Space Settlement Design Competition: Physics-and-Math Springboard for IP Students

Q: What does Space Settlement Design Competition: Physics-and-Math Springboard for IP Students cover?
A: The SSDC turns IP-level equations into real-world decisions: mass budgets, solar arrays, and rocket equations.

TL;DR
The Space Settlement Design Competition (SSDC) is an international industry-simulation challenge where high school teams design orbital habitats.
For Singapore IP students, the SSDC builds direct fluency in vector maths, artificial gravity, solar-power calculations, and project-pitching skills-plus spreadsheet-based modelling and clear explanation of assumptions. Confirm each season's route and dates via the official SSDC site.

Registration quick answer (global): Space Settlement Design Competition runs regional qualifiers; teams enter via the official site and listed regional partners. See current routes: https://www.aerospaceeducationcompetitions.org/

Stay Connected

Link this competition back to our IP Physics hub so proofs, WA prep, and practicals reinforce each other.

1 What is the SSDC?

The Space Settlement Design Competitions (SSDCs) emulate the experience of working as a member of an aerospace industry proposal team (official site). Students work in groups organised into “companies” and respond to a simulated request for proposal by designing a space settlement and presenting their solution.

Exact season format, timelines, deliverables, and how teams qualify for finals vary by year and region-use the official site to find the current rules and entry routes.

• Space Settlement Design Competitions (official)

2 Competition Format

SSDCs generally involve a mix of design documentation and live presentation under time pressure. The official site describes the competition as an “industry proposal team” simulation where students work in roles defined in an organisation chart and collaborate across disciplines.

Use the official site (and your regional organiser’s rulebook/brief) for the current year’s timeline, deliverables, and judging criteria.

3 Direct IP Maths & Physics Applications

3.1 Artificial gravity: centripetal motion

To simulate gravity in space, students solve:

$$a = \frac{v^2}{r} = g \Rightarrow v = \sqrt{g r}$$