The UK Space Agency kicks off search for young entrepreneurs to share their ideas on uses for satellites
The government’s UK Space Agency has kicked off a search for budding space entrepreneurs to provide innovative ideas on how satellites can improve life on earth.
It will offer expert advice for young people’s satellite ideas, and a share of a £50,000 prize.
The SatelLife Challenge, which is in its second year, is on the hunt for proposals for those aged 11 to 22, which have the potential “to use data collected from space to benefit our economy, health or the environment”.
Ideas from the first competition included an app that warns people of impending natural disasters and guides them away, and using GPS trackers in fitness devices to help increase the survival rate of heart attack victims.
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Last year’s winner was James Pearson, aged 14, who came up with an app to provide information on coastal flood risks, and is in the process of using the prize money to develop his idea.
The UK Space Agency said the competition gave young people the chance to test their ideas with industry experts, and get a taste for the fastest growing sector of the UK economy.
The UK space industry builds 40 per cent of the world’s small satellites and 25 per cent of the world’s telecommunications satellites.
Science minister Jo Johnson said:
Young people today will be an integral part of our mission to grow the UK’s share of the global space market to 10 per cent by 2030, as set out in our industrial strategy.
We need to ensure the potential benefits of space are felt across the whole economy and encourage young British entrepreneurs to develop ideas that rival the best in the world.
The judging panel will include representatives from the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell and industry.
The competition closes on 25 February.
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