Space law and satellite collisions; A space salvage challenge - RLV News -
I think a space prize program for salvage or deobiting might be feasible. For example, the first organization to deorbit successfully a spacecraft from a given set of derelicts, whose owners have agreed to the operation, would win a substantial purse. I'm thinking of a small vehicle, most likely with electric propulsion, that would rendezvous with a derelict and place, say, a deorbit tether on it to increase its drag substantially. Perhaps instead of deorbiting, they would "tug" the derelict to a specific parking orbit.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
SINC '09 Competitions
A number of space competitions are featured at the SEDS India National Conference '09 on Feb 28-Mar 1:
1. NS3 (National Small Satellite Symposium):- The National Small Satellite Symposium is an effort by SEDS India to bring together university students interested in satellite technology on a common platform for a better and collaborative effort towards contributing to the National Space Programme. Many Indian universities have been making efforts to bring space technology to the students through involvement in projects like nano- satellite design, payload design for sounding rockets etc. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) also aims to involve more graduate and under-graduate students in the national space programme, thus bettering their interest in space technology. Read more
3. CanSat:- The workshop about CanSat’s (A lower atmosphere study projectile) will gain hands-on experience in development of a CanSat!!... A competition focuses on the testing various possible designs for subsystems such as the sensor module, the communication module and the ejection & landing module. Read more
4. Lunar-Trek:- This competition calls for the young engineers of India to build a Moon Rover. A problem statement will be defined, and a moon-like arena built, to pit the rovers against the tough lunar terrain and check their performance! Read more
7. Spac-E-Mulate:- This competition requires the participants to solve a space-related physics problem and simulate results on programming platform. Discrete data about certain event in a space mission will be provided along with a problem statement.Read more
As you can see from the numbering there are a lot of other events, too.
It may not be obvious why I included the Small Satellite Symposium unless you follow the link. Here's part of what you'll find if you do:
1.Satellite Design Review: The design reviews of student satellites under progress in the country. Teams of 5. Prizes will be given to best subsystem from amongst all designs. There will also a prize for the best overall design. The design review will be done subsystem wise i.e. a particular subsystem of all teams will be presented first, then moving on to the other subsystems.
SINC '09 broucher (PDF)
SEDS India Blog
1. NS3 (National Small Satellite Symposium):- The National Small Satellite Symposium is an effort by SEDS India to bring together university students interested in satellite technology on a common platform for a better and collaborative effort towards contributing to the National Space Programme. Many Indian universities have been making efforts to bring space technology to the students through involvement in projects like nano- satellite design, payload design for sounding rockets etc. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) also aims to involve more graduate and under-graduate students in the national space programme, thus bettering their interest in space technology. Read more
3. CanSat:- The workshop about CanSat’s (A lower atmosphere study projectile) will gain hands-on experience in development of a CanSat!!... A competition focuses on the testing various possible designs for subsystems such as the sensor module, the communication module and the ejection & landing module. Read more
4. Lunar-Trek:- This competition calls for the young engineers of India to build a Moon Rover. A problem statement will be defined, and a moon-like arena built, to pit the rovers against the tough lunar terrain and check their performance! Read more
7. Spac-E-Mulate:- This competition requires the participants to solve a space-related physics problem and simulate results on programming platform. Discrete data about certain event in a space mission will be provided along with a problem statement.Read more
As you can see from the numbering there are a lot of other events, too.
It may not be obvious why I included the Small Satellite Symposium unless you follow the link. Here's part of what you'll find if you do:
1.Satellite Design Review: The design reviews of student satellites under progress in the country. Teams of 5. Prizes will be given to best subsystem from amongst all designs. There will also a prize for the best overall design. The design review will be done subsystem wise i.e. a particular subsystem of all teams will be presented first, then moving on to the other subsystems.
SINC '09 broucher (PDF)
SEDS India Blog
2009 Space Elevator Games Hints
2009 Space Elevator Games Update - Space Elevator Reference -
Word has it that perhaps within a week or two there might be some important news about this years Space Elevator Games. While a firm date has not been set, the target is for April 29th as the beginning day of competition at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
If it turns out that's really where it will be held, it's an interesting and symbolic choice. If it's open to the public, I wonder if the event could be held a few weeks later to brush against the dates for the 2009 ISDC on May 28-31 in Orlando? I imagine there'd be some mutual interest in the 2 events.
Word has it that perhaps within a week or two there might be some important news about this years Space Elevator Games. While a firm date has not been set, the target is for April 29th as the beginning day of competition at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
If it turns out that's really where it will be held, it's an interesting and symbolic choice. If it's open to the public, I wonder if the event could be held a few weeks later to brush against the dates for the 2009 ISDC on May 28-31 in Orlando? I imagine there'd be some mutual interest in the 2 events.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Google Lunar X PRIZE Teams Looking for, and Getting, Business
Nature Publishes Article on Odyssey Moon's New Dutch Payload - Loretta Whitesides for Odyssey Moon (Google Lunar X PRIZE Teams page)
One more step for private Moon mission - Nature News
Data/payload opportunities - Astrobotic (Google Lunar X PRIZE Teams page)
Astrobotic Blog Photos - Picasa
One more step for private Moon mission - Nature News
Data/payload opportunities - Astrobotic (Google Lunar X PRIZE Teams page)
Astrobotic Blog Photos - Picasa
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Active NSS Blog
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The National Space Society Blog looks like it's pretty active. Here's a post by Jim Plaxco on Space Art, NASA, and NSS that features the NSS Space Settlement Calendar Art Contests.The picture, just in time for Valentine's Day this Saturday, is called "Lover's Lookout". It's the February image for the 2009 calendar.
Space Access '09 Program Additions
The list of past (?) and present Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge teams presenting at Space Access '09 has grown since I posted on it a week or 2 ago. LLC teams now include:
- Armadillo Aerospace/John Carmack
- BonNova/Bob Noteboom
- Masten Space/Dave Masten
- SpeedUp/Bob Steinke
- Unreasonable Rocket/Paul Breed
- FAA AST/Ken Davidian
Ken is the former NASA Centennial Challenges manager.
Update (evening): Here are some posts from RLV News featuring two of these Lunar Lander Challenge teams:
Monday, February 09, 2009
Prize Roundup - February 9, 2009
sh00ting-st4rs - This journal features an internship involving lunar regolith diggers and lunar landers at NASA MSFC.
Gregory Pappas of Chicago, Ill., Named Special Advisor to The American College - Greek News -
... He also serves on the Advisory Council of the X Prize Foundation ...
International Aerial Robotics Competition - Wiki
Space tourism contests - RLV News - In the comments to the Popular Mechanics article, there's a mention of a Rovers on the Moon student essay contest and a Google Lunar X PRIZE team sponsorship.
Briefs: Unreasonable update; Euro space tourism challenges - RLV News
The X PRIZE Foundation has some posts about TED:
The Odds are Good, but... - The Launch Pad
X PRIZE at TED and a Crazy Green Idea - Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE blog
Here's another from the PIAXP:
Progressive Automotive X PRIZE at The Washington Auto Show
Gregory Pappas of Chicago, Ill., Named Special Advisor to The American College - Greek News -
... He also serves on the Advisory Council of the X Prize Foundation ...
International Aerial Robotics Competition - Wiki
Space tourism contests - RLV News - In the comments to the Popular Mechanics article, there's a mention of a Rovers on the Moon student essay contest and a Google Lunar X PRIZE team sponsorship.
Briefs: Unreasonable update; Euro space tourism challenges - RLV News
The X PRIZE Foundation has some posts about TED:
The Odds are Good, but... - The Launch Pad
X PRIZE at TED and a Crazy Green Idea - Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE blog
Here's another from the PIAXP:
Progressive Automotive X PRIZE at The Washington Auto Show
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Update on Florida's Reusable Space Vehicle Industry Prize Program (RSVIPP)
I haven't run across news on the Florida RLV Prize since early last summer when the bill was signed. Since I consider this as potentially one of the most important and exciting prize developments out there, I was interested when I ran across the following:
Reusable Space Vehicle Industry Prize Program
That link just goes to another collection of links that I'll reproduce in full here, interspersed with some excerpts and my comments. It's still a work in progress, but it looks promising. Some of the content seems to have been borrowed from Google Lunar X PRIZE documents, so it's hard to say what will really be in the final document.
Reusable Space Vehicle Industry Prize Program (RSVIPP) Work Plan and Meeting Schedule
The Grand Prize will be awarded to the first team to launch at least seven humans to an altitude of 185 kilometers in a repeatable and safe fashion.
This strikes me as about the right level of difficulty for a $40M prize, but I'm no rocket engineer.
... Additionally, prize money or other incentives may be offered in the future to the Team or Teams that do the best job of reaching out to the public. ... For Teams registering on or before June 30, 2009, the registration fee shall be $10,000. ...
RSVIPP Application
RSVIPP Rules
Each PRIZE competition qualifying flight must carry at least three people. The vehicle must
be built with the capacity to safely carry a minimum of seven persons ... The same vehicle must complete two flights satisfying all competition requirements within a 14-day period (measured from touch-down to touch-down). ... No more than 10% of the vehicle's first-flight non-propellant mass may be replaced between the two required flights. For multi-stage vehicles, the 10% figure applies to the combined stages. ... TEAM is required to accommodate and carry a SF-provided package that includes two externally mounted cameras, two internally mounted cameras and the associated video recording and transmitting hardware. This package also includes position and acceleration sensors.
RSVIPP Task Force Meeting Agenda for 12-11-08
Comments for 12-19-08 Meeting by F. Alvi
- Shouldn’t we require launch from Florida?
- Similar requirement for future launches if a commercial vehicle is finally designed?
- Stipulate a reduced fare for x seats on the first y flights to be sold to Space Florida?
I'd expect some kind of Florida-specific requirements of this sort for the prize, since Florida taxpayers would be footing a good chunk of the prize money.
Meeting Highlights for 12-19-08 Meeting
Names mentioned for consideration are: Space Shot Florida; Florida Voyager, Sunshine State Prize and Sunshine State Space Prize.
The prize name might be something they could have a contest on to drum up interest and get ideas (but do leave room for a sponsor's name, too). The same goes for logos, etc.
There's discussion of COTS, Shuttle, and ISS, so I'm not sure they're completely settled that it will be a suborbital prize.
Reusable Space Vehicle Industry Prize Program
That link just goes to another collection of links that I'll reproduce in full here, interspersed with some excerpts and my comments. It's still a work in progress, but it looks promising. Some of the content seems to have been borrowed from Google Lunar X PRIZE documents, so it's hard to say what will really be in the final document.
Reusable Space Vehicle Industry Prize Program (RSVIPP) Work Plan and Meeting Schedule
The Grand Prize will be awarded to the first team to launch at least seven humans to an altitude of 185 kilometers in a repeatable and safe fashion.
This strikes me as about the right level of difficulty for a $40M prize, but I'm no rocket engineer.
... Additionally, prize money or other incentives may be offered in the future to the Team or Teams that do the best job of reaching out to the public. ... For Teams registering on or before June 30, 2009, the registration fee shall be $10,000. ...
RSVIPP Application
RSVIPP Rules
Each PRIZE competition qualifying flight must carry at least three people. The vehicle must
be built with the capacity to safely carry a minimum of seven persons ... The same vehicle must complete two flights satisfying all competition requirements within a 14-day period (measured from touch-down to touch-down). ... No more than 10% of the vehicle's first-flight non-propellant mass may be replaced between the two required flights. For multi-stage vehicles, the 10% figure applies to the combined stages. ... TEAM is required to accommodate and carry a SF-provided package that includes two externally mounted cameras, two internally mounted cameras and the associated video recording and transmitting hardware. This package also includes position and acceleration sensors.
RSVIPP Task Force Meeting Agenda for 12-11-08
Comments for 12-19-08 Meeting by F. Alvi
- Shouldn’t we require launch from Florida?
- Similar requirement for future launches if a commercial vehicle is finally designed?
- Stipulate a reduced fare for x seats on the first y flights to be sold to Space Florida?
I'd expect some kind of Florida-specific requirements of this sort for the prize, since Florida taxpayers would be footing a good chunk of the prize money.
Meeting Highlights for 12-19-08 Meeting
Names mentioned for consideration are: Space Shot Florida; Florida Voyager, Sunshine State Prize and Sunshine State Space Prize.
The prize name might be something they could have a contest on to drum up interest and get ideas (but do leave room for a sponsor's name, too). The same goes for logos, etc.
There's discussion of COTS, Shuttle, and ISS, so I'm not sure they're completely settled that it will be a suborbital prize.
Building Innovation Ecosystems
How to Build a Successful Innovation Ecosystem: Educate, Network, and Celebrate -Creativity, Marketing and Innovation -
A successful innovation culture can generally be identified by the answers to the following questions: Is the entrepreneurial spirit celebrated? Are there visible role models who are the proverbial “rock stars?” Are they the extreme exception or not? Are entrepreneurs held in high esteem for taking a chance and making a difference? Is failure understood to be part of the learning process in business, as it is in experimental science? Are there serial entrepreneurs? What is their level of ambition? Do young people aspire to be global entrepreneurs? Or are young people encouraged to get “safe” or “prestigious” jobs in large companies or government?
...
To get things going you start with a select group of entrepreneurs and you feed them, you celebrate them, and you give them visibility with focused events, workshops, and competitions. And when done properly, this celebration of entrepreneurship will suddenly become contagious and start to grow on its own. We have developed programs at MIT and elsewhere to do just this, including holding American Idol-like entrepreneurial contests in various regions—but with much kinder, gentler, and more supportive judges—and coupling them to educational programs.
A successful innovation culture can generally be identified by the answers to the following questions: Is the entrepreneurial spirit celebrated? Are there visible role models who are the proverbial “rock stars?” Are they the extreme exception or not? Are entrepreneurs held in high esteem for taking a chance and making a difference? Is failure understood to be part of the learning process in business, as it is in experimental science? Are there serial entrepreneurs? What is their level of ambition? Do young people aspire to be global entrepreneurs? Or are young people encouraged to get “safe” or “prestigious” jobs in large companies or government?
...
To get things going you start with a select group of entrepreneurs and you feed them, you celebrate them, and you give them visibility with focused events, workshops, and competitions. And when done properly, this celebration of entrepreneurship will suddenly become contagious and start to grow on its own. We have developed programs at MIT and elsewhere to do just this, including holding American Idol-like entrepreneurial contests in various regions—but with much kinder, gentler, and more supportive judges—and coupling them to educational programs.
Open Innovation Conference
I noticed the following at Innocentive:
3rd Annual Open Innovation Conference -
Enhancing the Scope of Your Creative Enterprise through Co-Innovation Relationships
Event Date: 6-8 Apr 2009
Location: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV, USA
...
One discipline in the innovation toolbox that is gaining recognition as the go to method for securing or sustaining market share during an economic downturn is the practice of Open Innovation. This collaborative model structures a flow of knowledge, technology, and ideas between internal and external stakeholders allowing for the development of innovative products and services as well as the recouping of expenditures resulting from shelved technologies and intellectual property.
Here's the Innocentive blog.
3rd Annual Open Innovation Conference -
Enhancing the Scope of Your Creative Enterprise through Co-Innovation Relationships
Event Date: 6-8 Apr 2009
Location: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV, USA
...
One discipline in the innovation toolbox that is gaining recognition as the go to method for securing or sustaining market share during an economic downturn is the practice of Open Innovation. This collaborative model structures a flow of knowledge, technology, and ideas between internal and external stakeholders allowing for the development of innovative products and services as well as the recouping of expenditures resulting from shelved technologies and intellectual property.
Here's the Innocentive blog.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Smarts and Sweat, or Super-Subsidize Syndrome?
Not Obtained Too Cheaply… - 62 Mile Club - This post considers the hard work at Unreasonable Rocket in the context of current mainstream headline events:
NewSpace companies, if they are to succeed, need to run like hell from the disease spreading throughout this world, the disease of the “bailout” mentality (or what I like to call, the “Would you like to Super-Subsidize that?” Syndrome).
NewSpace companies, if they are to succeed, need to run like hell from the disease spreading throughout this world, the disease of the “bailout” mentality (or what I like to call, the “Would you like to Super-Subsidize that?” Syndrome).
It's All About the Incentives
Eye on the Prize - Advocates of Liberty Grassroots Activism on Iowa Campuses
I heard someone say once that if you pay someone to search for something, they will search for it, but if you pay someone to find something, they will find it. It's this basic idea that I think makes our current system of government funded research inefficient.
I heard someone say once that if you pay someone to search for something, they will search for it, but if you pay someone to find something, they will find it. It's this basic idea that I think makes our current system of government funded research inefficient.
Balloon N-Prize Launch
More than rocket fuel to launch Team Prometheus - News 8 Austin -
"What we wanna do is launch from a balloon, this is like a balloon launch platform," he said, drawing a diagram of how to accomplish the mission.
Once that rocket gets 20 miles into what scientists call "near space," the rocket will blast off.
"What we wanna do is launch from a balloon, this is like a balloon launch platform," he said, drawing a diagram of how to accomplish the mission.
Once that rocket gets 20 miles into what scientists call "near space," the rocket will blast off.
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