N-Prize

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International inducement prize for innovation toward space access

title: "N-Prize" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["challenge-awards", "space-related-awards"] description: "International inducement prize for innovation toward space access" topic_path: "general/challenge-awards" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-Prize" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary International inducement prize for innovation toward space access ::

The N-Prize (the "N" stands for "Nanosatellite" or "Negligible Resources".) is an inducement prize contest intended to "encourage creativity, originality and inventiveness in the face of severe odds and impossible financial restrictions" and thus stimulate innovation directed towards obtaining cheap access to space. The competition was launched in 2008 by Cambridge biologist Paul H. Dear, and is intended specifically to spur amateur involvement in spaceflight as it is "aimed at amateurs, enthusiasts, would-be boffins and foolhardy optimists."

Dr. Dear died on 11 March 2020, and the prize was subsequently closed.

The challenge posed by the N-Prize is to launch a satellite weighing between 9.99 and 19.99 grammes into Earth orbit, and to track it for a minimum of nine orbits. Most importantly the launch budget must be under £999.99 including the launch vehicle, all of the required non-reusable launch equipment hardware, and propellant.

In order to be eligible for the awards the challenge initially had to be completed before 19:19:09 (GMT) on 19 September 2013, however later it was decided that the prize will remain open until won. Doing so will earn the winning team a prize of £9,999.99.

List of competing teams

The official site of the N-Prize includes an animated page listing over fifty teams together with contact information and links to any team websites. Examples of teams that have entered the competition at one time or another and who also have or had web pages include:

  • [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|30px]] Nebula
  • [[File:Flag of the United States.svg|30px]] Epsilon Vee
  • [[File:Flag of South Africa.svg|30px]] Vulcan
  • [[File:Flag of the United States.svg|30px]] Microlaunchers
  • [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|30px]] Cambridge University Spaceflight
  • [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|30px]] Potent Voyager
  • [[File:Flag of the United States.svg|30px]] Team Prometheus
  • [[File:Flag of New Zealand.svg|30px]] Team 9.99
  • [[File:Flag of New Zealand.svg|30px]] Kiwi 2 Space
  • [[File:Flag of New Zealand.svg|30px]] Qi Spacecraft
  • [[File:Flag of the United States.svg|30px]] Aerosplice
  • [[File:Flag of Spain.svg|30px]] WikiSat

References

References

  1. (2008-04-21). "Whimsical 'N-prize' to spur ultra-cheap space launches". New Scientist.
  2. "Rules in full". N-Prize.
  3. (2008-02-13). "Halfbakery: N-Prize".
  4. "Paul H. Dear - Aerospace". Paul H. Dear.
  5. (2008-05-03). ""Nines" have it for Nanosatellite space race: The N-Prize". ITWire.
  6. "N-Prize reopened". N-Prize.
  7. (2008-06-16). "N-Prize Founder, Dr. Paul Dear Talks to the Space Fellowship about Starting up a Space Prize (with a Bottle of Pinot Grigio)".
  8. "N-Prize teams". N-Prize.
  9. (2009-10-22). "N-Prize: Team profiles".
  10. "Nebula Aerospace login page".
  11. "UK Team "Nebula" Talk to the Space Fellowship about Entering the N-Prize".
  12. (2008-06-11). "Epsilon Vee's weblog".
  13. "A Q&A session with N-Prize contenders "Epsilon Vee"".
  14. "South African Rocketry Association".
  15. "South African Rocketry Association Projects".
  16. "Microlaunchers".
  17. (2009-04-02). "Microlaunchers N-Prize Presentation".
  18. "Cambridge University Spaceflight - A student society aiming to get a rocket into space for less than £1000 per launch".
  19. (2006-09-16). "To the edge of space for £1,000". the Guardian.
  20. (2008-08-08). "Potent Voyager".
  21. "Team Prometheus - Advocates of the New Space Frontier".
  22. (2010-01-11). "Team Prometheus - Upcoming Tests, The N-Prize and the GLXP".
  23. "Team 9.99 // N-Prize Competitors".
  24. "Kiwi2Space - New Zealand Back yard space pioneers".
  25. "Qi Spacecraft".
  26. (2008-11-24). "New N-Prize Team - Qi Spacecraft".
  27. "Aerosplice".
  28. (2009-02-18). "New N-Prize Team - Aerosplice".
  29. "Wikisat - Opening space to everyone".
  30. (2012-11-01). "Una lanzadera 'low cost' para satélites enanos". el Mundo.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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