SOUTHAMPTON STUDENT SPACE TEAM UP FOR NATIONAL AWARD

A team of student innovators from the University of Southampton is designing a system that could transform spacecraft control – and now it’s been shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

Meta Futura Aerospace is made up of five Aerospace Engineering students from across Europe.

Their invention, Meta Flex, is a ground-breaking attitude and orbit control system designed for space organisations, satellite operators and research institutions. The team says its two-thruster design uses friction-free compliant gimbal systems to replace conventional eight-thruster mechanisms, enabling spacecrafts to effortlessly rotate in any direction, and therefore broadening access to advanced space missions.

The team consists of Pedro Rodriguez (21), Fabrizio Pisani (22), Nestoras Papageorgiou (21), Marcin Badowski (23) and Elena Carulla (21) – all of whom have been studying at the University of Southampton.

After competing in a Student Enterprise funding competition at the university, they have now been selected as a finalist in the Engineers in Business Champion of Champions competition.

Nestoras said: “This groundbreaking technology will revolutionise space missions, making them more cost-effective and accessible, ultimately advancing scientific research, communication, and environmental monitoring for the benefit of society. The potential application of this system is extensive, including enhanced mobility that facilitate tasks such as space debris removal, in-space services, collision avoidance and end-of-life manoeuvres.”

The team will now pitch their idea against nine other teams of student innovators at the event at the Royal Academy of Engineering on 3 November 2023. A sum of £16,000 is up for grabs, providing vital seed money to help the winners develop their innovation.

Winners will also receive mentoring from business leaders who are members of the Sainsbury Management Fellows network, plus CV packages from PurpleCV and entrepreneurial books from Cambridge University Press and Double your Price, a book by David Falzani MBE, which covers how pricing works with practical insights, tools and actionable guidance.

The event, hosted by TV presenter and engineer Rob Bell, is the culmination of a year of enterprise competitions held across UK universities, with thousands of undergraduate and graduates taking part.

Each year, Engineers in Business Fellowship champions business education for engineers and supports universities by giving them grants to award prizes to engineering students who develop ideas that can make a positive impact on society.

After participating in their university competition and looking ahead to the final, Nestoras said: “It is a great opportunity to be taught business skills and to facilitate the development of our idea. Additionally, to have been shortlisted gives as additional motivation to keep working hard for Meta Futura to succeed.”