I’m sure a few of you are wondering why we’re not screaming about this from the rooftops, right? Okay: stand back, here we go.

To quote the Portal space core: “SPAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!!!”

Back in March 2014 Eben sent a casual email around the office asking if anyone wanted to join him at a meeting between the Surrey Space Centre, Airbus Defence and Space and Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL). So, being a space geek, I tagged along and we found ourselves talking about the possibility of using a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi in space flight for a variety of applications.

There was excitement over the possibility of flying several compute modules on a cube-sat for a space software lab experiment, and Stuart Eves, who is the lead mission concepts engineer at Airbus Defence and Space, was especially enthusiastic about using 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi as a mechanism for educational outreach by UK Space (a trade association of companies that contribute to the UK space industry).

A month or so later, another meeting was on the cards, and this time the UK Space Agency (UKSA, an executive agency of the British Government) was going to be there.

That’s when I met Libby Jackson and Jeremy Curtis. Libby and Jeremy were behind the Great British Space Dinner competition you may remember from last year, and, between them have years of 丁香婷婷色五月激情综合深爱 in human space flight. Doing something with British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s six month ISS mission was on the table, but we were not sure how it was going to look.

It was clear to everyone that the existing popularity of 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi, the connection with computer science education, and the forthcoming changes to the UK 丁香婷婷色五月激情综合深爱 would cast a wide net over the UK; and together could generate a lot of participation in a potential coding competition. We realised that a situation where UK schools could own the same computer hardware that was in space had never, as far as we knew, existed before.

Doug Liddle, head of science at SSTL, told me that the possibility to achieve this was more exciting than anything else the UK Space trade association had been considering for Tim Peake’s flight. So over the course of several further meetings we put together an outreach plan that would provide a range of computer science challenges to cover the diverse needs of the space industry. At the core of these would be a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi with a range of peripherals and sensors which would act as the platform for the pupils to send their software into space.

Libby and Jeremy took the plan to the European Space Agency (ESA) for approval, and it was well received. To very briefly summarise: the programme would be split into two halves, with some activities that Tim would do up on the ISS during his mission and a competition run on the ground before blast-off.

At this point we still hadn’t decided a name for it and I think it might amuse you to see the names that we were considering:

• Pi in the Sky
• Astronaut Pi
• Astro Pi
• Cosmic Pi
• Fly Pi
• Space Pi
• Chris HATfield
• Astronaut HAT
• Orbital Pi
• Peake Pi
• 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Peake

As the year went on, we were well into discussions about what the hardware would be like. It was agreed that it would be a B+ HAT that could be mass produced and made widely available to schools and the general public. The same HAT would then be flown, along with Tim’s 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi, to the ISS, thus creating the situation where all school pupils have exactly the same computer hardware as the astronauts are working with in space. They would be able to write code against their own Pi, and that could then be sent to the ISS and run on Tim’s Pi!

If you win the Astro Pi competition this is exactly what will happen to your code.

We didn’t want the Astro Pi HAT to have any single purpose, but rather to be a toolkit that could be employed in many different ways. Initially the list of sensors we wanted to have on it was enormous, and this had to be trimmed down due to the physical space constraints of the HAT standard. The sensors that made the cut were chosen for their ability to provide learning opportunities in the context of space flight. The solar arrays on the ISS, for instance, each have about 12 gyroscopes to control their orientation so that they can track the sun. Accelerometers are used to measure forces exerted by thrusters on all space craft, and magnetometers work like a compass so you can know which way you’re facing in relation to the Earth’s magnetic field.

We also knew that we wouldn’t be able to plug the Astro Pi into anything like a monitor or keyboard, and that it would have to run headless. Having some kind of visual output, despite this constraint, would be important: so this is why we included the 8×8 matrix of LEDs. Use it wisely!

So all that was the easy part. Meanwhile we began the process of getting the hardware approved for space flight with ESA. Space conditions are challenging, and because of this there is an abundance of testing that must be done for any object going up to the ISS. What you need to possess, to be allowed up there, is a flight safety certificate. The process to obtain this for Astro Pi is still ongoing as I write this blog entry.

There two kinds of payloads (space cargo consignments): they’re called “educational” payloads and “real” payloads. Educational payloads are usually inanimate objects, like balls which are sent up to collide together in zero gravity to demonstrate the conservation of momentum effect or similar. Real payloads are things like the complex machines that are designed to perform a job on the station, or robotic arms that can be controlled by an astronaut. The thing that differentiates the two is the simple question: does it plug in and turn on?

So we found ourselves in the unique situation of being an educational payload that has to consume power from the ISS mains. This meant that our path through the safety approval process was not going to be trivial. Fortunately we have some of the best people in the UK Space industry on our side, who are actively working towards making this happen. ESA have also hooked us up with engineers and safety experts, who are helping guide us through their processes too. It’s been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work with these folks.

Here is a list of some of the tests we have to do:

• Flammability assessment
• Off-gassing assessment
• Electromagnetic interference / susceptibility assessment (the CE and FCC ones don’t count in space)
• Electrical interface testing (to prove we can consume power from the ISS safely)
• Vacuum exposure assessment
• Sharp edges hazard assessment (so we don’t accidentally poke holes in any astronauts)
• Launch conditions vibration test (to make sure the Astro Pi still works afterwards)

We plan to shout about each of these on social media in the coming months, as they happen, so stay tuned! Once we have the flight safety certificate we can be scheduled for a launch. This was originally planned to be an ATV or Space X Dragon capsule, however it now looks more like we’re going up on the Soyuz rocket with Tim Peake himself. I can’t believe I just typed that.

I had opportunity to meet Tim at the Farnborough Air Show last year too. He was there doing the closing ceremony of Mission X with the UK Space Agency, but was able to spare an hour of his time to attend one of the UK Space progress meetings. We gave him a general 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi demonstration and talked a bit about the competition and what he would be required to do. He was really enthusiastic and said he wanted to make it as interactive as possible, even suggesting the possibility of a live debugging session with the competition winners.

Imagine randomly getting a phone call from the ISS: “Hello this is Tim Peake on the International Space Station, I’ve just found an error on line 21 of your code. Does it work properly on yours?”

I don’t know if that will happen, but it might!

Aside from the flight safety procedures, a lot of mission specific documentation needs to be produced too. You may not know this, but a lot of the European crew operations on orbit are controlled from a little house in Lucerne, Switzerland. Libby Jackson and I paid them a visit in December last year to give them an orientation on the hardware. They’re a division of Lucerne University called BIOTESC, and they write all of the step-by-step procedures that the crew follows during day to day operations. Understandably they all have very good personal and professional relationships with the crew members.

They’re a lovely bunch of people who are going to become super-competent in the use and maintenance of a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi. They’ll be required to advise Tim should anything not work as intended up there. We had one of the Astro Pi prototype units with us and went through a few mock procedures that Tim would be expected to do. Libby took the opportunity to dust off her coding skills and spent about an hour programming a nice countdown sequence on the LED matrix which she blogged about here.

Back in the UK, the Astro Pi media drive was beginning to roll into action. Many people from UK Space trade association were working behind the scenes to get the website ready, setting up interviews and organising press conferences. The announcement was scheduled for 10 December at the CGI offices in Kings Cross, London. Press were invited and we had a number of school students from Weydon School in Surrey join for a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi workshop during the conference. The full report from that day can be found online here. The BBC were involved too and technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones caught up with Tim and interviewed him about Astro Pi.

Meanwhile, our artist and animator, Sam Alder, who had already designed the Astro Pi logo, was busily working on story-boarding and producing a cartoon about the competition. We were fortunate to be allowed to record Tim Peake’s voice for it. Sam and his colleague from Saladhouse Studios, Scott Lockhart, met up with Tim to do the recording at a hotel in London. He told me that they sat down, started looking through their notes, and looked up at Tim in his ESA polo shirt and whispered: “I can’t believe this! What the hell are we doing here?”

The final cut of the cartoon was kept under wraps with the intention to show it during the competition launch at BETT 2015 for the first time.

Head to the @bett_show arena now to hear all about @astro_pi! @黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清_Pi @spacegovuk pic.twitter.com/PqlRtyVgFd

— Astro Pi (@Astro_Pi) January 23, 2015

We had planned to do a live link interview with Tim, who would be in the United States, during the BETT arena presentation. Sadly this fell through because he was travelling on that Friday. So instead we organised a Skype call the night before, and I was the lucky one who got to interview him!

It was recorded on my computer at home. This was my own “What the hell are we doing here?” moment; I was a bit like a starstruck rabbit caught in the headlights for the whole interview.

So the next day Lance Howarth from the 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放, Jeremy Curtis from the UK Space Agency and Doug Liddle from Surrey Satellite Technology gave an exciting presentation to a crowded BETT arena. Here is the Skype interview:

https://vimeo.com/118125454

The cartoon animation was then shown to round off the presentation. This is by far my favourite of all the animations Saladhouse have done for us.

http://vimeo.com/117274487

So that just about brings us up to date. ESA have told us that Astro Pi is the most advanced educational payload that they’ve seen, and that they’re watching what happens here with interest. If we have a high degree of participation in the competition then ESA may decide to repeat the whole process for the rest of Europe with another astronaut. So please do your bit and tell everyone you know! We want every school in the UK to participate!

We’re working hard to get the Astro Pi HAT manufactured in volume and we’re hoping for them to be available by the middle of March. But don’t forget that you can win them too! Secondary school sign up is now live so head over to astro-pi.org and read more about the competition rules.

Primary Schools enter here.

Secondary Schools enter here.

Thanks for reading this far; I know this is a long post. One final thought I’d like to leave you all with is regarding an awesome tradition of the Russian space program that is still observed on all Soyuz launches to this day. The Russian commander is responsible for choosing a talisman that hangs inside the capsule. It’s a visual indicator of when the spacecraft has reached weightlessness and dates right back to Yuri Gagarin (the first person in space).

The talisman is usually some kind of stuffed toy, and if you watch the most recent launch video below, where Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti went up, you’ll see they used Olaf from Frozen! Watch for the main engine cut off at 09:15 for when he shoots forwards and becomes weightless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjv5yM0UD2g

Can anyone think of a stuffed toy that might be appropriate for Tim’s launch?

The post Astro Pi: Mission Update 1 appeared first on 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放.

For the first time, our entire education team will be on hand, in our own curated space to answer questions, run Picademy-style workshops, and share our passion for 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi in education.

Have some Pis in your school and want to get going with physical 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清? Then Clive Beale has a giant GPIO model and will be using it in his ‘Let’s get Physical’ workshops. Are you a science teacher who wants to hear more about our weather station and space (Astro Pi) projects? Creative computer scientist, Dave Honess, will be giving demos across the four days. Heard that we offer free resources to teach, learn and make with 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi? Resource and web man Ben Nuttall will be able to tell you more. Want explosions? We’ve got plans for some of those too.

Clive explains how to connect GPIO to LEDs with his giant model

It’s not just the fun-loving 丁香婷婷色五月激情综合深爱 team who will be sharing Pi related activities. We will be joined by many of our 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi Certified Educators and members of our friendly and active community too. To name but a few from our amazing line-up: we’ll be hosting Dr Sam Aaron, creator of Sonic Pi; authors Martin O’Hanlon and David Whale; representatives from Wolfram, Code Club and Nature Bytes.

Some sessions will be lead by our 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi Certified Educators.

We’ve created a timetable of sessions on offer so that you can select those that interest you in advance.

Get your free ticket today, and we will see you bright-eyed and bushy tailed next week! (For those of you who won’t be able to make this event, don’t feel like you are missing out – sign up for the education newsletter today and we will keep you up to date with our events, resources and competitions.)

The post Meet the Education Team at the BETT Show 2015 appeared first on 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放.

Leading UK space organisations have joined forces with British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake and 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi to offer students a chance to devise and code their own apps or experiment to run in space. Two 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi computers are planned to be flown to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Tim’s 6 month mission and both will be connected to a new “Astro Pi” board, loaded with a host of sensors and gadgets.

Launched today (10 Dec 2014) at an event held by the UK Space Agency, the Astro Pi competition will be officially opened at the BETT conference (21-24 January) and will be open to all primary and secondary school aged children who are resident in the United Kingdom. The competition will be supported by a comprehensive suite of teaching resources that are being developed by ESERO-UK and 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi.

During his mission, Tim Peake plans to deploy the Astro Pi computers in a number of different locations on board the ISS. He will then load up the winning code whilst in orbit, set them running, collect the data generated and then download this to Earth where it will be distributed to the winning teams.

Speaking at the Astro Pi launch event, Dr David Parker, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, also revealed that the UK Space Agency has been given a £2 million programme, as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, to support further outreach activities around Tim’s mission, particularly to help inspire interest in STEM subjects.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

So much technology relies on big data but not enough people are being trained in this field. This challenge helps the next generation to have fun whilst learning the skills that industry need.

Creating tomorrow’s engineers is part of our industrial strategy that gives a long term commitment to world-class skills.

Vince Cable

Tim Peake added:

I’m really excited about this project, born out of the cooperation among UK industries and institutions. There is huge scope for fun science and useful data gathering using the Astro Pi sensors on board the International Space Station. This competition offers a unique chance for young people to learn core 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 skills that will be extremely useful in their future. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Tim Peake

Major Tim Peake – photo provided by UK Space Agency under CC BY-ND

To help students on their way in developing their code, five inspirational themes have been devised to stimulate creativity and scientific thinking. The themes are Spacecraft Sensors, Satellite Imaging, Space Measurements, Data Fusion and Space Radiation.

In the primary school age category, teams will be asked to devise and describe an original idea for an experiment or application which can be conducted on the Astro Pi by Tim during his mission. The two best submissions will get the opportunity to work with the Astro Pi team to interpret their ideas and the team at the 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放 will then code them ready for flight on the ISS.

In the secondary school age group, the competition will be run across three age categories, one for each of Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 (in England and Wales, and their equivalent ages in Scotland and Northern Ireland). In the first phase, competitors can submit their ideas for experiments and applications. At least the best 50 submissions in each age category will win a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi computer and an Astro Pi board on which to code their idea. In phase 2, all teams will develop code based on their original concept and two winning teams will be selected in each age category. The winning teams’ code will be readied for flight by the 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放 and CGI.

As well as having their code uploaded to the ISS, all winning teams will each receive a class set of 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi and Astro Pi boards, meet the Astro Pi team and participate in a winners event during Tim’s flight.

In addition to the main prizes, each of the UKspace companies supporting the project have offered a prize. These prizes will be awarded to the best submission associated with each of the themes, across the age ranges.

ESERO-UK and 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi are developing a comprehensive suite of teaching resources to link to the 丁香婷婷色五月激情综合深爱 and assist teachers of STEM subjects in engaging their students in the competition.  As well as explaining how to use and write code for the Astro Pi and its sensors, the resources will provide a context for the Astro Pi in the 丁香婷婷色五月激情综合深爱 and link to teaching subjects and areas.

The first two resources of the series are available now in the National STEM Centre eLibrary and the rest will follow.

Launching the Astro Pi computers, and consequently the successful implementation and completion of this competition is subject to nominal progress through the ESA integration programme and operations on-board the ISS.

The organisations involved in the Astro Pi competition include the UK Space Agency, UKspace, 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi, ESERO-UK and ESA.

The UKspace team, led by SSTL, include Airbus DS, CGI, the Space KTN, National Nuclear Laboratory and National Physical Laboratory.

Dave: The Astro Pi board will be a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi HAT and will comprise the following:

• Gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer sensor
• Temperature sensor
• Barometric pressure sensor
• Humidity sensor
• Real time clock with backup battery
• 8×8 RGB LED display
• Several push buttons

There will also be a camera module attached to the first board and an infra-red camera attached to the second board.

Keep an eye on our blog, the Astro Pi website and @astro_pi on twitter for updates! More information will be made available after the competition launch at BETT in January.

Update: See BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones interview Tim Peake about the competition: Astronaut Tim Peake invites 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi challenge

The post Astro Pi: Your Code in Space appeared first on 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放.

As a technician I attended to see what cool new tech was available for teachers, and to see if we could replace any of our current systems with something more efficient and cost effective. As a teacher I attended for much the same reasons, to get my hands on all the cool tech, but also to attend the free talks and workshops in the many areas over the course of four days.

The 少妇下面好紧好多水真爽播放 Education Team at Bett 2014

Last year the 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi education team were hosted by the OCR stand and you can read about what we got up to here.

The next Bett Show takes place this coming January from Wednesday 21st January to Saturday 24th January 2015 at Excel London and we at 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi plan to have a presence like never before. We want everyone who attends to be able to 丁香婷婷色五月激情综合深爱 what it is like to teach, learn and make with 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi. To do this we need your help.

We need you! We are looking for members of our wonderful community to help us run workshops, give talks or demos and be a part of sharing what we do with teachers and technicians. Teachers, 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi certified educators, digital leaders, technicians, academics, parents, code club mentors, workshop leaders, 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Jam event organisers, or Pi enthusiasts.

Over the course of the four days, we have 20 minute and 50 minute slots to fill on our stand that includes a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi classroom. You can give a talk about how you engage young people with 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi or how to setup a 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Jam. You could run a Minecraft Pi or Pibrella workshop. You could bring your code club or group of digital leaders to present what they have done with 黑暗爆料在线观看免费高清 Pi.

To submit your session or sessions for our Bett Show stand for 2015, please complete this form.

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