News

March 28, 2019 Academics

SCCSD students travel to NASA for Space Settlement Design Competition

Last weekend, 15 SCCSD students stepped into the shoes of aerospace industry professionals as they traveled to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to design a facility in space.

The annual Regional Space Settlement Design Competition organizes participating students into four competing teams, or “companies”, to design a facility in space that will accommodate several thousand people in a realistic scenario set in the later years of this century. Each year, the Competition organizers develop a new design challenge and scenario with its own unique requirements.

The four participating student “companies” work to create a design and operating plan for the facility while meeting the project requirements. Each team prepares a written summary of 50 pages or less of their proposal, and provides a 35-minute oral briefing to judges that fully addresses the project requirements and communicates their ideas, designs, budgets, and schedules.

As students attempt to conquer the problems inherent in designing a Space Settlement, they will also learn and demonstrate creativity, technical competence, management skills, space environment knowledge, teamwork, and presentation techniques.

Of the 15 students that traveled to Houston for the Competition, four were members of the winning team, Grumbo Aerospace. The students on the winning team were Gisselle Ayala Garcia (West High), Reid Jansen (West High), Drew Olson (East High), and Chayce Patterson (East High).

Below is a list of all the Sioux City students from East, North, and West High Schools who attended the Competition:

East High:
Raphael (RayRay) Douglas
Kaden Schossow
Drew Olson
Chayce Patterson
Nate Zyzda
Jennifer Herrera
Myranda Duitsman

North High:
Tinh Tran
Reed Adajar

West High:
Gissella Ayala Garcia
Mason Jelken
Collin Houts
Hiatt Holman
Reid Jansen