Space for All presents an announcement from the Mars Society on the "Call for Entrants" for their University Rover Challenge for 2008. Check out the flyer for pictures of past challenges, as well as the picture of the winning team in 2007, from the University of Nevada, Reno, with Buzz Aldrin.
Another item about the University Rover Challenge that I haven't seen before: The Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet featured the Rover Challenge.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Hillary Clinton Science Policy and Prizes
Space Politics has analysis and comment discussions about Hillary Clinton's science policy speech that included a number of points related to space. Prizes were mentioned in both the policy speech and the blog discussions and debates on it. There are 2 Space Politics discussions on the speech here and here.
X PRIZE Cup Details from Space.com
Space.com gives a lot of details on what you can expect to see at this year's X PRIZE Cup. I've mentioned a lot of it before (especially the LLC and student prizes, rocket racing league presence, and Air Force air show), but here are some more things you can expect to see:
On the sightseeing manifest for expo visitors are displays and exhibits by key, leading-edge enterprises, such as Rocketplane Kistler, XCOR Aerospace and Starchaser, alongside Northrop Grumman and NASA.
Space advocacy groups such as the National Space Society, the Space Frontier Foundation's Teachers in Space initiative and the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space are to be on-hand. So too are several space-oriented museums and institutes, including the Robotics Society of America and experts from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy.
At the expo, those taking part will be treated to a full-scale replica of SpaceShipOne – the pioneering vessel that was the first private piloted spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within a 14-day period in 2004, claiming the $10 million dollar Ansari X Prize purse.
Moon and Mars rovers and landers are to be featured. Mock-up hardware related to NASA's post-space shuttle Constellation program are to be on hand too.
... Sure to attract a cue of onlookers is the engineering model of the Dragon spacecraft
There's more, so find out by checking the article.
On the sightseeing manifest for expo visitors are displays and exhibits by key, leading-edge enterprises, such as Rocketplane Kistler, XCOR Aerospace and Starchaser, alongside Northrop Grumman and NASA.
Space advocacy groups such as the National Space Society, the Space Frontier Foundation's Teachers in Space initiative and the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space are to be on-hand. So too are several space-oriented museums and institutes, including the Robotics Society of America and experts from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy.
At the expo, those taking part will be treated to a full-scale replica of SpaceShipOne – the pioneering vessel that was the first private piloted spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within a 14-day period in 2004, claiming the $10 million dollar Ansari X Prize purse.
Moon and Mars rovers and landers are to be featured. Mock-up hardware related to NASA's post-space shuttle Constellation program are to be on hand too.
... Sure to attract a cue of onlookers is the engineering model of the Dragon spacecraft
There's more, so find out by checking the article.
SpaceDev anad SEI Apophis Mission Design Contest Entry
RLV News has an article on the Planetary Society's Apophis Mission Design Contest to come up with a plan to tag asteroid Apophis to be able to better track it as its orbit crosses uncomfortably close to Earth's path.
According to the Planetary Society, there have been over 100 people and teams signing up for the contest. What we don't know if what kinds of people and teams are working on the problem? It would be great to hear more about some of the teams' designs. I'm sure there are some engineering school teams, for example, but really that's just a guess. The RLV News article lets us know that there is commercial interest in the competition - SpaceDev and SEI. From the beginning SpaceDev has had an interest in asteroid missions.
Hree's a link to their announcement, and here are some details about their proposed mission:
The 220 kg Foresight spacecraft is attached to 1400 kg chemical propulsion, in-space transfer stage, which is envisioned to be launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur IV launch vehicle. Foresight main instruments, a multi-spectral imager and laser altimeter, are utilized in combination with NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) to increase the accuracy of the orbit of Apophis. Multiple launch windows from the Earth have been identified, spanning from 2012 to 2014. For the nominal mission, the spacecraft is launched on May 2012 and arrives at Apophis on March 2013, operating for one year. The all encompassing total cost (including launch) for the mission is US$137 M.
That sounds like it offers even more than the basic "transponder" capability of the contest - but in just the areas the Planetary Society likes. I can't really judge the engineering with my limited background in spacecraft mechanisms, but it seems like with those instruments it offers potential for science return that something like the NASA Discovery program would want. If so, that goes back to something I say a lot about prize competitions - often the big reward isn't the prize itself, it's the other business that's enabled by the capabilities grown while competing for a prize.
There are more details about their proposed mission here in a nice slick presentation. The details include the mission concept, the expect results in the accuracy of the asteroid orbit determination, design of the spacecraft with pictures and mass tables, orbits, launch vehicle, cost analysis, and reliability simulation results.
Let's see more of these Apophis mission design contest entries!
According to the Planetary Society, there have been over 100 people and teams signing up for the contest. What we don't know if what kinds of people and teams are working on the problem? It would be great to hear more about some of the teams' designs. I'm sure there are some engineering school teams, for example, but really that's just a guess. The RLV News article lets us know that there is commercial interest in the competition - SpaceDev and SEI. From the beginning SpaceDev has had an interest in asteroid missions.
Hree's a link to their announcement, and here are some details about their proposed mission:
The 220 kg Foresight spacecraft is attached to 1400 kg chemical propulsion, in-space transfer stage, which is envisioned to be launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur IV launch vehicle. Foresight main instruments, a multi-spectral imager and laser altimeter, are utilized in combination with NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) to increase the accuracy of the orbit of Apophis. Multiple launch windows from the Earth have been identified, spanning from 2012 to 2014. For the nominal mission, the spacecraft is launched on May 2012 and arrives at Apophis on March 2013, operating for one year. The all encompassing total cost (including launch) for the mission is US$137 M.
That sounds like it offers even more than the basic "transponder" capability of the contest - but in just the areas the Planetary Society likes. I can't really judge the engineering with my limited background in spacecraft mechanisms, but it seems like with those instruments it offers potential for science return that something like the NASA Discovery program would want. If so, that goes back to something I say a lot about prize competitions - often the big reward isn't the prize itself, it's the other business that's enabled by the capabilities grown while competing for a prize.
There are more details about their proposed mission here in a nice slick presentation. The details include the mission concept, the expect results in the accuracy of the asteroid orbit determination, design of the spacecraft with pictures and mass tables, orbits, launch vehicle, cost analysis, and reliability simulation results.
Let's see more of these Apophis mission design contest entries!
Value of NASA Debated
Cnet news has an article on NASA with the loaded title "Do we need NASA?". I think it's a silly question - the question should be "What should NASA be Doing?"
Prizes are featured in some of the article. Peter Diamandis, famous in part because of X PRIZE competitions, says:
NASA can remain relevant--but only by focusing on what for-profit companies won't do. "NASA should be in focusing on breakthroughs in propulsion systems. They should be taking very high risks, funding things that are likely to fail because that's what government should be doing, pushing the envelope.
NASA's Centennial Challenges prize manager Ken Davidian says:
We're trying to get out of this low Earth orbit business ... If there are commercial suppliers of space capabilities like launch vehicles for cargo delivery, we're required by law to use them. We want to use them. The premise is that those services will be cheaper to buy than to use ourselves.
I agree, and that would free NASA to do some amazing things that no commercial company will have any interest in. Space trucking - especially launch - should be commercial by now. However, it's a difficult business, so it probably needs significantly more NASA commitments (like COTS, prizes, and more assurance that the market will be there if the commercial service is built to address that market).
Ken continues:
We're going to be relevant in the things that commercial can't do--all the exploration stuff ... We're going to push the boundaries out and hopefully commercial industry will be back-filling...so NASA can keep pushing out further." Another area would be sending signals to the investment community, he added.
Surprisingly, the article didn't quote these 2 prize-related personalities saying anything specific about prizes, but I'll say it - one little thing that NASA should be doing is increasing its funding of that little Centennial Challenges prize program. The small side of the commercial space industry is ready to take up all sorts of these challenges if they're offered.
Prizes are featured in some of the article. Peter Diamandis, famous in part because of X PRIZE competitions, says:
NASA can remain relevant--but only by focusing on what for-profit companies won't do. "NASA should be in focusing on breakthroughs in propulsion systems. They should be taking very high risks, funding things that are likely to fail because that's what government should be doing, pushing the envelope.
NASA's Centennial Challenges prize manager Ken Davidian says:
We're trying to get out of this low Earth orbit business ... If there are commercial suppliers of space capabilities like launch vehicles for cargo delivery, we're required by law to use them. We want to use them. The premise is that those services will be cheaper to buy than to use ourselves.
I agree, and that would free NASA to do some amazing things that no commercial company will have any interest in. Space trucking - especially launch - should be commercial by now. However, it's a difficult business, so it probably needs significantly more NASA commitments (like COTS, prizes, and more assurance that the market will be there if the commercial service is built to address that market).
Ken continues:
We're going to be relevant in the things that commercial can't do--all the exploration stuff ... We're going to push the boundaries out and hopefully commercial industry will be back-filling...so NASA can keep pushing out further." Another area would be sending signals to the investment community, he added.
Surprisingly, the article didn't quote these 2 prize-related personalities saying anything specific about prizes, but I'll say it - one little thing that NASA should be doing is increasing its funding of that little Centennial Challenges prize program. The small side of the commercial space industry is ready to take up all sorts of these challenges if they're offered.
Another Space Elevator Games Interview
It's good to see the local media getting into the Space Elevator Games. The Space Elevator Blog points to another interview (which I haven't listened to yet - I will today - but I trust the SE Blog and I've heard other interviews by interviewee Ben Shelef, so I'm confident the link's worth following).
Pomerantz Report on X PRIZE Foundation's Moon 2.0
The Pomerantz Report discusses their space challenges, and especially the Lunar X PRIZE, and how the public can participate in these challenges. The phrase that they are using, Moon 2.0, is in part derived from this emphasis:
If Web 1.0 was about portals and "push" technology--content produced by a central body and served up for the public--Web 2.0 is about public participation, sharing, and, increasingly often, user generated content. If Web 1.0 was a unprecedented and useful window to an enormous library, Web 2.0 is a new sort of town hall, where all users can participate.
The main prize gets public participation going through the teams, which are typically "the public" (which to me means not only the established aerospace companies and agencies will be involved).
A lot of the participation comes from the teams themselves, though. Using the Lunar Lander Challenge as an analogy for what they (or at least I) hope to see with the Lunar X PRIZE, we've seen that the teams can enhance participation by letting us know what's going on (ups and downs) in straightforward blog discussions, getting local businesses into the sponsorship aspects, presenting at public events like conferences and the X PRIZE Cup, and hopefully eventually taking personal items to space. As the Report says:
Not only can any person from any country take part by forming or joining a team, but they will also be able to virtually 'ride along' with the lunar probes in new kind of way. I expect that each of our Google Lunar X PRIZE teams will find a new and unique way to do this...
If Web 1.0 was about portals and "push" technology--content produced by a central body and served up for the public--Web 2.0 is about public participation, sharing, and, increasingly often, user generated content. If Web 1.0 was a unprecedented and useful window to an enormous library, Web 2.0 is a new sort of town hall, where all users can participate.
The main prize gets public participation going through the teams, which are typically "the public" (which to me means not only the established aerospace companies and agencies will be involved).
A lot of the participation comes from the teams themselves, though. Using the Lunar Lander Challenge as an analogy for what they (or at least I) hope to see with the Lunar X PRIZE, we've seen that the teams can enhance participation by letting us know what's going on (ups and downs) in straightforward blog discussions, getting local businesses into the sponsorship aspects, presenting at public events like conferences and the X PRIZE Cup, and hopefully eventually taking personal items to space. As the Report says:
Not only can any person from any country take part by forming or joining a team, but they will also be able to virtually 'ride along' with the lunar probes in new kind of way. I expect that each of our Google Lunar X PRIZE teams will find a new and unique way to do this...
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Getting Closer to the Space Elevator Games
As we get closer to the 2007 Space Elevator Games (to be started in 15 days), a lot has been happening. The Space Elevator Blog has been keeping on top of it all:
LaserMotive runs into a Problem - a tear in the ribbon, with shops closing and testing needing to be done. Follow the comments on the Space Elevator Blog and the LaserMotive posts. Here's where LaserMotive posts about the problem and their solution.
LaserMotive also has a look at how far they've come in 1 year.
Interview with Spaceward Foundation's Ben Shelef - I think this is the interview I posted about here linked by the Spaceward site. It's a good interview so check it either way.
The field narrows - as happened with the Lunar Lander Challenge, as the date approaches, some of the teams aren't able to make it. The challenges got a lot tougher this year, so that's not surprising - as the post mentions. Here's the announcement from The Andromeda Connection - and they plan to be at the games anyway to show their progress. Also, check out the new technologies and patents page for the Andromeda Connection - they're in good shape with or without the prize.
Still, there are plenty of teams left, and a lot is expected this year given what we've already seen on the web sites of some of the teams.
As for the European workshop on the Space Elevator Games, the date has changed.
Update: RLV News also has a reminder about the games, including a local view of the games from the Salt Lake Tribune that gives the basics. I'm glad to see local media showing the event so the non-space folks hear about it and get a chance to become interested and involved, so I clicked the "Is this article worthwhile" vote button.
The Davis County Events Center has the event listed on their calendar, along with the "RAD Canyon BMX Race" nearby those days.
LaserMotive runs into a Problem - a tear in the ribbon, with shops closing and testing needing to be done. Follow the comments on the Space Elevator Blog and the LaserMotive posts. Here's where LaserMotive posts about the problem and their solution.
LaserMotive also has a look at how far they've come in 1 year.
Interview with Spaceward Foundation's Ben Shelef - I think this is the interview I posted about here linked by the Spaceward site. It's a good interview so check it either way.
The field narrows - as happened with the Lunar Lander Challenge, as the date approaches, some of the teams aren't able to make it. The challenges got a lot tougher this year, so that's not surprising - as the post mentions. Here's the announcement from The Andromeda Connection - and they plan to be at the games anyway to show their progress. Also, check out the new technologies and patents page for the Andromeda Connection - they're in good shape with or without the prize.
Still, there are plenty of teams left, and a lot is expected this year given what we've already seen on the web sites of some of the teams.
As for the European workshop on the Space Elevator Games, the date has changed.
Update: RLV News also has a reminder about the games, including a local view of the games from the Salt Lake Tribune that gives the basics. I'm glad to see local media showing the event so the non-space folks hear about it and get a chance to become interested and involved, so I clicked the "Is this article worthwhile" vote button.
The Davis County Events Center has the event listed on their calendar, along with the "RAD Canyon BMX Race" nearby those days.
X PRIZE Cup Press Release
NASA Watch posts a press release by the X PRIZE Foundation on the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup. There isn't much news in the press release if you've been following it, but for those who don't it gives a good overview of the event.
I wonder what we can expect at the "press conference with several announcements by aerospace and space-related companies"?
I read that Teachers in Space will have an announcement there, but don't recall any others, so I guess they'll be surprises (for me, anyway).
I wonder what we can expect at the "press conference with several announcements by aerospace and space-related companies"?
I read that Teachers in Space will have an announcement there, but don't recall any others, so I guess they'll be surprises (for me, anyway).
NASA Wins Adobe Award for ISS Document
NASA Watch has a post about NASA winning an Adobe MAX Award for a NASA document on the ISS that was made using Adobe software. Check out the NASA Watch document for links to the Adobe press release and a slide show on the ISS document.
I highly recommend checking out the document itself, too: International Space Station: An Interactive Reference Guide. All sorts of slick animations, sounds, and videos are integrated into the document. My favorite is the ISS 360 (degrees, presumably) Tour, which lets you see what it will be like to move around inside the Station when Harmony, Columbus, JEM, and the Cupola are installed. A lot of the "fun" (to me, anyway) parts of the ISS are scheduled to be deployed soon, so it's going to be interesting to watch.
The "How It Works" part is good, too - it lets you bring up separate slick documents on the different components, and the "How It's Supported" section doesn't forget to mention the "future commercially available orbital transporation services".
I highly recommend checking out the document itself, too: International Space Station: An Interactive Reference Guide. All sorts of slick animations, sounds, and videos are integrated into the document. My favorite is the ISS 360 (degrees, presumably) Tour, which lets you see what it will be like to move around inside the Station when Harmony, Columbus, JEM, and the Cupola are installed. A lot of the "fun" (to me, anyway) parts of the ISS are scheduled to be deployed soon, so it's going to be interesting to watch.
The "How It Works" part is good, too - it lets you bring up separate slick documents on the different components, and the "How It's Supported" section doesn't forget to mention the "future commercially available orbital transporation services".
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Lunar X PRIZE in the Magazines
The X PRIZE Foundation points to another news article on their latest prize, this time from Popular Mechanics. Earlier they had an article (linked by this one) that made it sound almost impossible to win since the team would have to build a launcher, but that requirement never existed, so this newer article (by the same author) presents the challenge as much more achievable. Not easy ... not certain to be won ... but achievable. It should be very interesting to see how it all turns out.
Also see this RLV News post.
Space.com has a detail look at the CMU Lunar X PRIZE team. Don't look for a lot of details from the team like you see from some of the Lunar Lander Challenge competitors:
Neither Whittaker nor Gump would say much about Team X-PLORE's technical approach at this early stage, and Gump said that is unlikely to change even as the approach matures.
Of course, as is so often the case, the business end is as important, if not more so, than the technical end:
But both Whittaker and Gump said they believed securing early financing, either in the form of corporate sponsorship or a benevolent angel, is critical.
"What is clear from the Ansari X Prize is that you need to have solid funding soon — a Paul Allen equivalent who can make sure that you are motoring away at a good speed," Gump said. "One of our team's top priorities is securing that early funding."
They have some ideas on how to get the financing:
The key to profitability, according to Whittaker, is making sure that there are a series of payoff opportunities for sponsors along the way to the actual competition. Auctioning off naming rights and holding contests to select people who will actually get to drive the rover once it lands were among the examples he and Gump mentioned.
The article also goes into some of the technical challenges, like rad-hardened CCD arrays.
Also see this RLV News post.
Space.com has a detail look at the CMU Lunar X PRIZE team. Don't look for a lot of details from the team like you see from some of the Lunar Lander Challenge competitors:
Neither Whittaker nor Gump would say much about Team X-PLORE's technical approach at this early stage, and Gump said that is unlikely to change even as the approach matures.
Of course, as is so often the case, the business end is as important, if not more so, than the technical end:
But both Whittaker and Gump said they believed securing early financing, either in the form of corporate sponsorship or a benevolent angel, is critical.
"What is clear from the Ansari X Prize is that you need to have solid funding soon — a Paul Allen equivalent who can make sure that you are motoring away at a good speed," Gump said. "One of our team's top priorities is securing that early funding."
They have some ideas on how to get the financing:
The key to profitability, according to Whittaker, is making sure that there are a series of payoff opportunities for sponsors along the way to the actual competition. Auctioning off naming rights and holding contests to select people who will actually get to drive the rover once it lands were among the examples he and Gump mentioned.
The article also goes into some of the technical challenges, like rad-hardened CCD arrays.
Pomerantz and Alexander from X PRIZE Foundation at IAC
The Pomerantz Report from the X PRIZE Foundation has a new post describing a visit to the International Astronautical Congress meeting to spread the word about the Google Lunar X PRIZE, which is an international prize competition:
The reaction to the Google Lunar X PRIZE was incredible at the conference. Hardly a session went by without some mention of the prize, either from the speakers or from people asking questions in the audience. We had a chance to talk to students and professionals from around the world, and to tell them about how they can take part of the prize. I'm confident that several new teams will arise out of conversations we've had this week--hopefully, you'll see some announcements about that soon!
The reaction to the Google Lunar X PRIZE was incredible at the conference. Hardly a session went by without some mention of the prize, either from the speakers or from people asking questions in the audience. We had a chance to talk to students and professionals from around the world, and to tell them about how they can take part of the prize. I'm confident that several new teams will arise out of conversations we've had this week--hopefully, you'll see some announcements about that soon!
Gonzo Reporting at the 2006 Wirefly X PRIZE Cup
Now that the 2007 X PRIZE Cup is almost upon us, I thought I'd take a look back at the 2006 X PRIZE Cup. You can see all sorts of videos of the 2006 event at the space.com X PRIZE Cup site.
However, that's not what I have lined up for today. No, today, against my better judgement, I'm going to point you to a 2006 X PRIZE Cup interview in the beer garden. If that one really catches your fancy, you can find more of the same from the 2006 event with the "more from this user" YouTube link.
However, that's not what I have lined up for today. No, today, against my better judgement, I'm going to point you to a 2006 X PRIZE Cup interview in the beer garden. If that one really catches your fancy, you can find more of the same from the 2006 event with the "more from this user" YouTube link.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Interview with Peter Diamandis
RLV News has a number of links related to commercial space, including one with an interview of Peter Diamandis. He has the following to say on what NASA should be doing:
... It should be doing things that there are not commercial markets to do. Sending humans to orbit, sending people on zero-gravity flights, building commercial stations in orbit--these are things that private companies can do and probably do better.
We have a long history in the United States of the government pioneering, and private industry taking things over, and the government moving to the next step. You've seen this in the aviation industry, you've seen it in the computer industry, you've seen it in the Internet industry, and we should see it in the future in the space industry.
...
NASA should be focusing on: Is there life on Mars? Is there life on Europa? Understanding the Jovian and Saturn systems. They should be focusing on building infrastructure the same way that we had the railroads, but I also think that NASA should be purchasing, wherever possible, fixed-price content, information and technology from companies.
So the best way to go to the moon is for NASA to say, "We will pay a contract for the first company to go and set up a habitat on the moon,"--very much the same way that we're doing our Google Lunar X Prize.
... It should be doing things that there are not commercial markets to do. Sending humans to orbit, sending people on zero-gravity flights, building commercial stations in orbit--these are things that private companies can do and probably do better.
We have a long history in the United States of the government pioneering, and private industry taking things over, and the government moving to the next step. You've seen this in the aviation industry, you've seen it in the computer industry, you've seen it in the Internet industry, and we should see it in the future in the space industry.
...
NASA should be focusing on: Is there life on Mars? Is there life on Europa? Understanding the Jovian and Saturn systems. They should be focusing on building infrastructure the same way that we had the railroads, but I also think that NASA should be purchasing, wherever possible, fixed-price content, information and technology from companies.
So the best way to go to the moon is for NASA to say, "We will pay a contract for the first company to go and set up a habitat on the moon,"--very much the same way that we're doing our Google Lunar X Prize.
More on the 7 Year, $300 Million X PRIZE Foundation Commitment
A couple days ago I posted on a commitment by the X PRIZE Foundation to have a number of prizes in the areas of energy/environment, health and medicine, poverty alliviation, and education. The Nation has a blog post that gives more details about the event where this commitment was announced, and a few comments about the X PRIZE Foundation's commitment:
... and Google, which will cosponsor a $300 million award-program designed to motivate innovation to address CGI's four priorities ...
I don't know how much that means Google will be involved (certainly some, since Larry Page was there for the announcement), but I assume (since the X PRIZE Foundation news ticker linked to the blog post) that it's not saying more than it should be.
The blog post has the following to say about personal spaceflight:
It's backed by the X-Prize Foundation, the non-profit that spent millions to incentivize the (odd) ambition of civilian space travel.
How nice that they went out of their way to put that adjective there. Apparently the "giggle factor" hasn't been eradicated in some quarters.
... and Google, which will cosponsor a $300 million award-program designed to motivate innovation to address CGI's four priorities ...
I don't know how much that means Google will be involved (certainly some, since Larry Page was there for the announcement), but I assume (since the X PRIZE Foundation news ticker linked to the blog post) that it's not saying more than it should be.
The blog post has the following to say about personal spaceflight:
It's backed by the X-Prize Foundation, the non-profit that spent millions to incentivize the (odd) ambition of civilian space travel.
How nice that they went out of their way to put that adjective there. Apparently the "giggle factor" hasn't been eradicated in some quarters.
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