Space tourism scheme for pupils
A competition is being launched for schools to get pupils involved in the Virgin Galactic space tourism project.
Designed to complement the national curriculum, the Mission Virgin Galactic, which also involves the RAF and the Royal Aeronautical Society, is open to 11 to 14-year-olds.
They will work in teams of four to design a marketable product that demonstrates one or more of the science, technology or engineering principles used in the Virgin Galactic programme.
The winning team and its teacher will then travel to western USA to see the project and witness a flight of SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic's commercial spaceship.
Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn said: "Mission Virgin Galactic sets out to reinvigorate interest in the sheer excitement of recent developments in engineering and their context to new technologies in aerospace and transportation generally.
"We have to find solutions to the issues this planet faces and it will only be through a new generation of enthusiastic and environmentally conscious young engineers, entrepreneurs and scientists that we will achieve it. Hopefully, the lure of one day going to space can help to spur that spirit."
