Airbus Fly Your Ideas competition

Airbus Fly Your Ideas is a global competition, which challenges students worldwide to innovate for the future of aerospace. For the 2019 competition, the focus is on using the latest digital technologies to create smart solutions for a safer, cleaner and better connected world.

This is a fast-moving and exciting time for aerospace and Fly Your Ideas is a unique opportunity for students worldwide to activate their pioneering spirit and innovate for the future. With support from Airbus employees from across the company, we encourage students to think big, be bold and help transform the world of aerospace.

20,000 students and 5 previous editions

Since 2008, over 20,000 students have registered for Fly Your Ideas from over 650 universities and 100 countries worldwide, with more than 400 Airbus employees volunteering their time to support the competition.

Airbus launched Fly Your Ideas in 2008 to engage with universities and students worldwide and from all backgrounds. Since 2012, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been a partner for this competition.

 

Read more on: https://www.airbus-fyi.com/the-competition/

European Commission Space Programme

European Commission Space Programme, June 8th 2018

The European commission had proposed on Wednesday that the EU make a large rise in investment in its space programmes from €12bn over the last seven years to €16bn for 2021 to 2027.

–          Galileo i EGNOS9.7 bn,

–          Copernicus5.8 bn,

–          Safety programmes, €500 mil,

–          GOVSATCOM – civil defense,

–           SSA/SSTSpace Situational Awareness (SSA) / Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) .

Space programme

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ESA Ice Cubes space research service open for business

ICE Cubes model

The first European facility for commercial research on the International Space Station was installed today in Europe’s space laboratory Columbus. The International Commercial Experiments service – ICE Cubes for short – offers fast, simple and affordable access for research and technology experiments in microgravity.

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold installed the ice-box-sized facility in the European Physiology Module in the Columbus laboratory. ICE Cubes gets its power, temperature regulation and communications from Columbus.

The facility hosts experiments designed around 10 cm cubes (1U) or combinations of this volume – there is room for 12 cubes on top and two rows of four cubes below. Experiments can also float freely through the Columbus laboratory and communicate wirelessly with the facility to send data to Earth.

The first experiments are going to be launched on the next SpaceX Dragon supply vessel scheduled for launch this month. Designed to be plug-and-play, the experiment cubes only need to be slotted into the facility for them to work.

The first ICE Cubes experiments from the International Space University highlight the versatility of the service. One will investigate plant biology, another will bio-mine with microbes, and a third merges the arts and science by using a person’s heart rate to change a piece of kaleidoscopic artwork.

Get your space in space

Columbus laboratory

The ICE Cubes service is based on a partnership with Space Applications Services and is part of ESA’s human and robotic exploration strategy to ensure access to the weightless research possibilities in low Earth orbit.

From idea to reality in a year, anybody’s experiment can be launched to the Space Station. Service launches occur typically three times a year. With one point of contact and over two decades of space research know-how, getting an experiment designed, built and in compliance with International Space Station standards has never been easier.

The price starts from €50 000 for a 1-kg experiment with an end-to-end service package running for four months, with cheaper rates for educational organisations.

Stay connected
ICE Cubes control centre

ICE Cubes offers unprecedented 24-hour direct access to its experiments via a dedicated mission control centre at Space Applications Services’ premises in Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, Belgium. Clients can connect at any time to their experiment from their own location over internet to read the data and even send commands directly.

The experiments themselves will be highlighted on the ESA website over the next few weeks. Visit the ICE Cubes service website for more information and contact details.