N-Prize

[UPDATE 10th April 2008. The N-Prize has now been taken to the Real World, and can be found at www.n-prize.com.

Please visit the site for the latest version of the rules.

Many thanks to [Wagster] and all at pictureandword for setting up the site, and to Jutta for allowing reciprocal linking.

To avoid confusion to visitors from the N-prize site, Maxwell Buchanan would like to confess that he is actually mild- mannered scientist Paul H. Dear]

I suspect similar ideas have been proposed before, so I'll delete this if people think it's not worth discussing. Actually, it may even not be an invention, except that the invention is a competition.

The challenge is to put a payload of between 9.99 and 19.99 grams (that's the weight of 2-4 quarters or 1-2 £1 coins) into orbit (defined as being able to complete 99 orbits or more before re-entry or loss) for a total cost of £999.99 or less. This is the cost of the launch vehicle, payload, fuel, and any ground-based systems needed to support it, but excludes development or prototyping costs. The satellite has to be detected from earth by some means, sufficiently to confirm that it has completed at least 99 orbits. The cost of the detection is not part of the £999.99, and outside help may be recruited.

The orbit needn't be regular or stable - it just has to get there and stay up for 99 orbits. Prize value is £9,999.99. Other rules may be imposed entirely at the whim of the organizers, to block any loopholes which go against the spirit of the challenge. Entrants are strongly advised to contact the organisers before and during development.

Entrants are entirely responsible for their own safety and that of others. Compliance or otherwise with relevant regulations is entirely the responsibility of the entrants, who will be liable for any costs, legal penalties etc arising from compliance or lack thereof. Any costs incurred in the course of complying with regulations (for example, permits, safety inspections etc) will be considered part of the cost of the project, and must therefore fall within the £999.99 limit. Any legal costs, fines etc incurred through non-compliance, however, will _not_ be considered part of the cost of the project.

Imaginative scavenging and borrowing is encouraged, but only within the spirit of the challenge. Broadly, extensive use of salvaged or redundant space hardware is unlikely to be permitted. In the same spirit, a wealthy sponsor who custom- builds something and then "lends" it to the project or sells it at an unrealistically low price, would breach the rules.

[***>>>>>>> The above is the idea as originally posted.

Please visit the N-Prize site for the current rules for the real-world N-Prize. In particular, only 9 (not 99) orbits are now needed; the cost of most or all ground-support equipment is not counted toward budget; and there is now a second prize category for reusable vehicles with a *per launch* cost below £999.99, as well as the original single- spend-to-orbit prize<<<<<<<***]