Hailsham student receives invitation to international space conference following NASA visit
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Bede’s Upper Sixth pupil Ellie Abel has been invited to the IAC (International Astronautical Congress) in Paris later this month following her success at this year’s ISSDC (International Space Settlement Design Competition) – which was held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the summer.
A Bede’s spokesperson said: “Ellie was approached by Kevin Simmonds, the CEO of Bluecube Aerospace, who invited her to the conference. Bluecube Aerospace provide incredible opportunities for pupils aged 10-18 to design, build, test and fly CubeSats (miniaturised satellites) before they reach university.
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Hide Ad"Ellie is currently taking part in some incredible Bluecube Aerospace large-scale space projects including building a Lunar Rover for 2025 and creating a satellite for bacteria that can digest non-biodegradable plastic and seeing how it handles a low-earth orbit.”
Ellie added: “I am really looking forward to it. It will be a fantastic networking opportunity. I am hoping to gain some inspiration on presenting to people at a conference as this is something that hopefully may be in my near future.”
Ellie is hoping she will have the opportunity to connect with professionals who may be offering some material science opportunities, according to the school.
The 17-year-old added that she was not even interested in science before Year 10.
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Hide AdShe said: “My hopes for the future are to be a part of a programme which might involve aerospace engineering from a structural, material science aspect. Or I would love to be an F1 engineer."
Maths teacher Bill Richards, who also runs the UK Space Design Challenge and chairs Galactic Challenge, added: “When she was in Year 10 she was selected to go to NASA to compete in the international final (ISSDC), only for Covid to mean that it was switched to an online event, so I was thrilled when she was selected to travel to the in-person event this summer.
"To say that she made the most of her opportunity would be a huge understatement and I am delighted that her talents were recognised and that she has been invited to get involved in the CubeSat project.”