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 an innovative scientific experiment that will be taken as a payload to the edge of space by a CU Spaceflight high-altitude helium balloon. Students teams will compete to design, construct and test innovative scientific experiments that can withstand the cold and vacuum of space. The winning five teams will have their experiments launched to roughly 25km altitude (see photograph right) by the CU Spaceflight team and will gain first hand experience of designing equipment for the space industry. Could this be the cover of your next school magazine??

A detailed competition flyer is available here.

The official press release is available here.

Useful links for teams building their payloads

The UK Space Challenge Forum

Prizes

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.

Competition Rules in Brief

Teams will design, build and test a payload to fit entirely in the given payload box (140x140x140mm internal).

Payloads must weigh no more than 0.4kg at launch.
Payloads must contain no living animals, explosives or hazardous materials.
Teams must submit 5-page reports which will decide their progress through the two rounds.

Full Rules are available here

Timescale

Please express your schools interest as soon as possible via our website to be updated on competition information. There is no obligation to enter at this stage.
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. At these stages payloads do not have to be 100% complete, but preference will be given to payloads based on their current capability and degree of completion.
The preliminary launch window is in the Easter holidays (weather dependent).
One month after the launch day will be the hand in submission date for each team’s final post-flight 5-page report.
For those who wish to attend, a finals day will be held after this date in Cambridge to award prizes and to display teams’ research results.

Support

We've started to put useful information for teams building their payloads here.

If you have any enquiries about the competition then please email us at cuspaceflight-competition(AT)srcf.ucam.org