@TeamPrometheus SS2S recived the parts we made for the protoshot mark III! http://bit.ly/7tMsdk
@PeterDiamandis here at MIT X Prize event with my friend Bob Metcalf brainstorming BCI prizes
See many more tweets on the Brain-Computer Interfaces MIT X PRIZE Lab workshop at #bcixprize
@progautoxp If you will be @ #NAIAS next week stop by the #PIAXP booth. Learn more about the competition & meet qualified teams. Drive the cars too! #FB
@spacecom Scaled Composites’ Peter Siebold Wins Iven C.Kincheloe Award: Peter Siebold (Photo: Scaled Composites) Cal Poly gr... http://bit.ly/8RM13z
@NASA_Ames DARPA looks to use SPHERES (formation flying test on ISS) for crowdsource experiment http://is.gd/5RwXl
The previous tweet is on a Wired Danger Room article. From DARPA's RFI linked in the article:
DARPA seeks an open-innovation approach to the development of algorithms for the control of the Synchronized Position, Hold, Engage, and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) that operate inside the International Space Station. ... DARPA is interested in novel, out-of-the-box ideas for involving vast groups of people in SPHERES algorithm and software development, and potentially operations. Such concepts may involve, for instance, competitions, prize awards, massively-distributed collaborative development, viral campaigns, prediction markets, new ventures ...
An Excellent Scholarship Opportunity for Spirit of Innovation Awards Participants - Spirit of Innovation Awards blog
MAKE visits MicroRAX HQ - Make blog - Beam power team LaserMotive is part of the story here.
Secor Strategies Sponsors & Helps Coordinate NASA Astronuat Glove Contest - Secor Strategies blog
Notional Next Rocket... - Unreasonable Rocket
Google Lunar X PRIZE teams will want to keep an eye on this as the 3rd New Frontiers mission is selected:
New Frontiers Candidates Selected - Future Planetary Exploration blog - One of the candidates is a lunar sample return mission.
More on MoonRise New Frontiers Proposal - Future Planetary Exploration blog
Moon Mission In Running For Next Big Space Venture - Moon Daily
Late last night, our web production team rolled out a new design for the Foundation's main webpage, www.xprize.org. A screen capture of the new site is at right.
Hopefully you'll agree that this site has a bit more, shall we say, savoir faire, than the old version. (Note for a really fun time, check out this super ancient X PRIZE Foundation website from back in the mid 90s. We couldn't even afford to capitalize the RIZE in PRIZE back then!). With any luck, this new design will give first-time visitors a more clear impression of who we are and what we do within their first few moments on the webpage. It should also allow old friends and longtime fans to more quickly identify the latest and greatest material, including blogs, news stories, videos, and articles about related organizations and people. And of course, it wouldn't be a good non-profit website if it didn't have a nice, eye-grabbing "donate" button at the top of the page (hint, hint).
Let us know what you think about the new page!
Happy New Year, Launch Pad readers! I hope that all of you (at least, all of you who follow the same calendar system as I do) closed out 2009 and the 200*s in style. I managed to find a pretty good way to do so: I got married to my lovely wife on December 29th.
Although I'm inclined to say that my fin-de-décennie was the best one possible (especially in any forum my wife can read!), I have to admit, the burgeoning NewSpace community--and the cadre of Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge teams in particular--did a pretty good job of it, too!
To begin with, Aviation Week and Space Technology, the highly respected space publication more commonly referred to as AvWeek, named "the Space Entrepreneur" as its person of the year for 2009. Dave Masten, the CEO of Masten Space Systems garnered a glamour shot on the cover of the magazine, posing with Xoie, the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge Level Two winning rocket. The article itself focuses primarily on Masten Space Systems, with additional attention for other companies in the NewSpace field such as Virgin Galactic, XCOR, and SpaceX.
As the article notes:
Collectively, they are in the vanguard of a new industry, poised to transform how humans venture into space in ways that most observers can scarcely imagine today. Space entrepreneurs had a big influence on aerospace in 2009, although it does not begin to compare with the impact they are likely to have in years to come. That is why Aviation Week chose this intrepid group of engineers and visionaries as the 2009 Person of the Year.
We'll raise a glass of leftover New Year's champagne to that!
As if that weren't enough, the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge is also performing quite well on a public poll being conducted by NASA in order to identify the top NASA story of 2009. In fact, while I was writing this post, the challenge (identified in the poll as "Lithe Lunar Landers Launch, X Prize Winners Take Home Cash") moved into first place--meaning that the voters in the poll have ranked this as the most important NASA-related story of the year! That's right, it's beating out the discovery of water on the Moon, the final repair of Hubble, the launch of Ares 1-X, the appointment of a new NASA Administrator, the naming of the final Shuttle crew, the Augustine report, the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, et cetera. At least for now.
Voting is still open for an unspecified amount of time. You can vote once per day. Make your voice heard.
Of course, given what we've learned from NASA this year, the final count may not matter all that much. Indeed, if recent history holds true, you can bet on "Tranquility selected as the name for the new Space Station Node" is the sure fire winner!
So, kudos to all you space entrepreneurs for some well deserved accolades at the end of 2009. But let's not rest on our laurels. Onwards and upwards!
@SpaceFellowship: N-Prize Team 'Anahera Tere' Talk to the Space Fellowship http://su.pr/2NCKju
There will be an X PRIZE Lab workshop at MIT on January 7-8 on Brain-Computer Interfaces (link from @ad_astra2).
Latest Masten Update - Selenian Boondocks
2009 Greater Tehachapi economy - Tehachapi News - Wind farms, hotels, local shops and services, heavy industry - and yes, with nearby Mojave, Edwards, and Dryden - space.
Rising to First Place -- Eureka featured in winning Aviation Week photo contest entry - Up Ship!
Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #5 - Luna C/I: Moon Colonization and Integration
Singularity U Day 2: After Hours with Peter Diamandis - My Singularity
Briefs: Commercial spaceflight; Lindbergh Prize; - RLV News
Happy New Year! - The Space Elevator Blog
University Group collaborates on Lunar Lander Design - Team FREDNET at the Google Lunar X PRIZE Teams page
@synergymoon: is pleased to announce 2 new Partnering Organisations for 2010: Invento Media Group [... http://bit.ly/7g1zeD
I just realized that the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) includes a student suborbital experiment contest with cash prizes for University of Colorado and some Space Grant Consortium students. Here's the flyer (PDF).
There are some student suborbital experiment proposal presentations (PDF) on the schedule for the conference. I assume these are competitors in the contest.
One of the talks on Friday from Nicole Jordan of the X PRIZE Foundation and Erika Wagner of the MIT XPRIZE Lab is Prizes as a Tool for Engaging Researchers and Students:
This paper will describe the ways that Incentive Prizes can be used to attract high quality payloads for suborbital research and education missions (REM).
Several Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge competitors are featured:
Improving Mission Flexibility with the Hippogriff Propulsion Module (PDF) - Bob Steinke of SpeedUp.
Science When Flight Rate and Turn Time Don't Matter (PDF) - Michael Mealing of Masten Space Systems
Armadillo Aerospace and Purdue University Student Experiment Program (PDF)
Here's an idea for another student competition: ZERORobotics: a Student Competition Aboard the International Space Station (PDF)
