OMB Prize Guidance, National Academies on Suborbital, SXSW, X PRIZE Benefit, More

Guidance on the Use of Challenges and Prizes to Promote Open Government (PDF) - WhiteHouse.gov (OMB):

To support agencies in the execution of prizes that further the policy objectives of the Federal Government, the Administration will make available a web-based platform for prizes and challenges within 120 days. This platform will provide a forum for agencies to post problems and invite communities of problem solvers to suggest, collaborate on, and deliver solutions. Over the longer term, the General Services Administration (GSA) will also provide government-wide services to share best practices and assist agencies in developing guidelines for issuing challenges. Additionally, GSA will develop, as expeditiously as possible, a contract vehicle to provide agency access to relevant products and services, including technical assistance in structuring and conducting contests to take maximum benefit of the marketplace as they identify and pursue contest initiatives to further the policy objectives of the Federal Government.

Revitalizing NASA's Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation, and Developing Workforce - National Academies Press - This includes a chapter on commercial vehicles, as well as a lot of material on traditional suborbital access methods like balloons, sounding rockets, and planes.

Moon 2.0: The Outer Limits of Lunar Exploration - SXSW, Saturday, March 13 at 03:30 PM

02/16/2010: Hybrid Motor Holds Together - SpeedUp


Here are a few tweets I picked from many related in one way or another to prizes over the last few days:

@SpaceFellowship: REXUS 7 and 8 student research rockets launched successfully http://ping.fm/W11RC

@makerfaire: RobotFest/Mid-Atlantic 2010 Mini Maker Faire, April 24th: Gary Mauler and the folks who put on the RobotFest ... http://bit.ly/be9vD2

@LaserMotive: We are getting interest in a product we hadn't considered making. It's a prime example of listening to customers for ideas.

@PeterDiamandis: Just announcing major X PRIZE "Benefit" on May 15th -- http://www.xprize.org/email/benefitforhumanity Cameron, Page, Brin as co-Chairs. Come join!

Here are some of the event details:

Through our live auction, bid to win a trip to space on Virgin Galactic, a 2010 Tesla Roadster, have your personal genome sequenced, lunch with our VIPs and more.

Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Location: Lucasfilm, Letterman Arts Center, The Presidio of San Francisco

This gives some more information about what's happening at the X PRIZE Foundation:

X Prize group sets sights on next challenges (Q&A) - CNet News

@TeamPrometheus: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5414479&l=aeecc47771&id=213171526223

@ValkyrieFed: We'll do a fundraising event, in Montreal! Maybe in April or May.

@jeff_foust: Garver: NASA very supportive of prizes, talking about potential collab on Google Lunar X Prize, such as making a data purchase.

@bonnova: New high-performance injector in development. First prototype in house today.