Evaluation

Receive feedback from experts.

Evaluation Panel

The Evaluation Panel judges have been carefully chosen for their knowledge and experience. Each judge scores and comments on the submissions assigned to them. Potential biases in Evaluation Panel review are addressed through our judge training, which includes unconscious bias training for each member of the Evaluation Panel. Each valid submission will receive five sets of reviews that have been statistically normalized to ensure fairness for everyone.  Learn more about our Evaluation Panel below and additional judges will be added in the coming weeks. 

Meet

Christopher

Christopher Birkinbine

Project Manager, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center

Meet

Alicia

Alicia Dwyer Cianciolo

Aerospace Engineer, NASA's Langley Research Center

Meet

Ryan

Ryan Dibley

Campaign Manager, NASA's Flight Opportunities

Meet

David

David Everett

Instrument & Payload Systems Engineering Branch Head, NASA's GSFC

Meet

John

John Kelly

Deputy Chief of Space Projects & Partnerships, Armstrong Flight Research Center

Meet

Bo Naasz

Senior Technical Civil Servant, NASA

Meet

Anh

Anh Nguyen

Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Small Satellite Technology & Flight Opportunities Program Portfolio Manager, NASA Headquarters

Meet

Sam

Sam Pedrotty

SPLICE - Deputy Project Manager EG6 - Autonomous GNC, NASA's Johnson Space Center

Meet

Samson

Samson Phan

Project Engineer (SSTP), NASA's Ames Research Center

Meet

Aamod

Aamod Samuel

Simulation Hardware Engineer, NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center

Meet

Tim

Tim Smith

Sr. Mission Manager, NASA's Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM)

Meet

Jan

Jan Stupl

Flight Systems Engineer, NASA's Ames Research Center

Meet

Alexander

Alexander Van Dijk

Technologist, NASA's Flight Opportunities

Meet

Joe

Joe Zimo

Spacecraft Systems Engineer, NASA's Flight Opportunities

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee judges will review top-scoring submissions and select up to nine winners based on the resulting rank order from the Evaluation Panel, the scoring rubric, and the diversity of solutions. Winners will receive an initial award of $200,000, with the chance to win up to a total of $500,000 each and the opportunity to flight test their technology. 
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Field Judges

Each winner will have the opportunity to win additional awards of $200,000 for successful completion of Payload Build Round 1 and $100,000 for successful completion of Payload Build Round 2. Field Judges will conduct site visits in November 2025 and April 2026 to score the progress each winner has made.

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