There is now less than two weeks to go to this year’s UKSEDS Conference.
Don’t forget to register as we have limited spaces and need to know numbers for catering.
You can now view the provisional programme and list of speakers.
Plus see our list of Exhibitors.
And don’t forget you can nominate yourself for next year’s Committee.
We look forward to seeing you there.
The society AGM is held each year as part of the conference proceedings. One of the main tasks of the AGM is the election of a new committee to take UKSEDS through the forthcoming year. Each committee position is up for election, even if the individual currently holding that position wishes to remain. We encourage anyone who wishes to be a part of the committee to nominate themselves for a particular role. At the AGM, votes are counted for all nominees wishing to take up each position and the new committee is sworn in.
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.
Good news Ladies and Gents!
With just over a month to go until the UKSEDS National Annual Conference we can start taking registrations for this fabulous event.
To re-cap -
- Kent University – 31st March/ 1st April
- Two days of talks on everything from astrobiology, space planes, colonisation, rockets and our most successful projects of the year so far.
- Exhibitions from industry leaders including; HE Space, Vega, AspireSpace and many more!
- UKSEDS AGM – election of next years committee.
- Social fun!
Interested? Sign up on the registration page and join our Facebook event for you tickets and more info. Also keep upto date by following the Ecliptic and the conference home page
Conference information (more coming soon!):
The committee are happy to announce that this year’s conference will be hosted by SpaceSoc at the University of Kent on the weekend of the 31st March – 1st April. So make sure to make a note of it in your diaries and keep it free!
More information will be following shortly, we’ll let you know as soon as registration opens.
The British Interplanetary Society has announced the launch of a series of Prestige Lectures, commencing with a talk by actor Brian Blessed. In addition to his acting career Blessed is a long time supporter of space exploration, having supported the BIS’ Campaign for Human Spaceflight and voiced promotional material for Reaction Engines. He has also recently completed astronaut training and will be speaking about this and his interest in space travel.
Tickets are already selling fast and can now only be ordered by calling the BIS directly on 020 7735 3160. Doors open at 5.30 pm, with the talk commencing at 6.30 pm. Tickets are priced at £10.00 for BIS members and £20.00 for non-members, including refreshments.
Source: British Interplanetary Society
The International Astronautical Federation 2012 Emerging Space Leaders Grant Programme provides opportunities for students and young professionals to participate in the annual International Astronautical Congresses. Applications opened on 1st January 2012 and the IAF is accepting applications until 1st February.
The young people selected to participate in the 2012 Emerging Space Leaders Grant Programme will participate in the 63rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) scheduled to take place in Naples, Italy from 1 to 5 October 2012. The individuals selected will also be given the opportunity to participate in other activities held the week prior and during the Congress such as the UN/IAF Workshop and the Space Generation Congress (SGC).
Students and Young Professionals between the ages of 21 and 35 with space-related career interests 2012 are encouraged to apply for the programme from the 1 January to the 1 February 2012. Up to twelve students and young professionals will be selected by the IAF to participate in the 2012 programme.
For more information and application forms, please visit www.iafastro.org/eslgrants or email eslgrants@iafastro.org.
Source: IAF Secretariat
The BBC in association with the Open University is presenting another Stargazing Live, starting tonight (16 January at 8.30pm) and lasting for three nights. Along side the TV show there are 100′s of events taking place around the country involving amateur astronomers as well as academics and the general public. To find an even near you visit the BBC Website. Plus there is more information on the Open University Website and follow #bbcstargazing on Twitter.
SEDSIC is the international conference of SEDS: an annual get-together of SEDS members around the world. This year the conference is being held at VIT University in Vellore, India on 2nd – 4th March; the theme will be “Students vision for global space sciences and technology”.
SEDS organises the International Conference (SEDSIC) each year as an annual get-together of SEDS members worldwide to share their knowledge with regard to the current development in the field of aerospace and astronomy. VIT University, Vellore was chosen as the venue for 2007. The event will host a series of lectures and workshops, including something playful!
Registration is due to open soon; submission of paper and poster abstracts is open until 20th January. For more information please go to http://www.sedsic12.com/.
At the start of December PoleCATS was invited to send representatives to a selection workshop at the European Space Agency headquarters in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Four team members travelled by train and ferry, and presented the proposed project to a panel of experts from all of the organising bodies. The presentation went very well and the PoleCATS team were glad to hear that they have been selected to fly on a sounding rocket in February/March 2013, launching from arctic Sweden!
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? 
The UK Space Agency has opened the 2012 round of its International Space University competitive scholarship scheme. The scheme is open to UK citizens to help fund them to attend ISU’s Space Studies Programms and MSc programmes. Up to £30,000 is being made available to be shared between successful candidates.
Chris Brunskill attended the 2011 Space Studies Programme in Austria. He said “During the programme I had the chance to take lectures provided by leading experts in the many disciplines that make up the modern space industry. I was able to get hands on experience with technical equipment and participate in the planning of a live mission. I was also able to work with a fantastic, proactive and intelligent group of fellow participants from around the world. I hope future beneficiaries of the UK Space Agency funding programme will gain as much as I have from this experience.”
The successful candidates will be chosen by a panel consisting of representatives from the UK Space Agency and Space Education Trust, with consultation from ISU. Students will be expected to show evidence of some external support including sourcing €1000 towards their study themselves. The deadline for applying for funding for the Space Studies Programme is 31st January 2012; the deadline for the Masters programme is 15th March (deadlines for non-funded places are later). Application is through the ISU website.
Source: UK Space Agency
