About:
The dawn of the Space Age brought new technologies, new opportunities, and new adventures. Since the late 1950s, the human race vastly expanded the knowledge of the Earth and the cosmos beyond, developed new products and technologies, and traveled to the Moon and back. But these extraterrestrial explorations require the use of many kinds of materials for spacecraft structures, crew and spacecraft protection, generating electricity, connecting instruments to computers, and communicating with operators back on Earth. While some spacecraft do return to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere, others continue to orbit for years. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office estimates that there are more than 23,000 pieces of orbital debris larger than 10 cm currently in orbit around the Earth.
Through this challenge, NASA explores whether a new industry could transform this orbital debris into an orbital opportunity by creating feedstocks from recycled spacecraft. Tell us how YOU would recycle objects in orbit!
Challenge Details:
The total prize pool for the Orbital Alchemy Challenge is $55,000. We will award prizes as follows:
- One (1) first place prize: $25,000
- One (1) second place prize: $10,000
- Three (3) third place prizes: $5,000 each
- Five (5) honorable mention prizes: $1,000 each
Additionally, participants and winners may also be considered for:
- Invitation to a pitch event to be held at Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit and Expo in September 2022
- Connections to technology accelerators or other innovation development programs including SBIR/STTR
- Connections to existing developers and/or manufacturers
- Invitations to NASA conferences and/or lectures
- Opportunities to speak with broader space operations audiences
How to apply:
What are you waiting for? Find out more about this amazing challenge and pre-register here!
