NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing space technologies (CO)

NSF区域创新引擎发展奖的重点是激发技术创新和劳动力发展，以促进空间经济在空间系统、空间基础设施和空间网络安全方面的技术商业化和技术转让。该发展奖位于科罗拉多州斯普林斯，旨在表彰弹性空间基础设施、系统和经济(RISE)项目，其核心合作伙伴包括科罗拉多斯普林斯商会、指数影响、国家网络安全中心、派克峰州立学院、空间基金会、空间信息共享和分析中心(ISAC)、美国空军学院(USAFA)和科罗拉多大学斯普林斯分校。每个合作伙伴组织跨越私人、公共和非营利部门，带来独特的能力，为南科罗拉多州广阔的太空生态系统提供信息和发展。通过该发展奖，核心合作伙伴之间的关系将得到正式确立，预期的合作伙伴增长将从派克斯峰地区进一步扩展到南科罗拉多州，包括普韦布洛、特立尼达和卡农市，并可能扩展到周边州。Rise项目将由三个关键支柱推动和组织：1)技术创新，2)商业化加速，3)社区、政策和劳动力建设。技术创新支柱将作为RISE的研发部门。在第一类期间，该支柱将组织两次讲习班，以利用全国的专门知识制定该支柱的进一步具体目标，其中包括创建一套完整的空间复原力能力，创建、维护和运行空间基础设施和系统的数字孪生兄弟；空间复原力标准化和管理；以及空间复原力认证。商业化加速支柱将把开发活动的重点放在市场研究上，探索地区差距和行业需求，并测试潜在的创新路径，以支持第二类提案的战略计划和构建块的开发。为了确保规模和战略规划与市场需求和地区文化保持一致，该支柱将举办新兴技术研讨会、焦点小组和人力资本支持项目。劳动力发展支柱将利用与地方、州和国家政策制定者的现有联系，制定现有政策的框架，并推进渠道，以对后续阶段的政策决策产生影响。通过这一支柱开展的社区和政策工作旨在直接惠及从引擎中涌现出来的研究和初创企业，并支持该区域现有的空间公司。通过一个由每个支柱的代表组成的领导团队，各支柱的开发活动将同步进行，从而开发出完整的NSF发动机提案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This NSF Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on igniting technological innovation and workforce development to foster technology commercialization and technology transfer in space systems, space infrastructure, and space cybersecurity for the space economy. Based in Colorado Springs, this development award for the Resilient Space Infrastructures, Systems, and Economy (RISE) project has core partners in the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, Exponential Impact, National Cybersecurity Center, Pikes Peak State College, Space Foundation, Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), and University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Spanning private, public, and nonprofit sectors, each partner organization brings unique capabilities to inform and grow the vast space ecosystem in Southern Colorado. Through this development award, relationships among core partners will be formalized, and anticipated partner growth will expand beyond the Pikes Peak region further into Southern Colorado to include Pueblo, Trinidad, and Cañon City and possibly into surrounding states.The RISE project will be propelled by and organized across three key pillars: 1) Technological Innovation, 2) Commercialization Acceleration, and 3) Community, Policy, and Workforce Building. The Technological Innovation pillar will act as the research and development arm of RISE. During the Type-1 period, this pillar will organize two workshops to leverage nationwide expertise to develop further specific goals of the pillar, which include the creation of a full stack of space resilience capabilities, creating, maintaining, and running a digital twin of space infrastructures and systems; space resilience standardization and management; and space resilience certification. The Commercialization Acceleration pillar will focus development activities on market research, exploring regional gaps and industry needs, and testing potential innovation pathways to support the development of a strategic plan and building blocks for the type-2 proposal. To ensure the scope and strategic plan are aligned with the market needs and regional culture, the pillar will run emerging tech workshops, focus groups, and human capital support projects. The Workforce Development pillar will leverage existing ties to the local, state, and national policymakers to develop a framework of existing policies and advance channels to create influence on policy decisions in later phases. Community and policy work through this pillar seeks to directly benefit the research and startups emerging from the engine and support existing space companies in the region. With a leadership team comprising representatives from each pillar, development activities will be synchronized across pillars leading to the development of a full NSF Engines proposal.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.