Thu, Apr 22, 2010
Presented With Sir Arthur Clarke Award For Contribution To
Space Exploration
Anyone who's ever read a novel by Sir Arthur C. Clarke is
probably familiar with the concept of an ion drive. They've been a
staple in science fiction for decades. But put one into practice,
and you'll win an award named after the legendary author.
QinetiQ’s ion propulsion team has been named "team of the
year" for its outstanding contribution to space exploration for
doing just that at the recent Sir Arthur Clarke awards.
QinetiQ Ion Thurster
The award comes at the end of a landmark year for the QinetiQ
ion propulsion team which saw the European Space Agency's
(ESA’s) GOCE Spacecraft become the first to launch with
QinetiQ’s T5 ion thrusters on board and QinetiQ begin work
supplying advanced T6 thrusters for ESA’s future BepiColombo
mission to Mercury.
The award was accepted by the team’s Chief engineer, Neil
Wallace, who commented: “We knew about the nomination but
winning the award came as a complete surprise to all of us. It was
a great team effort and reflects the hard work of many individuals
for almost 20 years."
He added: “2009 was a busy and exciting year for the Ion
Engine Team and we’re thrilled to have our work on the GOCE
and BepiColombo spacecraft recognized with this award. Electric
propulsion will make spacecraft and satellites lighter, allowing
more weight for the real payload, and we are delighted to be at the
leading edge of this technology.”
The Sir Arthur Clarke Awards are presented annually at the
climax of the UK Space Conference to honor those who have done the
most to further the field of space exploration in the past
year.
Previous winners have included the ESA ATV team, responsible for
creating the Spacecraft which keeps supplies flowing to the
International Space Station and the Huygens team which landed the
first spacecraft on Saturn’s moon, Titan. QinetiQ beat off
fierce competition from fellow nominees SSTL and ESA to win this
year’s honor.
Chair of the judging panel, Dr. Lesley Wright said that
“This was an outstanding achievement by the QinetiQ team
which the judges view as a significant contribution to space
exploration.”
The T5 and T6 ion thrusters developed by QinetiQ are ten times
more efficient than the chemical engines traditionally used to
propel spacecraft making some deep space missions possible for the
first time. For ESA's Bepi Colombo mission to Mercury, the engines
make the mission possible by counteracting the sun’s
gravitational pull.
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