International Space Settlement Design Competition
In 1983, when plans were being made by the Boy Scouts of America for the 1984 National Exploring Conference, the steering group for the Science and Engineering Cluster were looking to include an event related to space.
Evelyn Murray, from the Society of Women Engineers, knew Anita Gale, who worked on the Space Shuttle program.
Letters followed, recommending and expanding ideas, and concluding with a telephone call between Gale in California and Rob Kolstad (a member of the steering group) in Texas.
The first Space Settlement Design Competition was conducted at Ohio State University in August 1984, with approximately 75 participants.
The Explorers' Science and Engineering Cluster (headed by Brian Archimbaud) was impressed by this event and it was decided to ensure it would continue in some form.
Dr. Peter Mason and the Space Exploration Post at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, agreed to try the format at a local level.
Eighteen SpaceSet competitions were conducted at JPL, with continuing participation by Anita Gale, Dick Edwards, Rob Kolstad, and Dr. Mason.
Epcot in Walt Disney World agreed in 1995 to help Gale and Edwards meet the promise made to the astronauts and cosmonauts.
In 2005 this facility was unavailable due to a planned Space Shuttle flight, and alternate arrangements were made at hotels in Titusville.
Within months, procedures for the first-ever semi-finalist competition were developed by Gale and Edwards, with Abhishek Agarwal in India, and travel was arranged through a generous donation from The Boeing Company.
Starting in 2008, the local JSC event was declared an ISSDC semi-final, and regional competitions selected finalists from Latin American and Eastern Europe.
One notable coalition team in the competition history's past included members from Argentina, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States.
This prose document in the style of a news report or press briefing details the location and purpose of the space settlement which competitors will be asked to design.
On the day of the competition event, fictional companies are created, with sizes varying from approximately 8 to 60, depending on the attendance, which compete for a 'contract' with the Foundation Society to build the space settlement.
Presentations may utilize any format to describe a company's response to the RFP; these frequently include illustrations, diagrams, CAD models and renders, as well as plain text.
At the international competition, held around the end of July or beginning of August, a new four companies are created, and each team from various countries is allowed to bring 12 members.
The RFP divides its content between these sections to guide competitors to the tasks they will most engage with and be capable of completing based on their individual skills and interests.
An additional section known as "Special Studies" is added only during the finals, which includes plans for emergency procedures to react to two disaster scenarios, as given by the Request For Proposal (RFP).
The colonies involved in the competition appear on a regular cycle over four years, so that competitors will not have the advantage of formerly completing the same proposal personally.
The competition was won by Dougledyne Astrosystems and Fletchel Constructors(DAFC) Teams from India(Lakshmipat Singhania Academy), China(Tsinghua International School), European Union, and USA.
In honor of the competition co-founder, Dick Edwards, who died in early 2009, this award was established for the best student leader, whom does not necessarily hold a leadership position within their participating team, from each company.
