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  NIAC's Back
Posted by Karl on Thursday July 17, @10:53AM
The best site on the web for really wild but scientifically-grounded space technology is NIAC, the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. NIAC has been languishing for the past few months after having their funds cut off. But I'm pleased to see they are back in business, now funded by the Universities Space Research Assocation.

The best way to get to know NIAC's scope is to visit the web site. But to give you some idea just how ambitious this organization is, here's their criteria for taking on a project, as excerpted from their Statement of Work:
  • The concepts shall be revolutionary rather than evolutionary.
  • The concepts shall be consistent with NASA's Charter and Strategy.
  • The concepts shall have a "new" aspect. They shall not repeat or duplicate concepts studied by the NASA Enterprises.
  • The concept shall involve major systems and architectures and potentially have a major impact on how future Enterprise missions are accomplished.
  • The concepts shall not be solely a specific advanced technology or new design approach such as a new solar cell or a new spectrometer. It must be put into a mission application context.
  • The concepts shall expand the number of approaches or choices rather than increase the depth of analysis of known concepts.
  • An advanced concept shall include both a technical description (the physics, chemistry and technology) as well as the quantification of potential benefits.
NIAC's reports include serious engineering studies into antimatter propulsion, laser sailing, Mars colonization, and space elevators. You can find a wealth of material on their findings in PDF form on the site.

Welcome back, NIAC! I'm looking forward to seeing what the latest round of proposals brings forth.



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