Education

UKSDC in Glasgow

University of Glasgow hosts the UK Space Design Competition

On the first Saturday of November, seventy four eager and excited secondary students from across Scotland descended on the University of Glasgow for the most northerly round of the UK Space Design Competition (UKSDC). Some teams had to travel to Glasgow the night before, others were more local. 

The competition is set as an engineering industry simulation, with the students assigned to fictitious companies. After an introduction to the task ahead, the students made their way to their workrooms and started to tackle their industry style Request for Proposal. Working in their three companies, they had only seven hours to produce their presentation to the competition judges. 

Guidance was given to each company by competition alumni, (Keisha, University of Glasgow: Poppy, University of Strathclyde: Xavier, University of Edinburgh), with additional technical advice coming from Dr Matteo Ceriotti, Mikey, (UoG), Eilidh, (UoG), and Niamh (Spire).

After a day’s hard work, three excellent student presentations were made to the judging panel: Dr Ceriotti, Niamh and Mikey. 

Before rushing off to join her fellow judges in deciding on the winning company, Niamh demonstrated a life size model of a Spire satellite, and then gave away four coveted Lego sets of Spire satellites to selected students. 

Earhart Advanced Industries were chosen as the winners, and students from St George’s in Edinburgh and St Leonard School in St Andrews will be taking part in the UKSDC Finals in March.

Thank you to the teachers and volunteers who made this event possible, and a huge thank you to the University of Glasgow for hosting the event.

By Jenny Lyons, CEO SSEF

Education

ISSDC Announcement!

 ISSDC Announcement!
3 April 2025

We are thrilled to announce the 12 students selected to represent the UK at the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC), taking place in Florida at NASA this July! 

These students have demonstrated outstanding skills in engineering, teamwork, and problem-solving, earning their place in this prestigious global competition:

Albert Poole
Alessandro Payne
Alexandra Mackie
Alisa Shutenko
Beatrix Wellings-Thomas
Freya Hooper
Joey Kennedy
Joy Sokoya
Nandipa Marufu
Prabhav Bhamidipati
Vinujan Sivakumar
Zak Mohammed
 
In addition, we are pleased to announce our reserves,

Male Reserves
 Yadu Karthikeyan
 Frederic Fong

Female Reserves
 Annie Liu
 Tessa Hellsten

Exciting News! A Second UK Team! 

We are delighted to share that we have been given the go-ahead for a second team to represent the UK at the ISSDC in 2025. This additional team will be given the incredible opportunity to compete on the international stage.

This second team will be required to self-fund their trip to the US, and we will be announcing the selected students next week. Stay tuned for more details!

Congratulations to all the students, and we look forward to seeing them take on this incredible challenge! 

#ISSDC #SpaceSettlement #STEM #FutureLeaders #NASA #SSEF #UKSDC #United

Education

Second UK Team Selected to Compete at Prestigious International…

The Space Science and Engineering Foundation is proud to announce that a second team of talented students from across the United Kingdom has been selected to represent the UK at the 2025 International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC), held at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, from 25th to 28th July 2025.

This marks the first time that two full UK teams will participate in the world-renowned competition, a testament to the growing strength and ambition of young space scientists and engineers across the country. The ISSDC brings together the brightest students from around the globe to collaborate on designing futuristic space settlements under realistic constraints, mimicking the challenges faced by engineers at NASA and other leading aerospace organisations.

The newly formed second team, made up of 12 exceptional students from various schools and regions, earned their place through a rigorous selection process following the UKSDC Finals held earlier this year. The team will self-fund their travel and accommodation to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against top international teams.

“This is an extraordinary achievement for these students and for the UKSDC programme,” said Jenny Lyons, CEO of the SSEF. “To have two teams representing the UK at the ISSDC highlights the high calibre of talent we have in the UK and reflects our commitment to inspiring the next generation of space scientists, engineers and innovators.”

The UKSDC programme is supported by the Space Science & Engineering Foundation (SSEF) and is designed to engage secondary school students with the real-world challenges of the space industry through immersive, team-based engineering and design competitions.

Both UK teams will be accompanied by experienced chaperones and will participate in cultural visits and team-building activities in the days leading up to the ISSDC. The competition itself promises an unforgettable experience, with students working under pressure to deliver visionary space settlement proposals to a panel of industry experts.

For more information about the UK Space Design Competition and how to get involved, visit www.uksdc.org

Congratulations to the following students:

Anastazja MacIver
Annie Liu
Beatrice Nield
Frederic Fong
Hanyang Wei
Molly Dathan
Morgan Bleasdale
Olly Hambly
Sairam Batchu
Tessa Hellsten
Xavier Mckeown-Webster
Yadukrish Karthikeyan

 

Education

Happy Holidays from the SSEF

Wishing all our incredible supporters and volunteers a very Merry Christmas and a joyful holiday season! Thank you for your invaluable help and dedication throughout 2024, which has made this year such a success for the SSEF. We truly appreciate your hard work and passion, and we look forward to collaborating with you in 2025 for another fantastic year.

Enjoy the festive season, and here’s to an exciting year ahead!

Education

United Airlines and Space Science and Engineering Foundation announce…

United Airlines and Space Science and Engineering Foundation announce an exciting partnership

We are thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership between the Space Science and Engineering Foundation and United Airlines. Starting in 2025, United Airlines will be the official sponsor of the UK team’s flights to the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) in Florida. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for our foundation, as it will help to ensure that more students can participate in this prestigious event.

Our partnership with United Airlines is not just about flights; it’s about a shared vision. Both SSEF and United Airlines are committed to inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators. By providing this invaluable support, United Airlines is helping to remove barriers for our students, allowing them to focus on what they do best—pushing the boundaries of space science and engineering.

We are particularly excited about having United Airlines involved in our upcoming events. Their presence will undoubtedly enhance the experience for our students, offering them unique insights into the aerospace industry and the chance to engage with industry professionals.

We look forward to a fruitful collaboration with United Airlines and are confident that this partnership will bring incredible benefits to our students and the broader space science community. Together, we are paving the way for the future of space exploration.

 

 

Education

Galactic Challenge: A Day of Innovation and Inspiration!

On June 25th we had the pleasure of hosting a phenomenal Galactic Challenge at Shoreham Academy, joined by students from PACA, Seahaven Academy, and Cardinal Newman Catholic School. Our talented Year 8 students formed three companies and were tasked with designing AXelerate, a Low Earth Orbit technology development settlement specialising in satellite communications and artificial intelligence.

The competition was fierce and the enthusiasm palpable as we witnessed some truly amazing drawings and innovative designs. It was clear that every company poured their creativity and hard work into their projects, resulting in inspirational concepts that wowed us all.

A special thank you to our incredible judges, Senumi Tebuwana, Jenny Lyons, and Bill Richards, for undertaking the difficult task of evaluating the final presentations. Senumi, currently studying Engineering at the University of Sussex and on a placement year with Ricardo plc, spent the entire day with us and was particularly impressed with the students’ knowledge and work ethic.

Congratulations to Astrodyne Delta, the winning company! The judges felt that Astrodyne Delta best addressed the RfP points, making them the standout team in a close and competitive field.

A huge round of applause to all the participants for making this event a resounding success. Your hard work and passion are truly commendable.

Thank you to our amazing Year 12 and 13 volunteers who supported and advised the younger students throughout the day. Your assistance was invaluable and the event ran smoothly thanks to your efforts.

Finally, a big thank you to Shoreham Academy for hosting the event. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

#GalacticChallenge #Innovation #STEM #SatelliteCommunications #ArtificialIntelligence #ShorehamAcademy #StudentSuccess #FutureLeaders

Education

SSEF Mourns the Passing of CEO Anita Gale

 

SSEF are saddened to hear of the passing of Anita Gale, co-founder of ISSDC, over the weekend. Anita spent her career inspiring young people around the world to pursue careers in science and space, and helped countless young girls discover their potential in technical fields. Anita will be greatly missed and her legacy will continue to have a lasting impact on young people for years to come.

To read about her life, please click here

Education

UKSDC Final 2023

UKSDC Finals 2023 Blog post 

The UKSDC Finals took place this weekend at the iconic Imperial College London. 248 15-18 year olds from more than 25 schools around the UK qualified last Autumn at one of the Regional heats for this exciting and challenging competition. Twelve students will be selected to represent the UK at the International Finals which are held annually at NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

A huge thank you to all of our amazing volunteers who gave up their weekend to bring their skills, experience and knowledge to the event. Our volunteers worked as CEOs, Technical Advisors and Judges to make sure that the weekend ran smoothly, and we couldn’t have done it without them.

Each company, made up of up to sixty students, was given twenty four hours to design ‘Dias’, an orbital settlement around the sun. The companies had to use their technical knowledge and work collaboratively to produce their final presentation by 8.oo am on Sunday morning. We can confirm that there were a few sleep deprived and bleary eyed students (and volunteers) on Sunday morning !

The Judges had a very difficult decision to make about who the winning company would be and one of the Judges was overheard saying “this was one of the closest competitions yet”. Despite this, we would like to congratulate the students from Olympus Mons Trading Company on winning the competition, and all the other teams for producing such innovative and creative designs. 

Well done everyone, and watch this space for announcements about the team going to the International Finals in July…..



Education

UK Space Week 2022

Space Week 2022
Embrace waste use it in space

Our friends over at the Galactic Challenge have teamed up with the very inspiring and creative team from Baker Ross to celebrate Space Week 2022.

This year World Space week is celebrating sustainability in space and sustainability from space  and the competition is all about reusing and recycling your waste from home and using it to design a space related item. If you are in school Years 3 – 9 and would like to enter our competition and be in with a chance of winning some Baker Ross craft goodies then this challenge is for you!

More information about the competition can be found on the Galactic Challenge website along with all the rules and judging criteria. Entry deadline is 28th October 2022, so embrace your waste and getting cutting, sticking and creating. We cannot wait to see all of your creative space designs!

uksdc finals Education

UKSDC Finals

Thank you to all the students, teachers and volunteers who helped make the UKSDC Finals such a fun event – especial gratitude goes to Theo and the RfP Committee for such an innovative scenario to work with; it is safe to say that they pushed your creativity to new boundaries, ‘where no man (or woman) has gone before!’ Read more “UKSDC Finals” →

Central London regional filling up fast Uncategorized

Central London regional filling up fast

The central London regional held at Imperial College on December 2  has 20 remaining places. Registration has just opened, school is not in session, yet registrations are coming in fast. There are a lot of places with 9 regionals spread throughout the UK with 80 students participating in each. That’s 720 places. With registration just open, 158 places are taken.