I2 Press Release - Limitless Space Institute

Limitless Space Institute announces inaugural Interstellar Initiative Grants awards

Limitless Space Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire and educate the next generation to travel beyond our solar system and to research and develop enabling technologies. To that end, the single most important performance metric to enable bold human exploration of the outer solar system and the stars is the ability to GO INCREDIBLY FAST to any destination. This requires significant advances in performance characteristics of spacecraft power and propulsion systems. To support this bold objective, the Limitless Space Institute (LSI) initiated the Interstellar Initiatives Grants (I2G) to support the critical R&D of advanced power and propulsion approaches.

LSI has completed the proposal review process for this initial grant cycle and is selecting 9 proposals as the inaugural class of the I2G. These funded proposals will focus on topics such as maturing beamed energy propulsion, developing relativistic-capable solar sails, exploring new fusion propulsion approaches, conducting fundamental physics research on the vacuum that may enable spacedrives, and optimization of wormhole energy requirements and topology.

These awards are categorized as either tactical grants (≤$100k) or strategic grants (≤$250k), with the former focused on research papers and the latter on laboratory testing. The period of performance for the grants is expected to be 12 months in duration, with a start date by the end of September 2020. The selections are listed below with possible mission applications identified:

SELECTIONS

Brian Kelly retired from NASA in February 2019 after a career of over 37 years. As Director, Flight Operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) he directed a diverse civil service, military, and contractor workforce of over 2400 employees and a total annual budget of $500m. He was responsible for selecting and assigning NASA astronauts and planning, training, and flying human spaceflight and aviation missions. He directed the Astronaut Office, Mission Control, Aircraft Operations and Aviation Safety at NASA JSC. Over his career he supported 110 shuttle missions, 58 International Space Station Expeditions, 40 shuttle launches, and 35 Soyuz Launches as well as return to flight efforts following the Challenger and Columbia accidents. He selected 12 new astronaut candidates from over 18,000 applicants and selected the first female Chief Flight Director and 11 new Flight Directors for Mission Control Operations. While Director of Flight Operations he was responsible for 35 EVAs (space walks), 15 International Space Station Expeditions, over 2.5 million mission control commands to the International Space Station, and the assignment of 33 astronauts to Expedition and Commercial Crew Flight Test missions. He directed over 13,000 flight hours composed of 18,000 sorties in 32 different aircraft. He personally has flown over 250 flight hours in T-38N super-sonic jet training aircraft and over 63,000 feet in WB-57 high altitude research aircraft.

Dr. Kam Ghaffarian is a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to creating companies that focus on operating with the highest integrity, promoting employee well-being, and delivering the best technical solutions to customers. Kam co-founded Axiom Space in 2016 to advance the commercial utilization of space eventually leading to the design, manufacture, launch and operation of a commercial space station. Kam started his entrepreneurial career in 1994 by founding Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. (SGT), a government services company focusing on Engineering, IT, Science Applications, and Mission Operations. SGT has become NASA’s second largest engineering services provider, employing over 2,400 people and generating annual revenues of approximates $500M. Prior to SGT, Kam held numerous technical and management positions at Lockheed Martin, Ford Aerospace, and Loral, among others. Dr. Ghaffarian holds a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.S. in Electronics Engineering, a M.Sc. in Information Management, and a Ph.D in Management Information Systems.