Nominate a Technology

Every year, Space Foundation solicits nominations from a broad range of audiences including Department of Defense, Commerce and Transportation, commercial aerospace and technology companies, U.S. and international space agencies from around the world.

We encourage you to submit technologies you feel are deserving of recognition. Using the online submission form, individuals and organizations may nominate up to three technologies, including previously nominated technologies that have not been inducted.

We rely on you to follow the Space Technology Hall of Fame Selection Criteria listed below when submitting the online form. As part of the nomination form, you are asked to submit a Technology Development Summary (approx. 800–1,000 words) to complete the nomination.

Once you begin the online submission, information cannot be saved to return to the form.

Nominations are now closed for the 2024 Space Technology Hall of Fame.

Selection Criteria

Please ensure the Technology Development Summary of your nomination clearly illustrates how the candidate technology fulfills the following Selection Criteria. It is the most important statement presented to a prestigious panel of judges who determine the final technology inductees. The judges will not necessarily have access to the additional published or support information that you provide.

Public Response (15 points): The public response elicited by the technology: Can the spin-off application be easily grasped and understood by the general public? Does it have a promotional value for humanity in highlighting the benefits of space exploration? Does it stimulate interest and pursuit of careers and/or grow the workforce pipeline in the global space ecosystem?

Societal Benefit (15 points): The technology's positive impact on health, safety, efficiency, conservation, education, or other societal advantages: Does the technology have important benefits for a significant segment of humanity or society as a whole?  Does the technology promote further technological advancement and/or better lives on Earth?

Economic Benefit (10 points): The economic activity resulting from the technology: Has the technology been the basis of or a significant contributor to a successfully selling product(s) and/or generated a new growing company(s)? Has it helped cultivate a vibrant and economically strong space ecosystem?

Leadership Investment (5 points): The significance of the development efforts: Was the initial development effort an example of an inclusive, innovative and sustainable workforce, and/or did the development effort provide entrepreneurial opportunities?

Longevity (5 points): The technology's commercial life:  How long has the technology and/or its application been successfully in use? Has it successfully evolved over time and become more refined and distributed in its use and applications?

Supporting materials such as technical papers and product literature can be submitted and will be assessed for completeness. Candidate technologies will then be submitted to the judges and ranked according to the Space Technology Hall of Fame Selection Criteria. Top-ranked candidates will then undergo a due diligence process. The supporting materials will aid the due diligence process and assist in determining relative contributions of innovating organizations and individuals.

Selected nominations are announced each Winter and officially inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame the following Spring during a special awards ceremony held during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo.

We look forward to receiving your nominations. The deadline for nominations for the 2024 Space Technology Hall of Fame induction is open until August 31, 2023. Nominations received will be considered for the 2024 induction.

Questions? Contact us at +1.719.576.8000 or send us an email.