — and spend six days preparing and executing all aspects of a rocket launch, from soldering onboard electronics and developing weather balloon payloads to running flight simulations and establishing ground tracking systems.
The camp also includes lectures from European scientists and engineers on rocket physics and atmospheric phenomena, a mountain hike to the ALOMAR research station, and social activities under the midnight sun. All meals and double-room accommodation at the Space Center's hotel are provided. The About page and 2027 FAQ announce August 1–8, 2027. Earlier July 26–August 2, 2026 dates are historical and were not reverified during this check.
Attendance is entirely scholarship-based — there is no paid application option. Scholarships are available through sponsoring organizations and vary in coverage from full costs to partial travel support. The program is run by a nonprofit staffed entirely by volunteers, many of whom are ESC alumni.
Checked November 4, 2026: the 2027 FAQ announces a January 1 application opening, February 7 first-round deadline and April 4 second-round deadline, with no cutoff clocks. First-round results are listed for March 8 and final results for mid-May. Its calendar-year age rule permits someone turning 17 later in 2027, but excludes anyone turning 21 that year. Official pages disagree: the Apply page still says 2027 dates are unknown, gives an older 2006–2009 birth window, and excludes Engineering or Physics university students; the 2027 FAQ permits university applicants under its age rule, while warning that experienced aerospace-engineering students are unlikely to be selected. These differing instructions remain unresolved.