Students for the Exploration and Development of Space

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space

Founded	October 30, 1980
Founder	Peter Diamandis, Robert D. Richards, and Todd B. Hawley
Type	Student Organization
Focus	"to promote the exploration and development of space"
Origins	Started at MIT and expanded by letter to Omni Magazine
Area served	Worldwide
Method	Student Collaboration and Connections with Space Companies
Members	10000+
Key people	Hannah Kerner (current SEDS-USA Chair), Kaizad Raimalwala (current SEDS-Canada Chair), Saumya Vats (current SEDS-India president), Jeremy Nickless (current UKSEDS Chair)
Endowment	Currently SEDS-USA building national endowment.
Slogan	Ad Astra per Ardua!
Website	seds.org,

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is an international student organization whose purpose is to promote space exploration and development through educational and engineering projects.^[1]

History

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space was founded in 1980 at MIT by Peter Diamandis, Princeton University by Scott Scharfman, and Yale University by Richard Sorkin,^[2][3] and consists of an international group of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from a diverse range of educational backgrounds who are working to promote space. SEDS is a chapter-based organization with chapters in Canada, India, Israel, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. The permanent National Headquarters for SEDS-USA resides at MIT and that of SEDS-India at VIT University. Each chapter is fairly independent and coordinates activities and projects in its own area.

1980s

SEDS was founded on 17 September 1980, primarily by Peter Diamandis, Scott Scharfman, Richard Sorkin, Robert D. Richards, and Todd B. Hawley and their first meeting was held on Thursday, 30 October 1980.^[4] After the initial meetings in 1980, SEDS president Peter Diamandis wrote a letter to the editor of Omni magazine deploring the status of the space program and asking students to help make a difference. The letter, published in Omni in early 1981, attracted students from around the world to SEDS. This laid the foundations for the first SEDS international conference, held at George Washington University between July 15–19, 1982.^[5] As the decade progressed, SEDS continued to have more international conferences, which rotated among schools including George Washington University (again), University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Caltech. During the end of the decade, UKSEDS was founded at the Science Museum (London) and held their first conference at the University of Cambridge during 25–26 November 1989.^[6]

1990s

During the 1990s, SEDS continued to host a national conference each year, sometimes in conjunction with the International Space Development Conference through 1997, when the last "SEDS National Conference" was held (conferences would re-appear 7 years later as the "SEDS SpaceVision Conference"). UKSEDS continued to have national conferences at rotating locations each year. During the last years of the decade there was a major decline in SEDS leadership and a connected drop in the number of member chapters around the United States.

2000s

In 2004, the SEDS National Conferences were re-established by MITSEDS and hosted on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on November 11–14.^[7] The conference was renamed the SEDS SpaceVision conference and featured many speakers who would return year after year during this decade, including Loretta Hidalgo, founder Dr. Robert Richards, Rick Tumlinson, George Whitesides, Robert Zubrin, and Pete Worden. The SpaceVision conference then visited University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2005), University of Central Florida (2006), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2007), Texas A&M University (2008), University of Arizona (2009), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010), University of Colorado at Boulder (2011), University at Buffalo (2012), and Arizona State University (2013). SpaceVision 2014 will be hosted by UNC Chapel Hill^[8][9] During this time, UKSEDS continued to have one national conference each year. SEDS India, after hosting the SEDS International conference in 2007, continued with SEDS India National Conferences every year since 2009 at VIT University, Vellore, India. SEDS also began exploring innovative national projects such as fund-raising for a joint SEDS chapter Zero-G flight and designing an innovative national Rockoon competition modeled after the Ansari X PRIZE.

Active SEDS-USA projects

SEDS-USA organizes annual and rolling projects to engage its members in space-related activities. Two such projects are:

SEDS High-Power Rocketry Competition

This is a competition between chapters designed to challenge students in high-power rocketry.^[10] The goal of the competition is to launch a rocket, designed and built by the chapter members, to an altitude of 10,000 feet above sea-level. This competition has now successfully run for 2 years. The winner of the 2012 competition was Purdue-SEDS.

Student NewSpace Business Plan Competition

Started in 2011, this competition is co-organized with the Space Frontier Foundation ^[11] and aims to provide students with a real-world experience in entrepreneurship applied to the space industry. Students are required to develop space-scalable business models that will advance the NewSpace movement and are judged by a panel of 5 experts who have had several years of experience in space entrepreneurship. The winners of the 2011 and 2012 competitions were Illinois State University^[12] and Iowa State University respectively.

Organizational structure

SEDS is organized by country, region, and chapter. There is a large contingent of SEDS chapters in the United States, which are governed regionally and nationally by SEDS-USA. SEDS India has nine SEDS chapters under it with its headquarters at VIT University. There are also other national sections of SEDS across the world and these disparate groups of students communicate and organize together via SEDS-Earth, the global governing body of SEDS. SEDS is also an organization member of the Alliance for Space Development.^[13]

SEDS-USA

SEDS-USA is the governing body of all chapters in the United States. It is overseen by a national Board of Directors, Board of Advisers and a Board of Trustees. An integral aspect of SEDS-USA is the Council of Chapters (CoC). This council consists of national representatives of each chapter and is led by the Director of Chapter Affairs. The CoC meets via teleconference once every two weeks to exchange updates between individual chapters and the national board. The 2014–15 national directors of SEDS-USA are listed below.^[14]

UKSEDS

UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UKSEDS) is the UK’s national student space society. They support students and enthusiasts across the United Kingdom by running space projects, hosting conferences and workshops, and doing outreach to inspire and educate. They build links between different parts of the space community within the UK and internationally.

UKSEDS began in 1988, when several students who had attended International Space University (ISU)'s first Space Studies Program which was held at MIT made the decision to set up the organisation in the UK. A founding conference was held in March 1989 at London’s Science Museum, with a full conference at Cambridge University in November of that year.

SEDS-Canada

SEDS-Canada are a federally incorporated not-for-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada, whose mandate is to advocate for the exploration and development of space through non-partisan political advocacy, conferences, student competitions, and chapter grants. The organization was initiated in early 1981 by entrepreneur Bob Richards, and it was re-established in 2014 by a group of students from the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario after several years of inactivity. SEDS-Canada currently has six university chapters operating across the country.

As part of their advocacy goals, SEDS-Canada seeks to engage Canadian policy makers and electoral candidates at all levels of government in a multi-year effort with the aim of defending cuts to good space policy, and campaigning for new policies to ensure Canadian leadership in niche areas of space exploration and development.

SEDS UAE

The SEDS UAE Chapter is based at the Our Own English High School in Abu Dhabi. This chapter was founded by a high school student, Nishith Khandwala. Members of SEDS UAE engage themselves in various activities and programs such as the International Asteroid Search Campaign.^[15][16]

SEDS-India

SEDS INDIA

Type	Non Profit Student Organization
Focus	"To promote the exploration and development of space"
Area served	INDIA
Method	Student Collaboration
Key people	Saumya Vats (current SEDS India President) Dr. Geetha Manivasagam (Trustee of SEDS India)
Website	sedsindia.org

SEDS-India is the governing body of SEDS in India with its headquarters at VIT University.SEDS in India was started in 2004 by Mr. Pradeep Mohandas, an undergrad engineering student and an all time space lover and by Mr. Abhishek Ray. The first chapter sprang up in Mumbai at PIIT, New Panvel and had 5 members, a humble beginning for this now vibrant community of amateur Space Explorers, hobbyists and enthusiasts.

The governing body was set up in 2005 to co-ordinate the activities, projects, events and outreach of all the affiliated member chapters of SEDS India. The Executive council of SEDS India consists of six Board Members who are selected through a rigorous voting process, all the individual members of SEDS India are eligible to Vote to select their Committee. The Committee serves for a period of one year and works towards expansion of the Chapter Base in India. SEDS India has successfully conducted four Conferences in the past and shall in the coming years regularize the concept of SEDS India National Conference or the SEDS International Conference, held across 2007-2012. SEDS India has funding secured for six projects which are carried out by its Chapter Members. There have been active collaboration with various organizations in the Space Industry that guide SEDS India in the right direction. The Permanent Trustee of SEDS India is Dr. Geetha Manivasagam, Professor, VIT University. The advisory panel has various accomplished dignitaries on its board, including the Associate Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Center.

The Outreach program of SEDS India, OneSpace, has been a great success in the affiliated chapters. The main aim of the outreach program is to spread awareness about space among the under privileged children in rural India and also an extensive set of events and activities that are designed especially for the children residing in Orphanages. Children are made to learn about the importance of Space Exploration and Research at the grass root level.

SEDS India has ten affiliated chapters in India at various universities. They are VIT University, Veltech university, Birla Institute of Technology & Science,Pilani-Goa, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Nehru Institute of Engineering and Technology,National Institute of Technology Warangal, Saveetha Engineering College, Kumaraguru College of Engineering, Indian School of Mines Dhanbad, Gyan Ganga Institute of Technology and SASTRA UNIVERSITY. The Chapter affairs are controlled by the Local Chapter Committee which reports to the President of SEDS India.

SEDS-Veltech Chapter

SEDS Veltech was formed under SEDS-India in November 2014, headquartered at Vel Tech University- Chennai, is a Chapter acknowledged by SEDS-India and has nearly 400 members. The foundation ceremony was held at Veltech University on 7 November 2014 with Mr.R Dorairaj, EX-Project Manager(ISRO), presiding over the function as the Chief Guest.

SEDS in Northeast India

Though SEDS is a very famous student society served worldwide, its vision has yet to spread in Northeastern India due lack of modern views about space science among the present teenage population. Still, there have been initiatives by SEDS-India to establish its chapters in the northeast. In this initiative with the help of Angaraj Duara, alumni of Maharishi Vidyamandir Shilpukhuri, Guwahati, SEDS INDIA established seven chapters in Assam (between August and September 2013) in - Army Public School Narangi, Sharla Birla Gyan Jyoti School Guwahati, IIT-Guwahati, Handique Girls College, Royal Global Institute - RSET Guwahati, Donbosco Public School Panbazar and at last Tezpur University. SEDS-APSN was the first chapter among SEDS chapters in the northeast of India. Later it was decided to constitute a SEDS-NorthEast Chapter to govern SEDS activities in the northeast.

SEDS - APSN Chapter - A Chapter under SEDS-India

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space - APSN

Founded	August 20, 2013
Type	Student Organization
Focus	"to promote the exploration and development of space"
Area served	Army Public School, Narangi
Method	Student Collaboration and Connections with Space Companies
Members	100+
Key people	Miss Monmi Goswami (then SEDS-APSN Staff Coordinator) Bishal Baishya (then Head of Projects)
Website	apsnseds.tksedsapsn.tk

On 2 August 2013, when it was decided SEDS-India to spread SEDS' vision in the school and establish chapters like the SEDS - APSN Chapter in Northeast India as well, to support student enthusiasts in the school by helping, hosting the SEDS - APSN site, and doing.^[17]

Due to reasons unknown, the SEDS-APSN Chapter was closed/dissolved on 30 November 2014, but the initiative of SEDS has helped students know about collective vision planning.

Notable student leaders

• Jeff Bezos, Princeton^[18]

See also

• Space
• Yuri's Night
• TMRO
• Space Frontier Foundation
• National Space Society
• The Planetary Society
• Mars Society
• NewSpace
• Peter Diamandis
• Robert D. Richards
• Todd B. Hawley

References

External links

• SEDS Website
• Map of SEDS Chapters Worldwide
• SEDS-APSN Website