NASA Awards More Prize Money

NASA awarded $900,000 on November 9 to LaserMotive of Seattle, Washington for winning Level 1 of the Power Beaming Challenge — often called the “Space Elevator Games.”

Three teams competed to develop a wireless power transmission system and a robotic device to climb to the top of a 1 kilometer cable suspended from a hovering helicopter. The total prize purse is $2 million, with winners determined on how fast the climber reaches the top of the cable and the mass of its payload. LaserMotive was the only team to reach the top and qualified for the Level 1 prize with an average speed of 3.9 meters per second. Level 1 required an average speed of at least 2 meters per second. Level 2 requires an average speed of at least 5 meters per second. The remaining $1.1 million for one or more Level 1 winners will be available for next year’s competition. This prize competition is administered for NASA by the Spaceward Foundation.

Last week, NASA awarded $1.65 million in prize money to winners of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The prize competitions are part of NASA’s Innovative Partnership Program.