International Space Settlement Design Competition
This page discusses rules, registration procedures, and schedules. Read it over if you think you'd like to participate in the competition.
High School students (9th through 12th grades) during the local equivalent of the U.S. school year (between August and June), and not studying in a full-time college or university curriculum as of 15 February (typically between 14 and 18 years of age; must be 19 years of age or less during the Finalist Competition).
Your team must register with the Competition organizers to receive key materials not included here. Only entries from registered teams will be considered for advancement.
The International Space Settlement Design Competition is evolving; eventually most Finalists will be selected through Semi-Finalist Competitions. The Competition process currently includes the following events:
Find your region below to find its registration procedures.
| Region | Instructions |
|---|---|
| United States and Canada | Register here for the Qualifying Competition (note: teams registering by January 15 might be invited to a U.S. Regional Semi-Finalist Competition) |
| Asia (excluding Russia) | Register at the Asian site for the Qualilfying Competition |
| Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and southwestern Pacific islands | Register at the Australian Semi-Final site |
| Europe (including Russia | Contact gale.spaceset@gmail.com via email for referral to Regional Coordinator |
| Africa | Contact gale.spaceset@gmail.com via email for referral to Regional Coordinator |
| Latin America (including Mexico and Central America) | Contact gale.spaceset@gmail.com via email for referral to Regional Coordinator |
Your team represents Northdonning Heedwell, a major aerospace company, and your customer is an organization called the Foundation Society.
Create and submit your design for an orbiting space settlement, in hopes that your company will be awarded the lucrative contract to construct it. The Preliminary Request for Proposal (RFP) summarizes the requirements for the Space Settlement desired by the customer. When your team registers for the Competition, you will receive the Final RFP, which describes background information for a future year and everything the customer wants in your design. You will also receive submittal instructions and due dates. Submit your written (on paper!) design description for evaluation by the Judging Panel for your Region.
Notification Date for Finalist Invitations: Late May, 2010
The 12 Finalist teams (12 members each) are tripled up to form four competing companies. Your company will prepare a new design responding to a different RFP at the JSC Gilruth Center. Competition organizers will also designate 4 Invited teams to participate with 4 members each.
The teams will work in conditions that resemble those experienced by members of high-pressure proposal teams in industry, with assistance from real working engineers and managers. Designs will be presented to an audience that includes the judges and competing teams. Presenters will answer the judges' questions about their designs. Judges will select a winning design, and provide a debriefing describing merits and weak points of the proposals.
Finalist Competition dates, arrival instructions, and task description will be provided with the invitations to attend.