BRITISH NATIONAL
SPACE CENTRE News Release (06/08) issued by COI News Distribution
Service. 3 October 2008
The Space
Experiment Competition for UK schools which will see the winning
team flying their entry on board a British-built satellite has
been won by Shrewsbury School with their proposal for an
ionospheric scintillation experiment called POISE.
Shrewsbury School, in Shropshire, beat five other groups from
around the UK in the final stage of the competition which was
announced at an awards ceremony at the International Astronautical
Congress in Glasgow (IAC) today (Friday 3 October).
The winning experiment is expected to measure variations in the
ionosphere, which can affect the accuracy and safety of satellite
navigation systems, and might also help to provide indications of
impending earthquakes.
The competition, launched earlier this year, challenged teams of
14 - 19 year olds to design and build a small, compact satellite
instrument. The experiment will be flown as an additional payload
on a low Earth orbiting satellite being built by Surrey Satellite
Technology Limited, (SSTL), the world's leading manufacturer
of small satellites based in Guildford.
The winning team had to overcome significant challenges to design
their experiment within the tight constraints of the competition.
Their instrument could be no larger than the size of a lunch box,
weigh no more than one kilogram and operate on less than one Watt
of power.
The competition has been sponsored by the British National Space
Centre (BNSC), a cross-Government organisation that co-ordinates
civil space activities in the UK.
Ian Pearson, the Minister for Science and Innovation, said:
"We have some fantastically creative and talented young
people in the country. It's staggering to see the effort and
imagination that has been generated by this competition.
"Shrewsbury School is to be congratulated on winning this
innovative joint BNSC/SSTL school competition. I had the
opportunity to meet some of the finalists earlier this summer and
all of their ideas were excellent evidence of innovative thinking
in our schools.
"I offer my commiserations to the runners-up. For the
winners, the hard work starts now. The winning instrument will go
into space on an SSTL satellite and I look forward to being
invited to the launch."
The students from Shrewsbury School will now work with
SSTL's scientists and engineers to refine the design of their
experiment. The experiment will fly on board an SSTL satellite
mission which is currently planned for launch in late 2010.
Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, founder of SSTL, emphasised the
educational potential of the mission: "SSTL was founded by
the University of Surrey and we have always had very strong links
with academia, so we're delighted to extend this opportunity
to UK schools. I hope that the experiment will encourage more of
our young people to take up careers in science and engineering."
Dr David Williams, Director General of BNSC, said: "The UK
has a fantastic capability in the space arena and ambitious plans
for exciting programmes such as the lunar exploration mission,
MoonLITE. We hope this competition will help to inspire the next
generation of space scientists who will make those plans a reality."
The judging panel included Professor Colin Pillinger and Keith
Mans, the Chief Executive of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
The winning team was announced at IAC by South Korea's first
astronaut, Soyeon Yi. She recently returned from a trip to the
International Space Station, having been chosen from about 36,000
applicants for the mission.
Notes to Editors
1. For photographs of the winners,
Shrewsbury School, and the five other finalists at the awards
ceremony at IAC, visit the following website:
http://www.engineeringbritain.com/prgallery/space_experiment
2. For more information about the joint BNSC/SSTL competition,
visit http://www.spaceexperiment.info.
3. For media enquiries, contact either:
Audrey Nice
SSTL
Tel: +44 (0)1483 804200
Email:
a.nice@sstl.co.uk
or
Robin Wolstenholme
Ballard
Communications Management
Tel: +44 (0)1306 882288
Email: r.wolstenholme@ballard.co.uk
4. The six finalists and their experiments were:
* 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
5. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) develops innovative
technologies to change the economics of space, delivering cost
effective satellite missions within rapid timescales. SSTL is a
world leader in the design, manufacture and operation of high
performance small satellites with experience gained over more than
25 years and with 32 satellites launched. SSTL is currently owned
by the University of Surrey (85%), SSTL staff (5%), and SpaceX of
the USA (10%). For more information, visit http://www.sstl.co.uk
6. The British National Space Centre (BNSC) is at the heart of UK
efforts to explore and exploit space. BNSC is a partnership of
seven Government Departments, two Research Councils, the Met
Office and the Technology Strategy Board. It co-ordinates UK civil
space activities and represents the UK at the European Space
Agency. For more information, visit http://www.bnsc.gov.uk
ISSUED JOINTLY BY BNSC and SSTL