1nv4d3rz1m t1_j6rug1t wrote
Reply to comment by dirtballmagnet in NASA is funding ideas for a Titan seaplane and faster deep space travel by fchung
Each project get $175000 and 9 months to do further studies on their project. Doesn’t sound like NASA considers this particularly urgent when they spend billions of dollars on other projects. 175 thousand dollars over 9 months is probably just enough to keep a couple researchers employees.
zeeblecroid t1_j6sjiiv wrote
All of those multibillion-dollar projects start with a handful of researchers poking at an idea for a few months.
Ds1018 t1_j6z5hks wrote
I wonder how many amazing multibillion-dollar projects were not funded because the 2 or 3 researchers that were poking at it for a few months were lazy or incompetent. I mean... every field has some.
SeaSaltStrangla t1_j6tdhy1 wrote
As a person working on one of these NIAC projects literally right now (im on reddit at work), they are primarily proof of concept ideas. The first phase funding is for demonstrating basic technology so you can get either Phase II or other external funding
dirtballmagnet t1_j6stnq3 wrote
Yes, it wasn't properly abstracted, but others have explained that the urgency here is that the point in space they're trying to reach is half a trillion miles away and to return science in the lifetime of the scientists they want to try to reach it in 15 years. Get it done in my lifetime sort of urgency, heh.
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