European Space Camp
Encyclopedia
European Space Camp is a summer camp
for youths aged 17–20, which focuses on giving a hands-on experience into the field of aerospace engineering
and launch vehicle
s. Participants from all over Europe
and the world stay at Andøya Rocket Range
for one week, learning from professionals and becoming amateur rocket scientists. Ultimately the goal of the camp is to launch a student sounding rocket
, capable of carrying several sensors and reaching a height of 10 000m and Mach
3. Participants are divided into groups ordered with respect to their interests and skills and work together as a team for the week-long project of launching a student rocket. Through the European Space Camp experience, the youths are motivated to acquire education the direction of rocket science or related science
subjects.
The activities at the camp include experimentation, calculation and organization of the project. Additionally lectures in the field of rocket science are given. However, the focus of the camp is just as much on the social as on the learning. At the camp, the participants get to know 20 other youths sharing their own interests, coming from all over the world. By activities such as swims in midnight sun, whale safari, volleyball, mountain climbing etc. the participants get an unforgettable chance to acquire international friends and experiences.
AS and the National Centre of Space-Related Education (NAROM), in cooperation with the Norwegian Space Centre
and the European Space Agency
(ESA
).
The first Space Camp Andøya in 1996 was such a success that the concept was developed further each year. In 2001 Space Camp became a European event which in 2002 hosted participants from 10 different countries. Space Camp Andøya is special with regard to subjects dealt with, the participants' real involvement in the work and what they learn during the camp. The youths at Space Camp work in groups on specific tasks which are all related to the rocket launch at the end of the camp. The students are treated as real scientists and work on advanced problems using professional equipment. The professors and scientists being around are valuable resources and helpers, leaving all the actual scientific work to the participants.
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
for youths aged 17–20, which focuses on giving a hands-on experience into the field of aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
and launch vehicle
Launch vehicle
In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....
s. Participants from all over Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the world stay at Andøya Rocket Range
Andøya Rocket Range
Andøya Rocket Range is a rocket launch site and rocket range on Andøya island in Andøy municipality in northern Norway...
for one week, learning from professionals and becoming amateur rocket scientists. Ultimately the goal of the camp is to launch a student sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
, capable of carrying several sensors and reaching a height of 10 000m and Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
3. Participants are divided into groups ordered with respect to their interests and skills and work together as a team for the week-long project of launching a student rocket. Through the European Space Camp experience, the youths are motivated to acquire education the direction of rocket science or related science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
subjects.
The activities at the camp include experimentation, calculation and organization of the project. Additionally lectures in the field of rocket science are given. However, the focus of the camp is just as much on the social as on the learning. At the camp, the participants get to know 20 other youths sharing their own interests, coming from all over the world. By activities such as swims in midnight sun, whale safari, volleyball, mountain climbing etc. the participants get an unforgettable chance to acquire international friends and experiences.
History
European Space Camp at Andøya Rocket Range was arranged for the first time in the summer of 1996. It was the Norwegian Association of Young Scientists that initiated the idea of a summer camp with this specific subject. Today the camp is made possible by the joint efforts of Andøya Rocket RangeAndøya Rocket Range
Andøya Rocket Range is a rocket launch site and rocket range on Andøya island in Andøy municipality in northern Norway...
AS and the National Centre of Space-Related Education (NAROM), in cooperation with the Norwegian Space Centre
Norwegian Space Centre
The Norwegian Space Centre is a Norwegian government agency that promotes space exploration.-Norsk Romsenter :...
and the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
).
The first Space Camp Andøya in 1996 was such a success that the concept was developed further each year. In 2001 Space Camp became a European event which in 2002 hosted participants from 10 different countries. Space Camp Andøya is special with regard to subjects dealt with, the participants' real involvement in the work and what they learn during the camp. The youths at Space Camp work in groups on specific tasks which are all related to the rocket launch at the end of the camp. The students are treated as real scientists and work on advanced problems using professional equipment. The professors and scientists being around are valuable resources and helpers, leaving all the actual scientific work to the participants.
Norwegian Association of Young Scientists (FUF) represented by Team Space Camp
- Ms. Frida Vestnes (Head)
- Mr. Anders Strand
- Ms. Kine Hansvold
- Mr. Kjetil Aleksander Aasen
- Mr. Rohan Sheth
- Ms. Maria Råken
National Centre of Space-Related Education (NAROM) represented by
- Mr. Arne-Hjalmar Hansen
- Mrs. Hege-Margrethe Strømdal
- Mrs. Anita Hanssen