Physics students take off
Leicester Physics students at Andoya Space Centre in Norway
Three of our Physics students spent a week at a Norwegian space centre after winning places through a European Space Agency competition.
David Jessop, Jamie Macquillin and Lewis Jackson were selected for the trip alongside 20 other students from across Europe. Competing for places against students from all 24 ESA member and associate states, for three Leicester students to be selected underlines the sheer quality of our Physics degrees.
The opportunity was advertised to all our second year Physics students and formed part of their experimental physics assessment, which usually includes a group experiment. They had to submit applications for the competition and show how the ESA opportunity is relevant to their education and ambitions.
The lucky winners spent the time at the Andoya Space Centre in Northern Norway learning about rocketry and instrumentation, while working towards building and testing their own rocket payload. Part of the application process was a proposal for their rocket launch.
The three students had to take part in an online training course before joining the workshop in Norway from 7 to 13 April 2019. During the workshop they built, verified, and finally, at the end of the week, launched their own rocket. They also attended lectures and tours to learn more about European and Norwegian efforts in space.
Programme Director Dr Simon Vaughan said: “This is a fantastic achievement, and once again shows the ambitions and capabilities of our students. I’m incredibly proud of them, to have three students chosen for this programme is just superb.”