A few years ago Jim started a project called Space in Africa, he and a small team produced/contributed to the following reports:

http://isulibrary.isunet.edu/opac/doc_num.php?explnum_id=200

http://www.spacerenaissance.org/ASRC/

http://www.espi.or.at/index.php?option=com_content&id=21

However Jim is no longer able committee time to this research and would like to pass the baton over to the next generation – that means you.

If you’re interested I advise dropping him an email.

For those of you who don’t know, I was going to write a description of Farnborough here, however as I’ve never been and I’m lazy – I copy and pasted Wikipedia instead (well who doesn’t!)

The Farnborough International Airshow is a seven-day international trade fair for the aerospace industry which is held in even-numbered years in mid-July at Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire, England. With 1,300 exhibitors and regular visitors over the 100k mark – there really isn’t a much bigger show you could be involved in!

The programme for the futures day (Friday) will look something like this:

10:00 – 10:15 Opening Ceremony in the Innovation Zone with Jem Stansfiled (Bang Goes the Theory)

10:30 – 12:30 A series of Pre-bookable workshops and presentations in the Space Zone

10:0 – 17:00 Outdoor and Indoor Exhibits open

12:30 and 13:30 Tri-nation Rocketry Lunch gidplay

12:30 – 17:00 Air Display

15:00 – 15:30 Rocketry presentations

16:30 – Close

Volunteers will get time to explore and lunch provided as well the as free tickets to the show (you’ll have to provide your own accommodation if you want to stay for the weekend).  If you’re interested please email ‘Exec@ukseds.org‘ to register and get involved!

We also have a Facebook event - Get on it to receive regular updates and more info

Membership details are outlined in the Rules & Regulations which can be changed by the committee  at any time (as opposed to the constituion, which requires referenda) but it was felt that this change was sufficiently far reaching that the outgoing committee should seek a mandate from the members to advise the incoming to make the necessary changes. An indicative vote was held at the opening to AGM.

The changes were proposed by the outgoing UKSEDS Treasurer, Damian Rumble – he outlined the motivation for changes as follows:

• Fees, of any value, only act as a barrier for membership – given falling membership and students cutting back on spending this is only going to hinder growth.
• Existing record suggest that total revenue from all fees accounts for about 40% of UKSEDS income, of which Branch fees account for about 25% of this.
• The whole left by removing these fees is estimated at £400 – a figure dwarfed by sponsorship contributions.
• A consequence of this action will result in all members of our branches becoming members by default – boosting numbers, which in turn increases turn out at our events and  encourages wider participation by sponsors -  hence producing a virtuous circle.

There was considerable discussion and excitable chatter by conference goers – during which some points and queries were addressed, specifically concerning the nature of the conference which was previously funded by fees and free for members. Under the new proposals, it’s likely that qualifying members would be charged a fee for the conference, but this would not be any more that previous fee level.

Following discussion, the members voted unaminously to support these proposals. The new committee has now carried out the members wishes and updated the Rules and Regs. But what does this mean for you?

• Upon joining your local UKSEDS affiliated branch, you can apply to join UKSEDS for free.
• Alternatively when your branch committee submits its membership lists to the Secretary of UKSEDS (secretary@ukseds.org) you will be signed up to UKSEDS (you can subsequently opt out if you wish).
• Members who are not members of a branch or are not students will still be required to pay the full student membership fee (£15) or Professional membership fee (£30).
• All members who joined and renewed at this years conference will not be entitled to a refund as theses changes were not law at the time.
• Branches can now advertise ‘free UKSEDS membership’ as part of the fresher fairs campaigns.
• Anyone who would care to take a look can find an updated version of the constitution here.

On behalf of the 2012/13 UKSEDS committee I hope you enjoy your new found financial freedoms that comes from being members of our branches!

The positions of Events, Website, PR and Membership Officer were not filled and we are currently looking for volunteers to co-opt onto the committee to fill these posts.

The Committee page will be updated shortly providing further information about your new committee.

Minutes of the AGM will also be posted shortly.

Please visit the AGM page for more info on the following positions:

Executive positions

Chair

Vice Chair

Treasurer

Secretary

Officer positions

Events Officer

Web Officer

Public relations Officer

Membership Officer

Projects Officer

Industry Officer

Outreach Officer

IMPORTANT

Nominations for all positions will close at 6pm Saturday 31st March. Speeches and elections will be held on the morning of Sunday 1st April. Candidates will run against re-open nominations (RON) if the position is uncontested . Only in the unlikely event that no nominations are received for a given position will nominations be taken from the floor during the AGM on Sunday.

More information will be following shortly, we’ll let you know as soon as registration opens.

The team have already started work on the next stage of the project: the Preliminary Design Review, which will be submitted in February.  Again, representatives will need to travel to present our work, this time to the launch site in northern Sweden.

If you are interested in find out more about the project you can check the UKSEDS Project page or the PoleCATS team website.

To follow the team’s progress why not follow us on Twitter or like our new Facebook page?

We will continue to display a copy of the constitution on the  Constitution Page for reference.

Thank you for voting.

The Committee

Students selected by ESA’s Education Office will be reimbursed their conference registration fee and up to a maximum of €300 in travel and accommodation expenses. Sponsorship will be in the form of a single reimbursement after the conference.

Before applying students must visit the conferences page of the ESA Education Portal (www.esa.int/education > Conferences) and:

• Check their eligibility for the programme under the “Sponsorship Conditions” link.
• Familiarize themselves with the content of the “How to Apply” link.

To apply, please visit ESA Education registration system: www.joinspace.org.  The deadline for sponsorship applications is January 4th 2012.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is postponed to 11 Nov 2011 for students only. Student who submitted abstracts before can also apply for ESA sponsorship.

Check http://www.vki.ac.be/CubeSatSymposium/ for details.

(Source: Cem O. Asma, PhD, von Karman Institute, via email)

This facility is one of the most sophisticated and high-quality research centres of its kind in Europe and boasts a 146 m high tower that provides experiments with up to 9.3 s of microgravity.

The deadline to submit the experiment proposals is 13 February 2012.  The selected team will perform its experiment during ESA’s fourth Drop your Thesis! campaign, to be held during the Autumn of 2012.

All the information for this programme can be found at http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Education/SEMFNY6UXSG_0.html.  For any further information, please do no hesitate to contact us through the e-mail dropyourthesis@esa.int.

(Sources: Dr Javier Ventura-Traveset, ESA, via email; ESA Education News)