http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/noys/noys_story.jsp?id=news/PRIZE11164.xml

NASA Lobbying For Authority To Grant Prizes Above $250K

NASA needs authorization from Congress to award prizes of more than $250,000. Centennial Challenges Program Manager Brant Sponberg met with authorizers on Capitol Hill to discuss the issue Nov. 15.

"There is some interest in maybe trying to pass something, either as a stand-alone bill or some other vehicle, during the lame-duck session," Sponberg said during an industry day in Washington Nov. 15. "Even if that doesn't happen, I would anticipate that when the new Congress comes in early next year, we [will] probably move out pretty quickly to try to get that authorization for those larger prizes."

Modeled on successful 19th century navigation prizes and early 20th century aviation prizes, the Centennial Challenges prize program is aimed at stimulating industry to produce breakthroughs in technologies that would support NASA's goals. The agency requested $20 million for the program in fiscal year 2005. Although the House Appropriations Committee voted to fully fund the request, Senate appropriators only granted roughly half of it.

"I don't know where the final negotiations will come out - somewhere between 10 and 20 million dollars, presumably," Sponberg said. The program already has roughly $2 million in FY '04 funds to begin awarding support contracts and small prizes.

Four broad categories of challenges are planned: flagship challenges, keystone challenges, alliance challenges, and quest challenges. The biggest prizes offered by the program, flagship prizes will be worth $5-50 million. The program currently envisions four flagship competitions:

* Aero-assist demonstration. Although NASA spacecraft routinely use techniques such as aerobraking, "no one has actually demonstrated a true aerocapture or an orbital plane change using aero-effects in orbit," Sponberg said. Prize competitors will have to build a low-cost technology demonstrator to prove their technique in Earth orbit. Aero assist techniques use planetary atmospheres to help with orbital maneuvers.

* Micro re-entry vehicle. Competitors will have to build a low-cost automated vehicle capable of bringing small payloads down for accurate landings. NASA is interested in using such technology to improve science return from the space station.

* Lunar robotic soft landing. "The idea behind this prize is to stimulate someone to demonstrate the ability to softly land a small payload on the moon at low cost," Sponberg said.

* Stationkeeping solar sail. Competitors would have to build a solar sail capable of keeping a spacecraft in orbit for an extended period. NASA is interested in this technology for remote sensing and communications relay applications.