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LANGUAGE

Alexander Haake

Germany

I was born in 1997 in Ulm, Germany. Since 2008 I have been attending the Max von Laue Gymnasium in Koblenz, Germany, where I will take my high school diploma this year. During my school days, I took part in workshops, including programming of Arduino and programmable logic controllers (PLC). I also did internships in the fields of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering within the last two years. All these additional qualifications and experiences have helped me to implement our “Magnet Rocket” project for the Odysseus II competition.

What motivated you most to participate to Odysseus contest?

To participate in the Odysseus II contest was the curiosity at the prices of the main reason. So who would not even like to visit a space train station? In this competition, we saw the unique change a way to get this dream come true. And as a technique of fascinating pupils, a computer-controlled telescope is an enrichment and brings new curiosity in astronomy making its own discoveries. Another reason was the desire to develop something technical. In doing so, I was completely exhausted and was supported by the school, teachers and classmates to reach the goals of my team.

What did you enjoy when you prepared your project?

We were, of course, most convinced by our project, when the experimental setup worked as we had imagined. These are then the moments that make such a project special and remember. All the more beautiful are these moments when you need a long time to come to the working solution. These times were not always frustrating and motivating. But since we worked together in a team, you could share your suffering and get motivated.

What was the most important thing that you learned during the preparation of your project?

When working on a project like this one can learn a lot in many different scientific fields. In our example, it was much about space travel, magnetic and electric fields, electrical engineering, programming of microcontrollers and automation technology. The most important thing I have learned during this project is to keep experimenting, trying and researching, even if it has not worked once or twice or thrice, and does not lose sight of the goal.

Has the work done for your project affected your decision for studies in space science?

The project work has strengthened my career as a mechanical engineer: by experimenting, designing and testing, which has mostly been fun, my wish has been confirmed, since the mentioned activities are in conflict with the tasks of a mechanical engineer. That is why I will study mechanical engineering after the Abitur.