Launching Satellites in the Arctic

T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and … misfire?!

From the moment the first rocket launch (with the CanSats for the Austrian and Norwegian teams) misfired yesterday morning, we knew we were in for a most interesting day out at the rocket range.

Although we had to endure four hours of uncertainty as to whether we would get our Cansat back (because the retrievers on the snow-mobiles couldn’t find it), the day ended in joy for the Irish/Crescent team. Read the full story here and here.

Because of space restrictions at the rocket range conference room, I had to spend most of Monday back at the hotel while the teams gave their introductory presentations (I understand our team did quite well). I went over in the evening to offer technical assistance with the pre-launch preparations and checks.

Yesterday was the actual launches. Our team was very calm and confident, having done all the necessary preparations beforehand. There were complications with most launches: as mentioned earlier, the first launch misfired and we had to wait for an hour while the rocket was inspected before re-launch. By the end of the day, a number of Cansats had been damaged in the launch: in one case, a pair of Cansats collided with each other during ejection from the rocket with one Cansat breaking the servomotor arm of the other while accidentally switching itself off in the process! The Spanish Cansat was last spotted 0.7km above the earth – never to be seen again (which is very unlucky since the same thing happened to them last year as well).

Our launch went very well and, while we didn’t get the Cansat back till much later, got good data readings and got right to the analysis. Thanks to our Excel templates being all ready beforehand, we had useful graphs and information within a matter of minutes.

The data analysis and presentation preparation went on into the night, though not too late (by engineering standards, that is!) The Cansat came back almost perfectly intact and in reusable condition, so not much explanation of what went wrong etc… Our accelerometer gave us enough information to build a narrative picture of the launch and then we did some work on data loss analysis and suggested improvements in future launches etc.

The presentations are still on-going though the Irish team finished its post-campaign presentation about an hour ago. Gearoíd, Eimear, James and Gavin did very well and got only one, relatively minor, post-presentation question from the judges. Fingers crossed for the results…

If you haven't done so already, take a look at the Crescent Cansat team blog at http://crescentcansat.blogspot.com/.

Getting to Norway

No pictures yet from me, I’m afraid. Though I’ve been clicking away on my phone camera, I forgot to bring a USB cable with me to upload them; so you’ll have to wait until I get back to Limerick.

We left Limerick yesterday morning around 8 a.m. for Dublin. I took the M7 Express along with Anne O’Dea, the other staff member accompanying the team; while the students were dropped off at Dublin Airport by one of the parents. From Dublin, we first flew to Oslo; then had to go through customs and check-in again for the domestic flight to Bodø. The stopover at Oslo gave us enough time to have a pizza.

At Bodø, another stopover (this time doing a rehearsal of the presentation for this morning), before a short flight in a twin-propeller to Andenes, Andøya Island, Norway – within the Arctic Circle. Although the light was fading (though not completely – the sun hadn’t completely set even by the time we went to bed around one in the morning!), the views from the plane of snow-covered mountains rising from the sea were simply stunning.

Then a quick sandwich before dumping luggage in rooms and last-minute preparation work for today’s presentation and inspection of kits.

Read the students’ POV here.

Off to the Arctic

Well, technically, Andøya is just south of the Arctic circle. But that’s where I will be over the next week with Crescent College’s own Team Rocket. Back in November, we won the Irish national Cansat competition to design a Coke can-sized satellite and now we will be competing against teams from Austria, Denmark, Spain, Portugal etc.

You can check out the students’ blog here.

Vegging Out

veg

verb /vej/ 
Relax to the point of complete inertia

I’ve spent most of the last week vegging out in the community (when I’m not at or preparing for or reflecting on the Holy Week liturgies, that is.) A bit of reading, plenty of DVDs and box-sets, some surfing (of the electronic variety).

Working in a school environment where I am constantly on the go, it’s easy not to notice just how much of my energy derives from the young people I am constantly in contact with.

So, holidays come as something of a shock to the system. A welcome shock, mind you, but a shock nevertheless. During term-time, there’s almost not enough time in the day. There’s class preparation, correction, organising school events and trips, being present at or participating in extracurricular activities etc. etc. (but mostly class preparation for me).

Weekends can be quite busy too. In the last few months, there have been a number of meetings of Jesuits on during the weekends, which can mean a bit of travelling. Jesuit life is not for the couch potatoes!

There is great joy to be found in working with young people. The energy and enthusiasm, as I’ve indicated, is infectious. But their openness and idealism can be quite refreshing too – especially in these hard times. Which is not to say I shouldn’t keep my eyes open! Discipline is the least pleasant aspect of my ministry, but an extremely necessary one. All that energy, if not channelled into constructive activities, can be wasted at best, or turned to destructive purposes at worst.

In reminiscing about his time at Manresa, St. Ignatius of Loyola felt that God dealt with him as a teacher instructing his pupil (Autobiography, Chapter III). Maybe that’s why Jesuits are so involved in education – the roots of our spirituality lie in a student-teacher (or, in Indian terms, guru-shishya) relationship with God. God not only gives us gifts and graces, but also teaches us what to do with them.

Next week, I’m back to Britain for a meeting of younger Jesuits; and then it’s back to school for the final, hectic term before the summer break – so I hope to enjoy my “vegging” time as best I can for now!

Sarvodaya is now a Plus Two School

Flash News: Sarvodaya, the Jesuit school in Wayanad, Kerala, has been approved to offer Plus Two courses (the equivalent of a Sixth Form College) by the State Education Department. This means that Sarvodaya students can now continue to study here and reap the benefits of Jesuit pedagogy instead of having to scour around for pre-university seats.

Coming on the heels of approval of its 'minority school' status last week by the central Minorities Commission, this is a big development in the 20-year history of Jesuit involvement with the school. Having minority status means the school is protected by the Constitutional rights of minorities to preserve, propagate and develop their own culture and values. In practice, one of the most significant consequences is that the management of the institution in question has greater control over staff appointments. Thus, the Jesuit identity of the school can be further strengthened and the Ignatian outlook of our staff better developed.