CANEUS 2009 Workshops

On March 4th, 2009 at the CANEUS 2009 Workshops to be held at NASA Ames, CANEUS will officially launch the 2009 Grand Challenge Competition. The winning team will be part of a unique launch opportunity manifested on board the SpaceX DragonLab spacecraft targeted for the end of 2010, with a follow-up opportunity available for late 2011. CANEUS is also exploring opportunities for rides on other launchers as part of this competition.

CANEUS encourages interested parties to formulate virtual, international teams comprised of university and industry representatives. Teams are requested to submit a proposal highlighting the nature of the experiments and technology trials, including the preferred integration method and concept of operations.

Teams’ submittal

To be eligible, teams must:

Propose a project related to one or more of the five CANEUS Sector Consortia
1. Micro and nano technology implementation, coordination, and standardization of small satellites
2. Multi-functional materials with MNT embedded sensors
3. Fly-by-Wireless applications
4. Advancement of reliability issues and technical solutions
5. Harsh Environment Sensors, Optoelectronics, Bio-Astra, and Environmental Monitoring
6. And oriented toward Plug-and-Play implementations for both HW and SW
Identify one or more sponsors to co-fund the project, and ensure the financial ability for the complete realization of the project, including its on-orbit operations

To ensure a cost-effective solution, and to attempt a truly collaborative experience, CANEUS will have to select a unique solution to integrate the various projects. Within the available solutions, three were recognized as optimal:

Integration of all the experiments within a single satellite. The satellite will be carried in the unpressurized section and separated into its orbit. In order to exercise this option, CANEUS will have to identify a bus developer and integrator.
Integration of the experiments within an available enclosure similar to the Shuttle middeck locker. The locker could be located within the DragonLab pressurized section and hence recovered upon landing.
Leverage on P-PODs and integrate the experiments within cubesats to be deployed on-orbit. This option offers a natural solution to the request of collaboration with a university. Each group could team-up with a cubesat team for the construction of the bus and integration of their payload. The California Polytechnic Institute (CalPoly) has volunteered to help this process by identifying the closest universities worldwide with a cubesat program, that are nearest to any participant location, or that have vested technical interest in a specific project.

Once the proposal is submitted, the CANEUS Competition Panel will evaluate the proposals and allocate funding to support project development based on multiple criteria.

Within the proposal, each team shall express the desired method of integration by explaining the reasons why each option could or could not be used. CANEUS will then evaluate and select the optimal solution based on available resources and technical constraints.

Teams will be bound to specific milestones to monitor both financial and technical progress. Failure to meet one or more milestones will automatically result in exclusion from the challenge and redistribution of funding originally allocated by CANEUS.

Dr. Marco Villa
Chairman CANEUS Grand Challenge Competition Committee
marco@spacex.com

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Teams’ submittal