I dunno, space competitions are like busses.. you wait ages for one then three come along at once :p

There are 30 places to be won at this year’s Space School UK and Senior Space School UK - residential 6- and 8-day Summer Space Schools hosted by the University of Leicester in conjunction with the National Space Centre, EADS Astrium, BNSC and the Ogden Trust. KS-3 to KS-5 pupils in the East Midlands are eligible to enter.

Space School UK is a residential school held at the University of Leicester. It is aimed primarily at students who are preparing for GCSEs or A Levels and who have a strong interest in astronomy, space science and technology. The disciplines covered range from physics and astronomy to engineering and astronautics, planetary science and geology to environment studies and the humanities. While the week includes both lectures and practical activities, there is ample opportunity for socialising too.

For more details see the National Space Centre website.

The BBC has announced the six shortlisted teams in the £100,000 SSTL Space Experiment Competition. The winner will be declared at the 2008 IAC in Glasgow in September.

• St George's College Addlestone - experiment will study the characteristics of Near-Earth space dust, which can damage orbiting spacecraft
• Helston Community College - will test the ability of bacteria to survive the extreme conditions of outer space
• Langton Star Centre - experiment will detect cosmic rays hitting the Earth's atmosphere
• Schome Park Project - to observe "earthshine" and identify key life markers in the reflected light of the Earth
• Shrewsbury School - will investigate the electrically charged particles that can disturb communication between space and Earth
• UKHAS - to measure the number of meteors entering our atmosphere, by bouncing radio signals off their ionised trails

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."

UPDATE: It's also on the front page of the RAF website.

Source: Press Association release

The N-Prize is a £9,999.99 (sterling) cash prize which can be claimed by any individual, or group, who are able to prove that they have put into orbit a small satellite. The satellite must weigh between 9.99 and 19.99 grams, and must orbit the Earth at least 9 times. This project must be done within a budget of £999.99 (sterling). For more details about the 'N-Prize' see the N-prize website and discussion group.

The N-prize challenge was put forth by Paul Dear, a biologist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. The "N" stands for "Nanosatellite" or "Negligible Resources", and the purse will be awarded to the first person or group to complete the challenge before 19:19:09 on the 19th September 2011.

Interestingly, Cambridge University already has a group aiming to launch a rocket into space for less than £1000, though the N-prize represents a whole different level of technical difficulty.

UPDATE: To clarify, Cambridge University Spaceflight have not (yet) announced any plans to compete for the N-Prize. They're working independently towards the far more achievable goal of a reusable 100km sounding rocket for less than £1000 a shot. They've already launched rockoons to over 30km, and had interest from the Cambridge Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, and British Antarctic Survey.

From the UKSEDS mailing list:-

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) announces an international youth technical paper competition to develop unique and innovative concepts for how to deflect an asteroid or comet that could impact the Earth. Financial support for this competition is provided by Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, SpaceWorks Commercial, and The Planetary Society.

The competition calls for individuals or teams under 33 years of age to write and submit a 3-10 page original technical paper on their innovative concept for asteroid mitigation.

The 1st place award is a trip to present the winning paper at this year's Space Generation
Congress (SGC) and International Astronautical Congress (IAC) which take place in Glasgow, Scotland from late September until early October 2008. The 2nd place award is a trip to present at the SGC. Entries are due on 09 June 2008 and winners will be announced on 30 June 2008, the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska Event, the largest asteroid/comet impact event in Earth's recent history.

For more rules, submission information, and a press release please visit:
http://www.spacegeneration.org/asteroid

A flyer can be found here:
http://www.spacegeneration.org/files/SGAC_Move_An_Asteroid_2008.pdf

Space Challenge! Extreme Science and Enterprise@27,000 km per hour and 340km above the Earth
UK students from 7 to 19 yrs to have a unique opportunity to contribute to out-of-this-world science and enterprise

UK students will have a chance to get involved in two out-of-this-world space science experiments when British-born space entrepreneur Richard Garriott arrives at the International Space Station (ISS) this Autumn.

Developed in partnership with the British National Space Centre (BNSC), which co-ordinates civil space activities in the UK, and US company Space Adventures, which provides spaceflight opportunities for private citizens, the educational outreach programme will include challenges for both primary and secondary school students across the UK:

• Primary schools students will be invited to design an experiment to be carried out by Mr. Garriott on the International Space Station.
• Secondary school students aged 11-19 will be invited to imagine how space enterprise could develop in the future for space tourism companies including Space Adventures, using facilities such as the International Space Station.

The two challenges were launched to schools on 28 February 2008 at the Education Show by Dr Maggie Aderin, space scientist and television presenter. The deadline for student entries is 20 June 2008. Entries wil be reviewed by retired astronaut Dr. Owen Garriott and by leading UK scientists including Dr Samantha Wynne, Cambridge University, and Professor Peter McCowan, Queen Mary, University of London.

Mr Garriott is currently undergoing cosmonaut training at Star City in Russia for his forthcoming mission to the ISS.

He said: “I am dedicating my spaceflight to science and enterprise. We need to be adventurous in mind and stimulate our intellects to answer today’s most daunting scientific questions and to invent tomorrow’s technological marvels. We need more than great ideas – we need to make them happen.”

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch Mr Garriott up to the International Space Station where he will spend between eight and ten days. As part of his mission training at Star City, he will learn spacecraft operation, survival and experimental techniques as well as undergoing medical testing to ensure he is ready for space.

The educational challenges are part of the wider UK Civil Space Strategy 2008-2012 and beyond announced on 14 February 2008 which demonstrates a renewed commitment to use space to inspire future generations.

Jeremy Curtis, from the BNSC UK Space Strategy Group, said: “We’re delighted by this opportunity for UK students to experience the excitement of real science from the curriculum and to see their experiments carried out by Richard Garriott on his flight to the International Space Station later this year.”

Competition winners will be announced by Dr Piers Sellers, British-born NASA astronaut and spacewalker, on 28 September 2008 at the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow.

Educational organisations, companies and space enthusiasts can get involved in Mr Garriott’s spaceflight to the International Space Station by visiting his website: www.richardinspace.com.

Mr. Garriott, who will be updating his site regularly with photographs and blog entries on his forthcoming spaceflight, added: “I want to involve as many people as possible in my mission.”

The Dutch dairy company Campina (producer of the Yazoo milkshake
brand) is staging a kids' competition in the UK, in conjunction with
UP Aerospace. Winners get a family holiday to New Mexico to see a UP
launch, and place a picture and a letter in the rocket to be sent into
space. That's followed by a trip to Florida to visit KSC.

Competition link - WARNING: Annoying Flash and audio, you may want to
turn the sound off...

http://www.yazoom.co.uk/