Game Changing Development Program

Student Teams to Help Fill the Inflatable Void with Latest Student Challenge   – NASA

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Student Teams to Help Fill the Inflatable Void with Latest Student Challenge   – NASA

This year will be a “BIG” year for several college and university teams as they research, design, and demonstrate novel inflatable systems configured for future lunar operations through a NASA-sponsored engineering competition. NASA’s Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge asked student innovators to propose novel inflatable component and system concepts that could benefit future … Read more

NASA Selects Winners of Third TechRise Student Challenge – NASA

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NASA Selects Winners of Third TechRise Student Challenge – NASA

NASA is announcing 60 winning teams for its third TechRise Student Challenge, a nationwide contest to engage students in technology, science, and space exploration. The student teams will work together to turn their proposed science and technology experiments into reality ahead of NASA-sponsored suborbital flight tests this summer. The challenge opened for submissions in August … Read more

NASA’s 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Test a Success – NASA

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NASA’s 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Test a Success – NASA

NASA has achieved a new benchmark in developing an innovative propulsion system called the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, successfully tested a novel, 3D-printed RDRE for 251 seconds (or longer than four minutes), producing more than 5,800 pounds of thrust. That kind of sustained burn … Read more

NASA, Partners Continue to Advance Space Tech on Suborbital Flights – NASA

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NASA, Partners Continue to Advance Space Tech on Suborbital Flights – NASA

Living and working in space requires getting ready a bit closer to Earth. Through a suborbital flight test on Dec. 19, 2023 with industry provider Blue Origin, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program is helping 14 research payloads move one step toward future space missions and commercial applications. The flown technologies aim to address some of the … Read more

University of Utah takes top honors in BIG Idea Lunar Forge Challenge  – NASA

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University of Utah takes top honors in BIG Idea Lunar Forge Challenge  – NASA

Through Artemis, NASA plans to conduct long-duration human and robotic missions on the lunar surface in preparation for future crewed exploration of Mars. Expanding exploration capabilities requires a robust lunar infrastructure, including practical and cost-effective ways to construct a lunar base. One method is employing in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) – or the ability to use … Read more

NASA Invites Stakeholders to Space Tech LIFT-1 Industry Day

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NASA Invites Stakeholders to Space Tech LIFT-1 Industry Day

NASA is hosting a virtual industry forum on Nov. 13, 2023, to introduce the agency’s Lunar Infrastructure Foundational Technologies (LIFT-1) demonstration Request for Information (RFI). At this event, representatives of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will discuss the relevant Moon-to-Mars Objectives, STMD Envisioned Future Priorities (EFPs), and will answer questions from potential respondents interested in the RFI. … Read more

NASA Seeks Input for Future Lunar Surface Resource Utilization Demo

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NASA Seeks Input for Future Lunar Surface Resource Utilization Demo

As NASA ushers in an exciting era of long-term exploration on the Moon with Artemis, new strategies are being formulated to determine how technology, infrastructure, and operations will function together as a cohesive and cross-cutting system. As a sustained presence grows at the Moon, opportunities to harvest lunar resources could lead to safer, more efficient … Read more

NASA’s Innovative Rocket Nozzle Paves Way for Deep Space Missions – NASA

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NASA’s Innovative Rocket Nozzle Paves Way for Deep Space Missions – NASA

By Ray Osorio NASA recently built and tested an additively-manufactured – or 3D printed – rocket engine nozzle made of aluminum, making it lighter than conventional nozzles and setting the course for deep space flights that can carry more payloads. Under the agency’s Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity, engineers from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in … Read more