International Space Settlement Design Competition
Encyclopedia
The International Space Settlement Design Competition, more commonly known as "Spaceset" or "ISSDC", is an annual competition founded by Anita Gale and Dick Edwards, and is supported (but no longer sponsored) by NASA
(as the competition rents several NASA facilities for use during the competition). The competition targets high school students and recreates the experience of working on an aerospace company's proposal team. The teams are asked to envision space colonies
in accordance to an RFP (Request for Proposal
).
The competition uses an organization called the Foundation Society to create a futuristic setting for the competition. Often, the setting is around forty years in the future, and competitors must use plausible extensions of current technology in their proposals (i.e. no "cold fusion" or space elevators).
In 2005, 2007 and 2009, regional qualifying competitions were introduced for the regions of Asia, Australia and Europe respectively. These competitions involve various tasks, ranging from vehicle design to settlement design. The arrangement of these competitions is much like that of the International Finals, with teams organizing slide presentations and presenting them in front of professional judges. At each qualifier, the best performers are formed into one team to represent the region in the International Finals. Before the introduction of the regional qualifying competitions, teams from these regions had to qualify through the main qualifying round.
Companies must work together to address all of the points of the RFP as well as specific special requests from the Competition organizers representing the Foundation Society. Companies are allotted two adult "CEOs", who have experience in the field, to advise them. Companies are also offered "Red Team runs" on the second day of the competition, during which they have the opportunity to present their slides in front of judges prior to the final presentation for feedback. On the final day, teams give a presentation of their work to professional judges, generally from the aerospace industry, and must answer a series of questions regarding their proposed design.
The proposal also includes a required section entitled "Schedule and Costs," which describes the construction schedule, detailed by location and stages, and total initial cost, detailed by major section and by stage of construction. An additional section known as "Special Studies" is added only during the finals, which includes plans for emergency procedures to react to two disaster scenarios, as given by the Request For Proposal (RFP). The scenarios outlined change year-to-year.
Earth Colonies (Orbiting)
Lunar Colonies
Martian Colonies
Asteroid Belt
Competition Sequence
The appearance of colonies is on a set cycle repeating every four years. The cycle is as follows:
The Competition organizers also recognize exceptional participants with several awards at the end of the International Finals.
This award is given in honor of the best female presenter on the final day of the competition. It originated from its namesake, who would sit at the back of competitions and take notes specifically on all the female presenters, to encourage girls to take a larger part in such competitions.
The Australian team generally brings with them a plaque for the best male presenter, in response to the Jingle Lutz Award.
In honor of the Competition co-founder who passed away in early 2009, this award was established for the best student leader from each company. The awardees are chosen by advisors and company "CEOs."
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
(as the competition rents several NASA facilities for use during the competition). The competition targets high school students and recreates the experience of working on an aerospace company's proposal team. The teams are asked to envision space colonies
Space colonization
Space colonization is the concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Although hypothetical at the present time, there are many proposals and speculations about the first space colony...
in accordance to an RFP (Request for Proposal
Request for Proposal
A request for proposal is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, where an invitation is presented for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to...
).
Competition Outline
The International Space Settlement Design Competition is split into two rounds, the Qualifying Round and the International Finals. While entrants are usually teams with a high school affiliation, independent teams are allowed provided they are also in the high school age group. Teams have come from Pakistan, India, Australia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Romania, and England, as well as the United States, with one notable coalition team in the competition history's past including members from Argentina, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, the Ukraine, and the United States.The competition uses an organization called the Foundation Society to create a futuristic setting for the competition. Often, the setting is around forty years in the future, and competitors must use plausible extensions of current technology in their proposals (i.e. no "cold fusion" or space elevators).
Qualifying Round
In the qualifying round of the International Competition, teams are given an RFP to which they must respond in a paper proposal with a maximum of 40 pages which includes illustrations, diagrams, calculations, and references. This is submitted by mail to judges after given a few months to work on it. Selected teams are then invited to attend the International Finals.In 2005, 2007 and 2009, regional qualifying competitions were introduced for the regions of Asia, Australia and Europe respectively. These competitions involve various tasks, ranging from vehicle design to settlement design. The arrangement of these competitions is much like that of the International Finals, with teams organizing slide presentations and presenting them in front of professional judges. At each qualifier, the best performers are formed into one team to represent the region in the International Finals. Before the introduction of the regional qualifying competitions, teams from these regions had to qualify through the main qualifying round.
International Finals
At the international competition, the selected teams are grouped together to form four "companies" (with fictional aerospace company names like Vulture Aviation, Grumbo Aerospace, Dougeldyne Flechtel, or Rockdonnell Aerospace), where each team allowed to bring 12 members. Before 2006, companies were composed of two teams but since then companies have been formed with more teams and members (three qualified teams in 2009 and three qualified teams and one invited team in 2010). These companies are then given another RFP to complete a slide proposal for in 43 hours.Companies must work together to address all of the points of the RFP as well as specific special requests from the Competition organizers representing the Foundation Society. Companies are allotted two adult "CEOs", who have experience in the field, to advise them. Companies are also offered "Red Team runs" on the second day of the competition, during which they have the opportunity to present their slides in front of judges prior to the final presentation for feedback. On the final day, teams give a presentation of their work to professional judges, generally from the aerospace industry, and must answer a series of questions regarding their proposed design.
Components of Proposal
There are a total of five major sections. These sections are based on the various factors required in a colony's design and function.- Structure oversees the design and materials used to build the colony, as well as the overall design and allocation of interior and exterior spaces. Different structure details are included in this section; examples include the living spaces, the colony's corridors, spacecraft nodes and ports, and the sections of the colony for business or industry. The section details how the inside of the station looks like from the inside, the artificial gravityArtificial gravityArtificial gravity is the varying of apparent gravity via artificial means, particularly in space, but also on the Earth...
, and the method and schedule of construction. Methods of expansion and repairs are also objectives in this section.
- Operations is where the choice and justification for the colony's location is explained. They also determine the colony's infrastructure and facilities, how different facilities are connected, and calculates on the logistics of food production, powering of the station, communications, waste management, day/night patterns and climate control. This section also projects the needs required for long-term projects, such as establishment of terraformingTerraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
stations for expansion. Mining and supplies (both raw goods and agricultural) specifications are outlined in this section.
- Human Factors designs the interior living space of the colony, making it as "Earth-like as possible". It gives the details of the colonist's needs, their education and jobs, the recreational opportunities, and available medical systems. The wellbeing of the colonists, from the psychological factors to the physical needs of food, housing and exercise, are determined within this section. This section also designs the community, a task which includes the zoning of residential, commercial and public facility buildings and the transportation system. The number and design of tools and spacesuits to be used in everyday use as well as in special areas (such as the zero-g or the low-g sectors of the colony) are also detailed in the Humans Factors section.
- Automations Design and Services determines the automated factors of the station. The section must specify how robotRobotA robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s will be used in the colony's construction, to transport people and materials, repair the colony, the computer networks, and the control of data. They design how computers will be used on the colony, how robots look like and are used, and the usage of these components during emergencies (solar flareSolar flareA solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
, meteor impact, meteor showerMeteor showerA meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
, hull fracture.) This section also outlines the use of automated factors for the colony's functions.
- Business Development is the section that is responsible for selling the proposal to the Foundation Society. All details of business endeavors must be described in depth, along with being connected to the overall mission of the settlement. This section is connected to other sections on matters of commercial opportunities, industrial manufacturing costs, research development, and maintenance costs.
The proposal also includes a required section entitled "Schedule and Costs," which describes the construction schedule, detailed by location and stages, and total initial cost, detailed by major section and by stage of construction. An additional section known as "Special Studies" is added only during the finals, which includes plans for emergency procedures to react to two disaster scenarios, as given by the Request For Proposal (RFP). The scenarios outlined change year-to-year.
Colonies
The colonies involved in the competition appear on a regular cycle over four years, so that competitors will not have the advantage of formerly completing the same proposal personally. The colonies alternate between orbital (qualifying competition) and planetary (finals competition). The name of colonies are pre-determined, but entrants are permitted to modify the name, so long as three ground rules are followed:- The name must end with a suffix indicating its location. For example, Earth orbital facilities end with "-at"(At Terra), while Lunar colonies end with "-ol"(On Luna).
- The name must begin with a letter indicating its position in the sequence of construction at each location. Alexandriat before Bellevistat before Columbiat, etc.
- The name must be appropriate and relevant.
Earth Colonies (Orbiting)
- Alexandriat (Earth-Sun L5) - A colony built in 2024 to start construction of a solar shield at Earth-Sun L1 to slow global warming. It is now a manufacturing center and maintains the solar shield with 10,000 people. Often referred to by background information, this colony is not part of the competition cycle. Name based on Alexander the Great.
- Bellevistat (Earth-Sun L4) - A second colony built as a primary heavy manufacturing center in zero gravity. It is used for in-space manufacturing. Named as a reference to the Spanish phrase, Belle Vista, or beautiful view. Qualifying Competition, recurring.
- Columbiat (Earth-Sun L5) - A third colony built as a "Singapore-in-orbit". It is also the new headquarters for the Foundation Society. This colony is meant to be the largest of the orbital colonies when it is operational in 2052. Name originally referenced the Columbia river and its trade qualities; it now has connotations concerning the space shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
. Qualifying Competition, recurring.
- Darwinat (Ark Ship) - The fourth Earth orbiting settlement, and the only one required to be capable of moving to another solar system as an Interstellar ArkInterstellar arkAn interstellar ark is a conceptual space vehicle that some have speculated could be used for interstellar travel. The concept was first developed by Dr...
. Named for Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors. Qualifying Competition, discontinued.
Lunar Colonies
- Alaskol- The first lunar colony built. It is used to supply the orbiting colonies with supplies with materials for manufacturing. It is also the center of lunar tourism, located on the near side of the moon. Named in reference to Alaska, a hostile territory that offered many benefits to the settlers. Finals Competition, recurring, 2004 cycle won by Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida and Budha Dal Public School from Patiala, India, 2008 cycle won by Richard Montgomery High SchoolRichard Montgomery High SchoolRichard Montgomery High School is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland.Richard Montgomery High School is named for Richard Montgomery, an American General who died while attempting to capture the British-held city of Quebec...
, Durango High School, and Apeejay School (Indian Team).
- Balderol- The second lunar colony which will serves the same function as Alaskol. It is located on the far side of the moon and acts as a scientific and industrial outpost. Named in reference to Balder, Norse god of beauty, indicating the unobstructed views from Balderol. Finals Competition, recurring, 2005 cycle won by Whitney High SchoolWhitney High School (Cerritos, California)Gretchen A. Whitney High School, called Whitney High School or WHS, is a public school in Cerritos, California serving grades 7-12. It is in the ABC Unified School District.-History:...
and Budha Dal Public School (Indian Team), 2009 cycle won by the Australian Finalists (St Laurence's CollegeSt Laurence's CollegeSt Laurence's College is an independent, Roman Catholic school for boys located in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1915...
, QLD; Strathmore Secondary College, VIC; St Aidan's Anglican Girls, QLD; All Hallows School, QLD), Phoenix Quintessential (Cerritos, California), Eastern European Finalists (Romania) and East Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina).
Martian Colonies
- Aresam - The first colony built outside of the Earth-Moon system, Aresam is a Mars orbital colony. The station acts as a port of entry to Mars and a staging area for future activities beyond and around Mars. Named after AresAresAres is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and...
, Greek god of war, who was the archetype for the Roman god MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. Qualifying Competition, recurring.
- Argonom - The first colony on the surface of Mars, this outpost acts as the primary outpost on Mars, focusing on tourism and industry. This colony also establishes scientific outposts. Named for ArgoArgoIn Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
, the ship of Jason and the ArgonautsJasonJason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
. Finals Competition, recurring, 2006 cycle won by Whitney High SchoolWhitney High School (Cerritos, California)Gretchen A. Whitney High School, called Whitney High School or WHS, is a public school in Cerritos, California serving grades 7-12. It is in the ABC Unified School District.-History:...
and Apeejay School (Indian Team). 2010 cycle won by Whitney High SchoolWhitney High School (Cerritos, California)Gretchen A. Whitney High School, called Whitney High School or WHS, is a public school in Cerritos, California serving grades 7-12. It is in the ABC Unified School District.-History:...
, Lahore Grammar School (Pakistani Team), East Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), and UK Combined Schools (City of London Academy, Pate's Grammar School, and Wallington County Grammar School)
- Bradburyom - The second colony on the surface of Mars, the colony expands on the purpose of Argonom, seeking out additional natural resources. The main intent of the colony is to act as base for the terraforming of Mars while continuing scientific studies. Named after Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
, in recognition of the influence the Martian ChroniclesThe Martian ChroniclesThe Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
had on the moder perception of Mars. Finals Competition, recurring, 2007 cycle won by Durango High School, Mircea cel Batran Student Research Center Team "B" (Romanian Team), All Hallows' & St. Aidan's Schools (Australian Team), and Liceo 4 Maldonado (Uruguayan Team).
Asteroid Belt
- Astoria - The first and, currently, only colony established in the Asteroid BeltAsteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
. This station acts as a staging area for future endeavors into the outer solar system, mining and refining operations, both private and commercial, and ship construction and repair. Named for John Jacob AstorJohn Jacob AstorJohn Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
, an investor who became wealthy by taking advantage of opportunities others did not see. Qualifying Competition, replacing Darwinat in the competition cycle, recurring.
Competition Sequence
The appearance of colonies is on a set cycle repeating every four years. The cycle is as follows:
| Qualifying | Finals |
|---|---|
| Bellevistat | Alaskol |
| Columbiat | Balderol |
| Aresam | Argonom |
| Astoria (previously Darwinat) | Bradburyom |
Awards
At the International competition, the company with the best proposal is "awarded the contract". There are no runners-ups, as there would not be any in a real-life setting.The Competition organizers also recognize exceptional participants with several awards at the end of the International Finals.
- Jingle Lutz Award
This award is given in honor of the best female presenter on the final day of the competition. It originated from its namesake, who would sit at the back of competitions and take notes specifically on all the female presenters, to encourage girls to take a larger part in such competitions.
- Best Male Presenter
The Australian team generally brings with them a plaque for the best male presenter, in response to the Jingle Lutz Award.
- Dick Edwards Award
In honor of the Competition co-founder who passed away in early 2009, this award was established for the best student leader from each company. The awardees are chosen by advisors and company "CEOs."