Electives Program
Years 7-10
Australian space frontiers
by Chris Dite, Electives teacher
The Space Frontiers elective regrouped for the Crew Dragon launch on 30 May 2020. None of us had ever seen a new spacecraft ferry humans off Earth before – this was the first in 40 years!
The group was joined by two former Preshil students: biochemist Toby Dite (University of Dundee, Scotland) and Sam Heeps (professional drone designer). Space elective special guest, mathematics researcher Juuso Nieminen (University of Eastern Finland) also joined the zoom to help us get our heads around the maths of plotting spacecraft trajectories.
Despite an initial delay due to bad weather the launch finally went ahead at 5am on Sunday morning (Melbourne time) - to great excitement from all involved!
SpaceX astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are on a test mission to help prove the systems meet NASA’s requirements for certification to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and back.
Careers in space
The recent launch of the Australian Space Agency means students in 2019/2020 are more likely to have careers in space than any before them.
Did you know that space is a $495 billion dollar industry? Australia currently does not have sufficient skilled professionals to meet this need; in response, RMIT launched the Bachelor of Space Science in February this year.
This new degree encompasses RMIT’s strong space industry and space agency partnerships with government and industry, including connections with Boeing, the Department of Defence and NASA. The course is a unique mix of physics, engineering, geospatial science, mathematics and specialised space studies; students will have the opportunity to undertake a 12-week industry placement.
Further information can be found at Bachelor of Space Science