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Durango aerospace team wrapping up competition

The Durango Aerospace Design Team is competing today in the World Finals of the International Space Settlement Design Competition at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“We now enter the grueling second day of the World Finals,” coach and Durango High School teacher Dan Garner wrote in an email Sunday morning.

The Durango team is working this year with teams from India, Wales, Australia and Iowa.

The students first received technical briefings Sunday from industry experts with experience in automation engineering, human factors, structural engineering, operations and infrastructure, and management. Then they got the request for proposal setting their mission: to design a settlement on the moon that specializes in the manufacture, operations and maintenance of a city with the primary purpose of outfitting assaying, surveying and mining operations in search of titanium, thorium and helium 3.

Garner wrote that Durangoan Haakon Sigurslid, a graduating senior, was elected as president of the combined team known as “Dougledyne and Flechtel Astrosystems.” The team also elected graduating senior Mariah Dorsey as systems engineer and junior-to-be Charlie Greenberg as chief financial officer. Durango also opted to take managerial positions in the following areas: Mallory Byrd as vice president of structural engineering, Elle Rathbun as VP of operations and infrastructure, Bella Bussian as VP of human factors, and Jesse Rubenstein as VP of automations engineering.

Garner wrote that about 300 students traveled to NASA from around the world “in one of the most rigorous and truly immersive industry simulations available to high school students today.”

johnp@durangoherald.com



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