Children at Bloodhound test get insight into engineering

The Bloodhound team performed the test firing on 3 October at Newquay Cornwall Airport.

The project’s educational programme has become one of the most important parts of the mission, engaging with children and students of all ages, from primary school up to postgraduate level.

The test saw children from a local junior school set up along one side of the giant hangar that housed the show-car model of Bloodhound and the sponsors’ displays, where they were building, testing and racing dragsters powered by compressed air from an upright bicycle pump.

The Engineer’s Stuart Nathan said the air of enthusiasm was palpable, noting that boys and girls seemed equally engaged.

Highlights include Stephen Harris’s report on how engineers are working with Paralympians to fine-tune the prostheses, wheelchairs and other equipment they need to compete in their sports.

We’ve also delved into the mysteries of the universe, looking at the development of a ‘dark-energy’ camera for one of the large telescopes of the Chilean Andes.