Student Prize Roundup: Zero Robotics, Conrad Awards, European CanSat, Genetic Engineering, More

Sparta robotics team tops in U.S. - Asbury Park Press on a top-scoring Zero Robotics team in the semi-finals.  The finals on January 23 will be based on controlling the real SPHERES robots on the ISS.

Semi Finalists - Conrad Awards presents the 80 semi-finalist teams in the Aerospace Exploration, Clean Energy, and Health and Nutrition categories.

Workshop inspires CanSat teachers - ESA Education on preparations for the second European CanSat competition

Thomas Jefferson students win space race - Fairfax Times on a high school student team preparing a CubeSat for launch as a secondary payload on an Orbital Sciences ISS cargo mission.  In spite of the article's title, this isn't part of the sort of competition I usually mention here.  It is part of NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative, where NASA funds the launch part of the effort.

Space Foundation Student Art Contest - National Space Symposium

Joshua Neubert on the Night Rover Challenge - The Space Show - Although it's not only for students, the interview mentioned the strong interest by university and other student teams in this Centennial Challenge.

NASA-Supported Student Team Wins at International Genetic Engineering Contest - NASA

Side Panel Overhaul

This is just an administrative post letting you know I've just done an overhaul of the side panel links for the Space Prizes blog.  I probably changed more than half of the links.  Some are new additions, some old ones are removed, and dozens were just updated because the prize or team sites are still there, but have been reorganized.

Sample Return and University Rover Rules, NEA Search, SunSat Art, Space Generation Prizes, Nanosat Launch Seminar, More

Proposal Information Updated - Sample Return Robot Challenge

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URC 2012 Rules are Live! - University Rover Challenge

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NASA Human Exploration Community Workshop on the Global Exploration Workshop (PPT) - FISO - This includes "NEA Next" and "Moon Next" scenarios.  The "NEA Next" scenario covers the need to add to our list of reachable potential asteroid destinations.  Earth-based detection of these is mentioned: 

A prize based approach may also provide incentives to include more public participation.

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SGAC Announces the Barcelona Zero-G Aerobatics Challenge Winners - Space Generation Advisory Council

SGAC-EIC Space Entrepreneurship Paper Competition - Space Generation Advisory Council

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Rocket firm presentations at Team Phoenicia Nanosat Launcher Seminar - RLV News

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A lot is happening with the Google Lunar X PRIZE.  For example:

Moon Express announces alliance with Autodesk - RLV News

Did Moon Express just take the lead in the POINT of the Google Lunar X PRIZE? - Evadot

Astrobotic Wins NASA Contract for Robot Teams to Explore Martian and Lunar Caves - Astrobotic

On NASA’s Lunar Heritage Guidelines - Will Pomerantz on his personal site, InstaPom

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Two NASA Goddard Engineers Receive Prestigious Awards - SpaceRef

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International SunSat Design Competition - National Space Society blog

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Space Lab student competition on YouTube attracts 5500 teams - ESA

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Here are a couple of interesting non-space prizes:

NASA Tournament Lab/Patent Office Challenge - NASAHackSpace

DSTA launches TechX Challenge 2013 - Singapore's Defence Science & Technology Agency starts the 2nd robotic TechX challenge; the first was held in 2008.  The winning team gets S$1 million, which a currency converter tells me is a nice prize.

Space Prize Roundup: Nanosat Use, Move an Asteroid, SAVE Award, Nanosat Launch Seminar/Deals/Options, Much More

SGAC Announces the Winner of the 2011 Move an Asteroid Competition ("Smart Cloud" for Asteroid Mitigation) - Planetary Defense - I didn't catch this the first time around; it's from September.

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NASA DEVELOP Teams Compete in Virtual Poster Session for Comments and Cash Prizes - Spaceports

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The 2nd Mission Idea Contest for Micro/Nano-satellite Utilization Contest - This is organized by UNISEC and the University of Tokyo.  The finalists can present at Japan's 4th Nano-satellite symposium.  A number of news items appeared for the contest in the last few days, such as details about a student prize.

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Team America Rocketry Challenge 2012 - Teaching with Contests notes that the registration deadline for TARC is November 30.

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And the SAVE Award Goes to… - The White House Office of Management and Budget presents the winner, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

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XCOR and SwRI offer space flight prize for NSRC 2012 participants - RLV News

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Briefs: Space travel insurance; Cash vs space trip - RLV News

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I don't think I've mentioned the Google Science Fair.  The prizes include scholarships, science and technology trips, and more from Google, CERN, National Geographic, Scientific American, and LEGO.

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Paralyzed by options - Unreasonable Rocket - Some of the options are related to the Nanosatellite Launch Challenge

A Snapshot: The Team Phoenicia/Techshop Nanosat Launcher Seminar - Team Phoenicia - More pictures have also been released in later Team Phoenicia posts.  You may recognized some of the participants.  Expect presentations and video from the seminar to be posted later, too.

Third Engine Sold! - Team Phoenicia

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NASA Makes Science Communication Competition Interplanetary - SpaceRef: 

NASA, Cheltenham Festivals (UK) and the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) are pleased to announce a partnership to operate a FameLab competition for the first time. The competition will be held in the fields of astrobiology and planetary sciences, and is open to all scientists working in these diverse areas of research.

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Google, NASA work together on space exploration - SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle)

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3D printing on the Moon + a Challenge concept - RLV News - Clark suggests a Centennial Challenge based on 3D printing and lunar ISRU.  Now that the MoonROx Challenge has expired with no winner, it does seem like there is a hole in NASA's Centennial Challenge portfolio in the ISRU area.

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Photo Release -- Scaled Composites' Burt Rutan Hailed for Lifetime of Achievement - press release at GlobeNewswire

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Fisher Space Pen joins Spirit of Innovation Challenge - Conrad Foundation: 

The Innovative Teacher Award will include a cash prize and a custom-designed bronze trophy by Erik Lindbergh that resembles the rocket built by his famous grandfather and aviator Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh. The Conrad Foundation will select one teacher per year who demonstrated excellence in guiding his or her team through the Spirit of Innovation Challenge competition.

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SpaceX Dragon - PopSci - The Dragon is the Grand Award winner in the Aviation and Space category.  Some others in the top ten with strong space prize connections (other than the PopSci award itself) include the Pipistrel Taurus G4 from the 2011 NASA/Google Green Flight Challenge and the Carnegie Mellon Astrobotic Red Rover from the Google Lunar X PRIZE competition.

Space and Earth's Environment: Night Rover Storing Solar Power, Ocean Robot Challenge, CleanTech Open, Google Earth Models

The Cleantech Open Global Forum included NASA's Night Rover Challenge.  Astronaut Ed Lu was on the schedule after Sam Ortega of NASA's Centennial Challenges.  From the post-NASA part of Ed's bio:

He later ran Advanced Projects at Google, where his teams developed imaging systems for Street View, Google Earth/Maps, and energy projects including Google PowerMeter. He is now Chief of Innovative Applications for Liquid Robotics, which makes autonomous wave/solar powered ocean-going robots.

Liquid Robotics technology includes the Wave Glider, an ocean-faring robot that uses solar panels to power sensors and wave motion for propulsion.  They just launched 4 Wave Gliders on an ocean tour that is intended to break the unmanned ocean distance record while gathering scientific data using several sensors and satellite communications.  They are working with Virgin Oceanic and Ocean in Google Earth.  The PacX Challenge Prize is a competition for scientists to suggest the best science use for the data gathered during the tour.  The winner gets access to data, input on the tour route, and input on the sensors deployed.  Ed's quote for the prize compares the ocean-exploring robots to robotic spacecraft.

Follow robotic wave gliders on a record setting Pacific crossing in Google Earth - Google Lat/Long Blog
Tracking wave-powered robotic gliders across the Pacific - Google Earth Blog

Speaking of Google Earth ...

The 2012 Model Your Town competition is up and running - Google Earth Blog - Competitors can use Google SketchUp or Google Building Maker to create geolocated models of their town to win $25,000 for their local schools.

Space Prize Roundup: Shredder Challenge, Cost Saving Idea, Nanosat Allied Org, LEAG, more

This isn't a space prize, but it's an interesting one nonetheless: the DARPA Shredder Challenge.

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White House Selects NASA Idea for Savings - Lori Garver at NASA discusses the NASA finalist for the SAVE Award.

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YouTube Space Lab Competition Expands Panel of Prestigious Judges: YouTube and Lenovo Tap Renowned Science and Technology Experts to Ignite Students' Interest in Space - press release at CNBC - The new Teachers in Space effort is well represented.

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NASA And Space Florida Small Satellite Research Center Partner In Space Launch Challenge - This is a NASA press release on the long-awaited selection of the allied organization for the $2M Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge


2nd Nanosat Launcher Challenge Seminar Draft Agenda Updated 11/2/2011 - Team Phoenicia presents the latest update on the schedule for the Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge seminar.  This includes Space Florida, NASA representatives, spaceports, potential suppliers and teams, and more.  The seminar is this weekend, and a parallel seminar covers NASA's other Centennial Challenges.

@unrocket: Saturday I'm going to NanoSat conference. I really like this particular Centennial challenge, IMHO best one yet.. (http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/early_stage_innovation/centennial_challenges/nano_satellite/index.html)

Space Florida promises Virgin Galactic payloads - Florida Today shows that Space Florida is keeping busy with space prize activity.  The researcher and payloads for the suborbital flight will be selected using a competition.  Part of the competition will be for Florida university students.

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NASA 2011 OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest - SpaceRef notes that registration is now open for the 2011 version of this contest.

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Teams selected for the 2012 CanSat competition - ESA on the high school finalists for the European CanSat competition

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NASA prepares for moon tourism - USA Today

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Rules have been updated - Sample Return Robot Challenge - WPI

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WSJ Innovator of the Year in Tech award for Elon Musk - RLV News

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Finding Commercial Applications for Laser Power Designed for Space - Space News

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FUTURE MISSIONS OF EXPLORATION AND SCIENCE (PDF)
FORGING INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS I: COMMERCIAL LUNAR EXPLORATION (PDF) - The LEAG (Lunar Exploration Analysis Group) meeting agenda includes X PRIZE Foundation and Google Lunar X PRIZE team participation.

Notables sign letter to Congress in support of Commercial Crew - RLV News - This includes representatives of the X PRIZE Foundation and Google Lunar X PRIZE teams.

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Here is some news about some former Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge competitors, including their latest work and the Carmack 100kft Micro Prize:

Armadillo Stig-A rocket video
Briefs: Armadillo rocket snapshot; New Virgin Galactic vid
Masten Space update
Armadillo Stig snapshot
Briefs: Ben Brockert interview; Derek Deville interview
Briefs: Ben Brockert pt. 2; Ken Murphy interview
Derek Deville's Qu8k rocket in USA Today
Unreasonable composite tank test - all from RLV News

Space Prize for DBAs, Copter Ropes, Sample Return Sponsors, Radical Benefit, Lots and Lots of Student Competions, More

Potential Sponsors for Competitors - Sample Return Robot Challenge

WPI Receives Accreditation for First-in-the-Nation Robotics Engineering Undergraduate Degree Program -Worcester Polytechnic Institute - WPI's management of the Sample Return Robot Challenge, the Regolith Excavation Challenge win, and FIRST Robotics competitions are all mentioned.

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NASA Sponsors 2011 Western Region Robotics Competition - NASA Ames

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Here's some recent information from the X PRIZE Foundation:

Welcome to the Blog - Archon Genomics X PRIZE:

... our team will be making a major announcement regarding this PRIZE on October 26, 2011 in New York City. 

@PeterDiamandis: Great #xprize benefit, just recovering! Thanks to @wendySchmidt, @JamesCameron and @AliVelshi for amazing help. $2.7M raised to fund XPF!

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Mars Education Challenge Webinar #3 will be held by David Black - Explore Mars - The webinar will be held on October 24.  Also: 

Over the next couple of months, Explore Mare plans to have all of the other MEC winners present their materials in special webinars to help guarantee that these materials are as widely distributed as possible.  We hope that these education webinars will also build up excitement about the 2011-2012 Mars Education Challenge was launched in September 2011.

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Gingrich calls for privatizing human spaceflight - Space Politics - Prizes are featured in Gingrich's proposal.

Newt Gingrich calls Space Launch System “disgraceful” pork - Space Frontier Foundation

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Student Rocketeers Wanted for World’s Largest Rocket Contest - The Aerospace Industries Association announces that the Team America Rocketry Challenge is open for registration.

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The following are all from Space for All:

NASA announces two microgravity contests for students - This is for the latest DIME and WING competitions.
IAA student art competition results
Jim Baen memorial contest for manned space sci-fi short stories
Reach for the Stars National Rocket Competition results

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SpaceVision 2011 - includes student biz plan competition - RLV News

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Military dangles prize for helicopter fast-rope solution - MSNBC: 

Problem-solvers must create a device — added to or replacing a glove — that has enough grip on a "FAST" rope for a controlled descent by someone weighing 300 to 400 pounds with gear. It must also somehow dissipate the heat that builds up from the friction between glove and rope, and allow Special Forces operators, soldiers or Marines to fire their weapon as soon as they touch the ground.

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Database Admins! Red Gate Wants To Send One Of You INTO SPACE - TechCrunch

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E. Coli Testing Technology From Yale Engineers Could Save Thousands Of Lives - Huffington Post: 

Weber told The Huffington Post that a prototype is still a year or so off, but the team's design was promising enough to take top honors at this year's NASA Tech Brief Engineering competition. It beat out 900 other designs from 50 countries for a $20,000 prize.

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NASA, NIA Announce 2012 Student Rover Contest - SpaceRef on the RASC-AL (Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage) Exploration Robo-Ops Student Challenge

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10/15/2011: More Tether Testing - SpeedUp 

... our team will be making a major announcement regarding this PRIZE on October 26, 2011 in New York City.

FAA Trouble, YouTube Space Lab, Oil Spill Challenge, Why Do You Explore? Contest, Carmack Prize, More

Today, the Google Home Page features the YouTube Space Lab, so about a billion people should know about it by now.  Just in case that isn't enough, I'll try to push it over the edge with this mention.  The winning space experiment video will be performed on the International Space Station.

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House appropriators tell FAA to focus more on air than space - Space Politics - The affordable space access prize proposed by the FAA is one of the casualties.

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Illinois Team Wins Oil Spill Cleanup X CHALLENGE
Pictures: X PRIZE Contest Seeks Improved Oil Spill Cleanup - National Geographic

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NASA Funded Astronomer Wins Nobel Prize - NASA Watch

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Rocketry Winners Come to Washington - OSTP Blog - White House

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NASA Adds Some Numbers to Green Flight Challenge
AVweb Readers Weigh In on Electric Aircraft, Green Flight Challenge
Green Flight Challenge Winners
Green Flight Challenge – Days Three and Five
Green Flight Challenge – Day Two - CAFE Foundation Blog

The CAFE Foundation PhotoStream has pictures from the event.

NASA Contest Heralds Dawn of the Electric Plane - OSTP Blog - White House - NASA Administrator Charles Bolden

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X PRIZE Foundation Announces Three-Year, Multi-Million Dollar Sponsorship with Shell for Prizes Promoting Exploration of Space, Oceans and Land - X PRIZE Foundation press release - This includes the Why Do You Explore? video contest, with a grand prize of a $10,000 National Geographic Expedition, and 3 other prizes of Airship Ventures flights.

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Amateur Rocketeers Chase $10,000 Launch Prize Offered by John Carmack - Space.com

Another Centennial Challenges Update: Night Rover Allied Org, Green Flight Challenge Next Week, Radical Benefit, LaserMotive Week, More

NASA has picked the Cleantech Open as the Allied Organization to run the $1.5M Night Rover Centennial Challenge to collect solar energy and store it long enough to do productive work during the lunar night.

NASA and The Cleantech Open Partner in Robotics Challenge - NASA

Here's their Night Rover Challenge website.  You will see there that Joshua Neubert, who was the Executive Director of the Conrad Foundation, is on the management team.

Challenge.gov also has a Night Rover Challenge page.

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Get ready for the NASA Green Flight Challenge run by the CAFE Foundation, and the subsequent Google Green Flight Challenge Expo at NASA Ames:

NASA is Painting the Skies Green Over Santa Rosa - NASA - It will be held at the Sonoma County Airport there.

NASA competition could lead to air taxis anyone can afford - Al.com

NASA, CAFE Foundation Host Google Green Flight Challenge Expo - NASA

Here's the Green Flight Challenge fact sheet. (PDF)

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It isn't strictly a Centennial Challenge, but I think of it as a product of the Regolith Excavation Challenge:

NASA 2012 Lunabotics Competition Open For Registration - NASA - The Lunabotics Mining Competition will be held May 21-26 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

NASA's Digital Learning Network will hold a webcast about the Lunabotics competition on September 27, 4:00 ET.

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The X PRIZE Foundation, which ran the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, will hold a Radical Benefit for Humanity on October 20.

Briefs: Speed Up update; Will Watson interview; Space regulation discussion panel - RLV News - SpeedUp was one of the Lunar Lander Challenge competitors.  SpeedUp is now Ready for Tether Testing.

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The first winner of the Beam Power Centennial Challenge, LaserMotive, is in the news a lot lately:

Space Angels Network Invests in Wireless Power Beaming Company: LaserMotive, Inc. (PDF) - Space Angels Network

Lasermotive is in NASA power beaming project - RLV News

Could laser propulsion open up space? - Next Big Future has an interview with LaserMotive's Jordin Kare.

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It would be nice to get some discussion going at this NASASpaceflight.com forum post on the 2nd Nanosat Launcher Challenge Seminar.

Sample Return Registration, TARC Tour, Green Flight Challenge and Expo, Much More

Wow, there's a lot going on in the space prize world!  A lot of the topics deserve their own post, but with my growing family I can only manage a quick link list.  Here's the latest roundup of space prize updates:

Sample Return Robot Challenge

Challenge Rules Posted & Registration Open - Sample Return Robot Challenge (WPI) 
@WPI_Robotics: Picture of the pre-cached sample for the Centennial Challenge! #WPI #omgrobotswpirobotics.smugmug.com/services/graph… or visit challenge.wpi.edu for info

Team America Rocketry Challenge

Winning TARC Team Visits Washington, Praises Raytheon for Support - Raytheon
TARC Winners in DC - This is a Flickr photo set of the visit.

Green Flight Challenge

Matters of Note for the Green Flight Expo - The CAFE Foundation Blog describes Matternet, "an outgrowth of Singularity University" that plans to enable transportation of supplies to remote locations.
List of Exhibitors - The Green Flight Expo will be at NASA Ames on October 3 after the competition.  The actual competition starts in 1 week.
See the Google Green Flight Challenge Exposition hosted by NASA

Other

New Competition Brings Robots to Market - OSTP Blog
2nd Nanosat Launcher Challenge Seminar Draft Agenda Updated 9/16/2011 - Team Phoenicia
N-prize: the world's smallest space programme - SpaceRef - Part of this is a call for global representation in the challenge, particularly in Asia.  The new N-prize teams map shows why.  There is a gap, but on the bright side that's a lot of teams!
Fall 2011 Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest - Teaching with Contests
CTSI Chooses LaserMotive as One of Top Ten Defense Energy Tech Companies - LaserMotive
Conrad Foundation on Capitol Hill - NASA Watch
"What's Next?" In Space Exploration Video Contest - NASA Watch - The contest is from the Coalition for Space Exploration.
Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts show Right Stuff in National Rocket Competition - Space for All
Student contest to name the GRAIL lunar probes and to direct their cameras - Space for All
Canadian Satellite Design Challenge - Space for All
Int. Art Contest - The Space Foundation - Space for All
Student NewSpace Business Plan Competition - RLV News
Unreasonable update - RLV News - Paul's post includes a picture of a new tank, and here's another one of it: twitpic.com/6j0jng

Space Prize Roundup: Green Flight Approaches, MoonBots 2.0, Sample Return Rules, More

The Green Flight Challenge is getting close:

Embry Riddle Begins GFC Test Flights - CAFE Foundation Blog

Latest Details - Sample Return Robot Challenge at WPI gives an update on the final rules, team agreement, and registration.

The X PRIZE Foundation and LEGO Group Announce Global Student Team Winners of MoonBots 2.0 Challenge - Google Lunar X PRIZE

Creating a Collaborative Nano-Bio Manufacturing Institute - Challenge.gov - This is for the Air Force Research Lab.

Competition Provides Solution for Stopping Uncooperative Vehicles - OSTP Blog

08/26/2011: Update - SpeedUp

The NASA Tech Briefs "Create the Future" Design Contest winners should be announced this month.

UK contest for student space settlement design - Space for All

The Hubble Roadshow - update and contest - Space for All

NASA Centennial Challenge Updates: Sample Return, Nanosat, Green Flight, Tether, More

A lot has been happening related to NASA Centennial Challenges in the last few weeks, so here's an update that focuses mainly on them.

Some teams are anxious to learn more about the rules and team agreement for the Sample Return Robot Challenge:

Update on Challenge

Status Update - Sample Return Robot Challenge

As you can see, starting a major prize competition can be quite a challenge in itself.

Team Phoenicia to hold 2nd Nanosat launcher seminar - RLV News - From the Team Phoenicia post: 

This will be upgraded to a two day event based on the feedback that we have received. Food and drink will be provided. There will be speakers in the vein of last time, but additionally all potential teams that wish to present will be able to do so on a first come, first serve basis until the slots are filled. Potential suppliers for the teams will also be given time to present as well.

Tech Could Beam Power to Drones - Lasers could power drones in flight and remove the need for gas deliveries to army bases. - Discovery News covers LaserMotive, the winner of the most recent Beam Power Centennial Challenge.

Also check out the recent tweets from @LaserMotive at the Unmanned Systems North America 2011 conference.  The conference had some other prize events, including a student competition pavilion, a photo contest, awards, and the following X PRIZE hint:

@AUVSI: Diamandis: will announce $10M purse James Cook X Prize next month for AUV that can circumnavigate the globe collecting certain data.

Move Over DARPA: X Prize is Here - National Defense Magazine - This covers the Peter Diamandis talk at the conference.  It includes a bit more information about potential prizes, including the James Cook X Challenge for a long-range autonomous underwater vehicle with a sensor suite and an Autonomous Auto X PRIZE that would pick up where the DARPA Challenges left off.

Getting back to the Centennial Challenges, here's some news about the Green Flight Challenge:

Google to Sponsor Green Flight Challenge - CAFE Foundation Blog: 

CAFE (Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency) will conduct the event from September 25 through October 2, 2011 at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport. ... All competing aircraft will be shown to the public at the Google Green Flight Challenge Exposition hosted by NASA at Moffett Field–NASA Ames Research Center, from 9 AM to 4 PM on October 3, 2011. ... In addition to the main prizes for highest scores, the competition includes a bio-fuel prize and plans for a special Lindbergh Prize for Quietest aircraft, to be presented by Erik Lindbergh, grandson of the renowned winner of aviation’s Orteig Prize, Charles Lindbergh.

In addition to the Centennial Challenge news, the CAFE Foundation also has an announcement from Oshkosh 2011: PC-Aero Wins Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Vision Award

The Tether Strength Competition was held at the Space Elevator Conference a few days ago:

Space Elevator: Going Down? - Seattle Weekly
The 2011 Strong Tether Competition - The Space Elevator Blog

Many competitors in past Centennial Challenges continue their contributions.  The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is a great example of this:

Thoughts on small sat and cube sat market size. - Unreasonable Rocket

Team Prometheus on Carmack 100kft Micro Prize - Team Prometheus: 

Team Prometheus officially entered the Carmak Micro Challenge today.  Our launch date is set for March 10th 2012.  That's the date for our Space Shot.  Going to be crazy here for a while!

Masten Space Systems Wins NASA Suborbital Flight Contract
Masten Space Systems Announces Management Additions - Masten Space Systems

'Sticky Boom' made for space dockings - Boulder County Business Report on the 2011 Heinlein NewSpace Business Plan Competition win by Altius Space Machines
Biz Plan Pitch Video - Altius Space Machines

2011 Tether Challenge

I'm still here, although I haven't posted in weeks.  I now have a daughter, and that means less frequent posting, especially while I have lots of visitors on extended trips to meet her.

I will quickly note that today one of the NASA Centennial Challenge competitions will be held.  You can find background information, a video stream link, twitter update information, and more here:

2011 Space Elevator Games - Strong Tether Competition - is Friday - The Space Elevator Blog

Prize Roundup: 100kft Prize, Crater Finder, Sample Agreement, AIAA Booster Plane, Debris Removal, and Prop Depot Designs, More

The Carmack 100kft Micro Prize - Armadillo Aerospace - Currently one launch attempt is scheduled, the Proteus 7 sounding rocket, at the Tripoli Rocket Association's Black Rock Desert high power rocket event.

NASA Tournament Lab: Open Innovation On-Demand - OSTP Blog discusses NASA's prize and open innovation work, including the recent NASA Tournament Lab announcement of the winner of a contest to create ideas to automate detection of craters.

Competition Shines Light on Dark Matter - OSTP Blog

Team Agreement – For Review - Sample Return Robot Challenge

HeinleinPrizeTrust - YouTube - The Heinlein Prize Trust YouTube channel has some newly uploaded videos of the 2011 Heinlein Prize Award ceremony to Elon Musk.

The 2010-2011 academic year's AIAA Design Competitions include a Low-Cost Access to Space Booster Aircraft, an Orbital Debris Removal Spacecraft, and a Propellant Depot Design and Analysis of Economic Benefit.

The next 2 links are from the Science in School - Competitions page.

Entries wanted for the 2012 European CanSat competition - ESA

Explore the dynamic high-energy Universe – competition for secondary students - ESA - The competition is open to secondary students from "ESA Member States and Cooperating States, Russia and the USA".

A Busy Summer Looms for Masten - Parabolic Arc describes a highlight in a visit to Mojave.

Google Lunar X Prize Appoints New Senior Director - Parabolic Arc presents a press release on the new director of the Google Lunar X PRIZE.

Altius Selected as Finalist for the 2011 NewSpace Business Plan Competition - Altius Space Machines (link from RLV News)

We-Are-Space Video Contest Finalists Now Online - Space Frontier Foundation (link from Space for All)

NASA/Etsy Space Craft winner's work on Atlantis - Space for All

2011 X-Hab Challenge Winners, and 2012 X-Hab

Here are a couple of articles about NASA's 2011 X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge student competition:

University Of Wisconsin Students Win Space Habitat Competition - NASA

UW-Madison undergrads win NASA habitat design competition - University of Wisconsin

You can find more information about the 2012 challenge here:

eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge - National Space Grant Foundation: 

The Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) project will offer multiple X-Hab awards of $5K - $45K each to design and produce functional products of interest to the HDU project as proposed by university teams according to their interests and expertise. The prototypes produced by the university teams will be integrated onto an existing NASA built operational habitat prototype. ... The Foundation anticipates that approximately 6-8 awards will be made under this solicitation. ...

eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) 2012 Academic Innovation Challenge Solicitation (PDF) - The 2011 competition theme was inflatable habitats, but the 2012 one is much more open-ended, which can be either a good or bad thing in a prize competition depending on your point of view.  The suggested topic list, covering a "Deep Space Habitat Systems" theme, includes "top-down" topics like a habitat demonstration module or a habitat structure that can be tested in underwater analog test sites like NEEMO.  It also includes habitat subsystems such as sensors, recycling systems, geological sample management systems, telemedicine, a virtual reality environment, and many others.