www.ausspacedesign.org.au

Do you like the idea of designing your own futuristic space station?

How much food do you need for 20,000 people?
How will you produce all this food?
How much power will you need?
Will you use solar power, nuclear power or fuel cells?
How will you generate artificial gravity?
How will you assemble your space station?
Will you still be using money in 2040?
How will the inhabitants move around?

These are just some of the questions you will need to answer.

The qualifying activity requires teams of students, or individuals, to prepare a 40 page response to a “Request for Proposal” (or tender) for a major infrastructure project in space, eg. a space station to house 40,000 people located in the asteroid belt off Mars. In preparing the response, students develop skills and experience in research, technical analysis, design, team work, report writing and project management.

The best 8 submissions are invited to the Australian Final in Brisbane each January. The final competition is a 2 day residential program at the University of Queensland where the 8 teams are paired into four companies to prepare their tender for a new space station. Rather than a 40 page report each team presents their proposal in a 30 minute presentation.

The winning team is then entitled to represent Australia at the Annual International Space Settlement Design Competition held each July at the Johnson Space Centre, Houston, Texas. At this competition students from America, India, England, South Africa, Canada and other locations meet and work together in a similar format to the Australian Finals.

VSSEC is pleased to support the Australian Space Design Competition and can help pair Victorian schools with Engineering mentors. Schools and engineers interested in being involved should email information@vssec.vic.edu.au

For more information and resources please visit the Australian Space Design Competition website www.ausspacedesign.org.au or contact the competition chairman, Mark Shaw mshaw@ausspacedesign.org.au.