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

GSDC Finals 2024

GSDC Finals 2024

The online GSDC Finals had an added air of excitement this year…the winning team would be  going  to the International Space Settlement Design Competition!

The ISSDC is held annually at the Kennedy Space Center and attracts competitors from around the world. 2024 marks forty years of Space Design Competitions, and the format of the event lends itself to an enduring existence.

Designing Bellevistat, a futuristic settlement intended to establish large-scale manufacturing capability in space, the teams had 28 hours to answer the industrial style Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP was set by the competition co-founder, Anita Gale, a Senior Project Engineer in Space Shuttle Payload & Cargo Integration for the Boeing Company in Houston, and now the CEO of the National Space Society.

In addition to time constraints on both producing and presenting their designs, the teams had to cope with differing time zones. Nevertheless, the presentations did not disappoint. The length of time that the judges took over their decision was a reflection of the difficulty they had in coming to a decision. Team Sapien emerged the eventual winner. Team President, Leo Rangoni-Gopal, will be winging his way to the finals with his fellow team members.

Congratulations to all the GSDC competitors, and huge thanks to all the Tech Advisors, Red Team, CEO’s and Judges for their time and commitment to the running of the competition.

 

Global Space Design Challenge at Imperial College in 2023

We are excited to launch the Global Space Design Challenge residential programme at Imperial College, London in July 2023. This programme will be a four day, five night event with accommodation on campus at Imperial College, South Kensington. The Four day event will begin with a day of lectures from Professors and Industry Experts. You will be given an insight into the Space Design Competition  and learn how your engineering, design and business skills can be used in the GSDC.

The next three days of the programme will give you an immersive learning experience of what it is like to work in a large company of up to 50 people. Students will form elect their own Heads of Departments and Presidents and collaborate in order  to fulfil a Request for Proposal from a fictional client.

Each company will be mentored throughout by Industry Experts and Technical Advisors and at the end of an intense and challenging three days a panel of Judges will decide on the winning design.

If you would like to register for this programme or require any further information please contact [email protected] or complete the form on our website.

Global Space Design Challenge at Imperial College

We are really looking forward to this summer in London. The GSDC team are very busy planning and organising the Summer Residential Programme at Imperial College, London which will be taking place 9-20th July 2022.

This will be the first residential programme that the GSDC has been able to run since 2019, so we are making sure that all the lectures, workshops and trips will provide a memorable and educational experience for all of the participating students.

Included in this programme will be day trips to visit Oxford University and Cambridge University. There will be top class lectures from Imperial College staff and workshops. The whole programme is an amazing opportunity for any student who would like to apply to the top Universities in the United Kingdom or simply a chance to improve their personal statement. Towards the end of the programme we will also be running the GSDC World Finals and any students registering for the residential programme will also qualify for this exciting and immersive competition. 

If you would like more information about the Residential programme please look on our website and feel free to contact our programme coordinator, Samantha Hession. [email protected]

We can’t wait to see you soon!

The First Global Space Design Challenge of 2022

There is a buzz in the air at GSDC HQ this month as we look forward to our first space design competition of 2022. We are planning a two day online event on the weekend of 26-27 February which is shaping up to be a challenging but exciting weekend.

This space design competition is set up to eight years in the future and it will challenge students to design and pitch a space settlement that answers to the request for proposal (RFP) a fictional contract outlining the requirements of the settlement. The students will present their final design to a panel of judges who will decide on the winning team at the end of the programme.

If you think that you would enjoy working in a large company with other like minded people and competing to win the Global Space Design Challenge, then please sign up to secure your place on 26th and 27th February. https://gspacedc.com/global-space-design-challenge-online-programmes/

There is also an opportunity to win a place at the Global Space Design World Finals which are being held at Imperial College, London in July 2022.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas 2021 will soon be with us, quickly followed by New Year’s. With the Global Space Design Challenge, there is a lot to look forward to in 2022. We are, for instance, already planning an online competition from 26-27 February. 

This will be an intense introduction to all aspects of space settlement design. You will form a company with a group of students and work together as a team using science, design, engineering and a variety of other skills. At the end of the two-day competition, you will present your company’s project layout to a panel of leading industry experts and academics. 

The winning team will be given the opportunity to attend the GSDC World Finals, held at Imperial College London in July 2022.     

To register interest in our programme, please complete this form:  https://forms.gle/BPN8oxaRbj4kpz948

We would like to wish all of our past, present and future students a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you all in person or online in 2022.

Research into Health Technology

Research in Health Technology

Research on ISS has allowed for innovations in surgical performance through the world’s first robotic technology capable of performing surgery inside MRI machines. This technology is making difficult brain tumor surgeries easier and impossible surgeries possible. Soon, medical technology stemming from space station robotics will enter clinical trials for use in the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer by providing increased access, precision and dexterity resulting in highly accurate and minimally invasive procedures. Development of an advanced technology solution for pediatric surgery is also in the design stages. In common laser surgeries to correct eyesight, a new technology developed on ISS is now used on Earth to track the patient’s eye and precisely direct a laser scalpel. Thermal regulation research on ISS has also led to the use of sensor technology for monitoring during surgery.

When medical facilities are not readily available such as in remote and underdeveloped regions of the world, ultrasound units are used in conjunction with protocols for performing complex procedures rapidly with remote expert guidance and training. These telemedicine and remote guidance techniques empower local healthcare providers, provide patients with access to more timely and diagnostic care, and the healthcare system is made more efficient.

A lightweight, easy-to-use device to measure nitric oxide in air exhaled by astronauts on ISS is used to study possible airway inflammation before health problems are encountered. This device is now used at some health centers to monitor levels of asthma control leading to more accurate medication dosing, reduced attacks, and improved quality of life.

The study of plasmas (charged gases that can permeate many materials and spread evenly and quickly) reveals that they support the disinfecting of chronic wounds, the neutralization of bacteria, the boosting of tumor inactivation, and even the jumpstarting plant growth.