At CSFC a popular choice of extra curricular activity is for students to take part in our NASA club. Although geared towards students looking to become engineers and scientists the club is popular amongst all our students. It helps develops leadership, team building public speaking and presentation skills through interactive and exciting problem solving including the opportunity to take part in the UK Space Settlement Design Competition (held at Imperial College London) and then the International Space Settlement design competition (held at NASA in Houston, USA).      

The College was delighted to be selected  to participate in the prestigious NASA International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC). Students had the unique opportunity to visit the internationally renowned base in Houston, Texas where they were able to work alongside scientists, and take part in research projects. They experienced working as aerospace industry engineers which required creativity, technical knowledge, management skills, teamwork, and presentation techniques to overcome the problems in designing a Space Settlement. The ISSDC gives students the opportunity to work with peers from across the globe to achieve a common goal.

The competition is designed to mimic the aerospace industry, where a project request is put forward and several companies compete for the contract. A detailed list of objectives is issued, and companies have to find innovative ways to achieve these, and to overcome problems. Each company consists of several schools, and is divided into four areas of speciality: Structural - designing the space settlement itself; Automations - designing electrical and robotic hardware; Operations - providing the resources to run the settlement; Human Factors - designing communal facilities and handling public safety; and lastly Marketing - forming the sales pitch for the companies proposal.

This summer, students found the competition to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, in particular having work experience in an international environment and developing their understanding of their chosen areas of interest.

In 2011 our team that represented Wales were part of the winning company at the International Space Settlement design Competition at NASA