CC22 Spacecraft Docking Adapter with a Flexible but Load-Bearing Floor

Completed

Description

NASA is seeking to challenge the GrabCAD Community to design a flexible, but load-bearing floor for use in both microgravity and gravity as part of a docking system that can articulate to dock elements that are not perfectly aligned
NASA is seeking to challenge the GrabCAD Community to design a flexible, but load-bearing floor for use in both microgravity and gravity as part of a docking system that can articulate to dock elements that are not perfectly aligned.

Benefits

Four of the top five entries were usable as-is, but with modification the fifth one (which is not usable as-is) could be made to be superior to the other four. The results of this challenge provide NASA an excellent starting point for developing this needed capability going forward.
Significantly Advanced Towards a Solution
Planned for future implementation
CAD/Mech Design

Details

Technology area	Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems, and Manufacturing > Structures > Mechanical Systems > Deployables, Docking, and Interfaces
Program	Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing (PCC)
Lead organization	Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Start date	2022-07-07
End date	2022-09-30

Project contacts

Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.

Robert L Howard — robert.l.howard@nasa.gov

How to get involved

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.