The fourth Noosphere Space Games: Middle Edition virtual rocket modeling competition has ended. The winners of the two levels split the $1,200 prize fund and won additional gifts.
This is the fourth time Association Noosphere and the Ukraine Spacemodelling Sports Federation have held the Noosphere Space Games. The competition gathered more than 200 participants under the age of 18.
Participants carried out their projects using the Kerbal Space Program simulation game, which reproduces the conditions of real space: from aerodynamics to orbital physics. Young engineers had to launch a modular space station and assemble it in orbit.
The winners were:
1. Nazar Stepanenko, Brovary, 16 years old
2. Dmytro Bodniak, Chernivtsi, 17 years old
3. Vyacheslav Shtaferun, Uman, 14 years old
4. Nazar Matsula, Kherson, 12 years old
5. Vasyl Martynov, Kharkiv, 15 years old
In addition to the prize fund of $1,200, winners received a trip to Dnipro to meet with professional space engineers and scientists.
“I really liked working with other participants. We had a wonderful team gathered in the Telegram contest group – we compared rocket prices, helped each other with problems, and shared experiences. The competition itself was interesting – not a banal ‘put something into orbit for the lowest price’, but a complex task with several aspects that need to be taken into account,” explained winner Nazar Stepanenko.
Those who were not familiar with the Kerbal Space Program could try their hand at the lower level competition. They completed a simplified mission and received pleasant gifts.
The winners for Easy Mode were:
1. Ivan Bura, Kyiv, 15 years old
2. Serhiy Kerpan, Trostyanets, 12 years old
“It’s always a pleasure to see the entries submitted to the Noosphere Space Games. It was even more rewarding to see familiar names of participants who took part in past competitions. The mission was not easy at all, so I want to congratulate everyone who did not give up and reached the end,” said Denys Khmil, General Secretary of the Ukraine Spacemodelling Sports Federation.