The UK Space Challenge 2009
As part of the University of Cambridge's 800th Anniversary celebrations the Cambridge University Spaceflight team is delighted to announce the UK Space Challenge 2009. This national competition is aimed at teams of science students aged 14-18, or Science Clubs and Youth Clubs.The challenge is to build a scientific experiment that will be taken as a payload to the edge of space by a high-altitude helium balloon.
Teams will compete to design and build payloads containing everything required to conduct experiments on the edge of space. They could build sensor circuits, gather atmospheric data or take
photographs (and videos) as their payloads begin to leave the Earth's atmosphere and are subjected to
the cold and vacuum of space. Designing the experiments will be a fun and inexpensive way of expanding science education and inspiring the next
generation of scientists and engineers.
The 5 winning payloads will be taken to roughly 25km altitude onboard a CU Spaceflight balloon, chosen on two five-page reports detailing the capabilities of the built payload. Further prizes can be won by any team that reaches the second round of the competition, and will be awarded based on the reports and flight performance in the following categories:
* Best overall payload
* Most innovative experiment
* Quality and analysis of results
* Independence award, for high calibre student work with minimum assistance.
Experiments could include:
* Temperature and Pressure logging to investigate atmospheric behaviour with altitude.
* Sound attenuation in low pressure gases.
* Logging of accelerometer data to measure wind speeds.
* Automated photography depending on time or altitude.
Fill in the entry form found online to formally enter the competition before 1st December 2008. You will receive your payload box and full information when you do this. The preliminary deadline for the first 5-page report will be January 15th, when 10 teams will be selected to continue. The second stage 5-page report will preliminarily be due on March 1st.
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cuspaceflight/competition.php