Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Hacking for NASA”.
All right, this is caleb craft with make. We are here at maker con and we had a fantastic opportunity to talk with sam ortega from NASA, and I just got done listening to your talk and you were explaining some really cool ways that people from the public can interface with NASA some. How would you mind telling us a bit about about that? Absolutely so what we have is prize competitions and we’re trying to advance technology that NASA needs to be able to do our future space explorations, and so we do that by saying to the general public to makers to hackers to hobbyists citizen inventors, we need this technology, We’Re gon na give you this much prize money, whether we hold up one and a half million or two million or three million dollars and say: if you can meet the goals of our competition and achieve them, then you won the prize money. So that’s how he advanced technologies from the citizen, citizens and citizen participatory science within the advancement of space technology, so who can enter this like? Who can actually get involved with this? So actually anybody in the world can enter, but only US citizens can win prize money. So it doesn’t matter who you are, you might even be an artist that has an idea of her solution for solving some of our problems. In fact, we did a national glove competition of which Ted southern here ended in our competition Ted nice. To have you here. Would you mind explaining real quick like how you were involved in what you did for NASA sure, so I started out making costumes and props. I actually still do that on the side, but I saw a NASA’s astronaut glove competition, which was part of their Centennial Challenges.
Back in 2007 and 2009 I entered because of I was very curious and fascinated by the technology actually won a prize in 2009, a $ 100,000 from NASA and have gone on to start a business and contract with NASA making spacesuit parts and prototypes and even commercially Outside in the new space industry, so that’s great: where are you located because we’re here in New York – and I know this is this – is close to home for you? So where are you guys located? So I’ve lived in New York for the last 14 years? Our business now operates out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Great. Thank you now, Matt, I understand. You’Ve got a hand and how this whole thing comes together.
Would you mind explaining how your you’re in this process yeah a little bit so at NASA Ames Research Center? In Silicon Valley, we actually developed a makers that allows the workforce to develop the technology, but we’re looking at engaging with makers through our our making capabilities makers that can develop things like in space propulsion systems and some of the other fantastic technologies that we need. So we have the office of the chief technologist, that and other groups within the agency that offer opportunities for the entrepreneurial maker to actually engage and maybe make some money commercializing our technology or selling their technology. To us that’s great.
How can people find more information about that aspect of things connecting with you? Well, the easiest way to do. It is actually to Google, the NASA websites and look for technology transfer, small business, innovative research grant, Nyack and AIC, which is the nasa innovative advanced concepts. Yes and other grant opportunities that the agency and the Space Act, the space grant agencies also offer perfect and Sam. Where can people find information about these contests, so it’s www.nasa.gov, slash, win it great. Thank you guys very much for being here.
We all love NASA make, and this is just amazing. Thank you very much. Thank you. .
