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Australian Space Design
Australian Space Design Competition Champions
Mr Tim Kemp
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Our St Aidan’s Space Design team has recently been named as National Champions at the Australian Space Design Competition final. The Australian Space Design Competition is an aerospace and engineering industry simulation for secondary school students from around Australia who are interested in STEM careers and the future of space exploration.
The finals are usually held at the University of Queensland over two days with finalist teams from around the country attending. This year the finals were conducted entirely online over three days. This added an extra layer of complexity as St Aidan’s teamed up across time zones with The Hutchins School in Tasmania and Cherrybrook Technology High School in Sydney to form the Magellan Aerospace company. Their company was one of 6 that were competing to produce the winning submission in response to a Request for Tender (RFT) for a space settlement on Mars.
This marks the 16th consecutive year that St Aidan’s has qualified for the finals amongst an ever-increasing number of schools that are competing. It is the 4th time that St Aidan’s has been National champions. As winners, the students now qualify for the International Space Settlement Design Competition. This is usually held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in July. While it is unlikely that there will be an opportunity to travel overseas this year, the team is looking forward to participating in the international competition online.
Special mention must be made to the Magellan Company CEO, Clare Allison in Year 12, who has worked so hard throughout the past year to develop her team members. Her ability to coordinate the communication between departments and across state borders during the finals was first class. Another special mention must go to Ava Schwennesen in Year 11, who was awarded the Peter O’Keefe Silent Leader Award, for her work at the finals.
We look forward to the International competition later in the year and will shortly be inviting students in Years 9-12 to become a part of this year’s qualifying competition.
