NASA has announced that it has chosen 15 different proposals for study for Phase I of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program with the goal of turning some of the proposals that sound like science fiction into working devices. The proposals cover a wide range of concepts that NASA says it chose for their potential to transform future aerospace missions.
The NIAC Phase I awards are valued at $100,000 and provide funding to the winners for a nine month initial definition and analysis study for the concepts. If those basic feasibility studies are a success, the teams behind the projects can apply for phase II awards that can be valued at up to $500,000 for up to two additional years of product development.
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