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UK Space Competition Unearths Young Talent
London UK (SPX) Jul 15, 2008 UK students who have reached the final stages of a competition to design a space experiment to be flown on board a British-built satellite presented their ideas to Ian Pearson, Minister for Science and Innovation, during his visit to the Farnborough Air Show this week. The competition challenged teams of 14 - 19 year olds to design and build a small, compact satellite instrument that will be flown on a low Earth orbiting satellite due for launch in 2010. The instrument will be no larger than the size of a lunch box, weigh less than one kilogram and operate on less than one watt of power. The British National Space Centre (BNSC) teamed up with the world leading small satellite company Surrey Satellite Technology Limited earlier this year to launch the competition which is being supported by the company's scientists and engineers. Ian Pearson said: "I have been impressed by the number of high quality entries for this competition and the enthusiasm of the finalists who I have met. Competitions such as this one are vital in inspiring young people to explore the exciting opportunities open to them in the space industry. I hope the finalists go on to become tomorrow's space engineers, entrepreneurs and scientists." The six finalists and their experiments are: + Helston Community College, Cornwall - test the ability of bacteria to survive the extreme conditions of outer space + Langton Star Centre, Canterbury, Kent - detect cosmic rays hitting the Earth's atmosphere + Schome Park Project, a virtual team co-ordinated by Open University - observe 'earthshine' and identify key life markers in the reflected light of the Earth + Shrewsbury School, Shropshire - investigate the electrically charged particles that can disturb communication between space and Earth + UK High Altitude Society, Hampshire - measure the number of meteors entering our atmosphere, by bouncing radio signals off their ionised trails + St George's College, Addlestone, Surrey - study the characteristics of Near-Earth space dust, which can damage orbiting spacecraft The six teams will now develop full project plans for final judging. The winner will be announced at the International Astronautical Congress on 3 October in Glasgow. Dr Stuart Eves, competition co-ordinator at SSTL, said: "Satellites are an increasingly important part of our everyday lives. Many people are familiar with satellite television, and in-car satellite navigation but satellites also assist international communications, transportation, and disaster relief, to name but a few. "The competition entries we have had so far are hugely encouraging. Any of the six finalists could make their idea literally 'out of this world' by winning the prize of flying their experiment on one of SSTL's satellites in 2010." Related Links SSTL/BNSC competition Surrey Satellite Technology British National Space Centre (BNSC) Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
Magellan Aerospace Wins Lockheed Martin Orion Contract
Toronto, Canada (SPX) Jul 11, 2008Magellan Aerospace has been awarded a contract to build the development heat shields for the Orion Space Shuttle replacement program by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Division in Denver, Colorado. |
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