NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

www.nasa.gov

NASA Flight Opportunities

Session will start at 10 a.m. PT – Please mute your microphone and turn off your camera

Community of Practice Webinar Series – September 7, 2022

Sara Jennings, Chief Executive Officer, Orion Labs

Zachary Gaines, Student Lab Director, Cal Poly Pomona

NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies 

and Innovative Teams

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Welcome to the Community of Practice Webinar Series!

First, a bit of housekeeping...

• Please mute your microphone and turn off your camera

• Today’s session will be recorded

• Recordings for this and all future session will be posted on the Flight Opportunities 

website

• Please engage!

• Use the chat throughout the session to ask questions

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Flight Opportunities Mission

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The Flight Opportunities program facilitates rapid 

demonstration of promising technologies for 

space exploration, discovery, and the expansion 

of space commerce through suborbital testing 

with industry flight providers.

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Join us for future Community of Practice webinars!

Watch our website and 

newsletter for next month’s 

topic

nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flighto

pportunities/newsletter

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Future webinars

• Webinars are held 1st Wednesday of each 

month at 10 a.m. PT

• Topics will be announced in the Flight 

Opportunities newsletter and website

• Session recordings will be posted on the 

Flight Opportunities website

• Let us know session topics you would like 

to see covered

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

3

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

NASA's TechLeap Prize

• Designed to rapidly identify and test solutions to specific NASA 

technology needs

• Format allows NASA to select winners and flight test their technologies 

in less than a year

• Open to businesses, universities, entrepreneurs, and other innovators

• Previous awards have been up to $650K to build payloads, plus access 

to a suborbital flight test

• 2022: Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge No. 1

• 2021: Autonomous Observation Challenge No. 1

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Today’s Speakers

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Sara Jennings

Chief Executive Officer

Orion Labs

Zachary Gaines

Student Lab Director

Cal Poly Pomona

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

4

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

www.nasa.gov

NASA Flight Opportunities

Community of Practice

Sara Jennings | September 2022

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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Orion Labs

Nunn, Colorado

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

6

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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EO1 - DAM DETECTION

I AM HERE

https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/grand-v1-dams-rev01

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CAMERA SIMULATOR - DATASETS 

● Existing data of 40,000 dams around 

the world, ~5000 in the US.

● Use of Sentinel & Landsat data and 

Google Earth engine so generate 

image datasets for training, testing 

and validation of ML and QML

● Global multispectral coverage at 10 

m/px

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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Flight SIMULATOR

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Quantum ML Pipeline

Dam Detected 

With ML

Quantum Machine Learning 

Confirms Detection

Downlinks Confirmed A reduced 

Data Need - Automatic image 

transfer to Server On the Ground

Quantum Simulator Onboard 

+ IBM Quantum Computer 

(7Qbits) On the Ground

Additional Success: 

Can we TRAIN QML on our 

edge computing device during 

flight by utilizing a real IBM 

quantum computer on the 

ground?

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

10

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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Procurement

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

12

9 week lead time

4 week lead time

11 month lead time-September 2022

6-8 week lead time

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Out of Stock

Lens: “ Hi Sara, This was supposed to be here 1/24 and I have not received it.”

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

13

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

www.nasa.gov

NASA Flight Opportunities

Community of Practice

Zachary Gaines | September 2022

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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08/06/22 27

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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Site #1 Site #2

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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NASA’s TechLeap Prize: Advancing Space Technologies and Innovative Teams

Sara Jennings, Orion Labs and Zachary Gaines, Cal Poly Pomona

September 7, 2022

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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