Ash Goldsmith, a 16-year-old from the
Wirral, was selected by a panel of
industry experts at the Viasat Beyond: Space competition in
London.
He is one of three winners who will receive
funding, after the final five pitched their space ideas to the
judges, including the UK Space Agency's Head of Space
Sustainability Ray Fielding and 'Galactic Gal' Camille Bergin.
LONDON, April 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat,
Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader in satellite
communications, today announced Ash Goldsmith as the winner of its
first-of-its-kind Viasat Beyond: Space STEM competition.
Ash wowed a panel of expert judges including Royal Institution
Director Katherine Mathieson, Space
Influencer Camille Bergin, aka 'The Galactic Gal', Viasat's VP of
Space Systems Dr. Mark Dickinson,
Delivery Director of the Ministry of Defence's Skynet satellite
system Steven Fisher, and
Ray Fielding, Head of Space
Sustainability at the UK Space Agency.
At the competition, Ash presented his concept for a
'housekeeping' satellite that would launch into space before
repairing, refueling or upgrading existing satellites, and then
safely return home. By adding new technology and refueling
capabilities, Ash's design would extend satellite lifespans, reduce
atmospheric burn up, and create a more efficient satellite
ecosystem.
Alongside Ash, who will receive first prize of £7,500,
16-year-old Krish Thakrar, from
North London, and 17-year-old
Mesha Tennyson, from Lincolnshire, won second and third place
prizes of £3,750 and £1,875 for their concepts, respectively.
Krish's idea focused on a new coating for spacecraft to minimize
atmospheric light pollution and support astronomy, while Mesha
presented a space debris collector and fixer using AI detection
cameras and electromagnets.
All five finalists, including Amar Birring, 17, from
Wolverhampton, and Isabella Hughes, 16, from Amargh, Northern Ireland, will also be invited to an
all-expenses-paid trip to Viasat's Sustainable Space Experience
Week at its London office in
July 2024. During the event, the
students will participate in a range of space-related experiences,
work alongside Viasat's engineers, and get a behind-the-scenes look
at the space company's operations.
The finalists were chosen from thousands of entries from across
the UK. The competition, which launched last autumn, invited
students from Years 12 and 13 in the UK to submit their ideas for
space sustainability. Ideas were first submitted digitally and
selected by space experts working together with Springpod, an
early-careers specialist organization which worked to reach
under-served areas of the UK.
Ash Goldsmith, winner of the Viasat Beyond: Space
competition, said: "Being in this competition has been
amazing, and everyone should be incredibly proud because anyone
could have won. I think space sustainability is important to us
all, because we have all benefitted from satellite technology at
some point in our daily lives. We need to keep inspiring the next
generation because, without them, we won't solve this problem: we
want to keep the valuable resource that is space open for everyone
to use."
John Reeves, Managing Director
of Global Affairs at Viasat, said: "We've hosted these
amazing young people here at our International Business
headquarters this week, and it has been incredible to see their
passion and enthusiasm, particularly on the vital topic of space
sustainability. We launched Viasat Beyond: Space to help inspire
the next generation of UK engineers, artists, space lovers, and
scientists. Judging by the volume and quality of entries we
received, the future of the UK space sector looks incredibly
bright."
Ray Fielding, Head of Space
Sustainability at UK Space Agency and competition judge, said:
"We were highly impressed with the quality of these students'
entries. In fact, their ideas are replicating many of the
cutting-edge space sustainability concepts and technology ideas
that the UK Space Agency is developing for UK Government. It has
been amazing to see the level of research and knowledge shown by
all the finalists, setting a very high bar. Every one of them
should feel like a winner."
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications
company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be
connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our
mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and
militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is
developing the ultimate global communications network to power
high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to
positively impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground,
in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space.
In May 2023, Viasat completed its
acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and
resources of the two companies to create a new global
communications partner. Learn more at www.viasat.com, the
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