Australian Space Design Competition

Regional Finals Competition 2023-24

REQUEST FOR TENDER

13 January 2059
“Atlas” Space Settlement Contract

INTRODUCTION
This is a request by the Foundation Society for contractors to propose the design, development, construction, and operations
planning for the first large space settlement in solar orbit, for the purpose of moving small (no larger than 16.1 km diameter)
Earth-crossing asteroids to orbits in cis-lunar space.

STATEMENT OF WORK
1. Basic Requirement - Prepare a design for the Atlas space settlement to capture and relocate asteroids in solar orbit.
2. Structural Design - Atlas must provide a safe and pleasant living and working environment for a population of
9,000 full-time residents, plus an additional transient population, not to exceed 350 at any time, of business and official
visitors, guests of residents, and people doing research on the captured asteroid and products that can be made from its
materials. The design must enable residents to have windows for natural views of Earth.
2.1 Exterior design drawings must identify all large enclosed volumes and their uses, and show dimensions of major
structural components. Specify construction materials used for major structural components. Show volumes where artificial
gravity will be supplied, and the means for supplying and maintaining it. Docking facilities for visiting ships must be
provided in a micro gravity environment. Specify means for providing protection from radiation and debris penetration.
CASSSCs may be repurposed as building components. Identify which volumes are pressurised, in vacuum, or other
environments.
Minimum requirement: overall exterior view of settlement, showing rotating and non-rotating sections, and indicating
functions inside each volume.
2.2 On interior design drawings, specify uses and dimensions of pressurised and unpressurised enclosed areas, with
drawings clearly labelled to show residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, port facilities, research labs, and other uses.
Show the total area of “down surfaces” inside the artificial gravity volumes, and include maps to show how all such surface
areas are used.
Minimum requirement: overall map or layout of interior land areas, showing usage of those areas.
2.3 Describe processes required to construct the settlement, by showing the sequence and schedule in which major
structural components will be assembled. Show jigs to keep construction components aligned for joining during assembly,
and describe how jigs are assembled.
Minimum requirement: drawings showing at least six intermediate steps of settlement assembly.
2.4 Describe interfaces and capture/retention system(s) for attaching the settlement to an asteroid no less than 1.6 km in
diameter and no more than 16.1 km in diameter. The contractor may specify optimum asteroid size within this range.
Throughout its lifetime, Atlas’ target asteroids may be of various types, including nearly solid metallic bodies and loosely
conglomerated rubble-piles; describe at least two capture system types. Show how some asteroid materials will be moved to
interior lab areas for research.
Minimum requirement: drawings of attachment systems, including direction of acceleration and access for harvesting
materials enroute to final destination.
3. Operations and Infrastructure - Describe facilities and infrastructure necessary for operating the Atlas settlement.
3.1 Specify an orbital location where Atlas will be constructed. Identify sources of materials and equipment that will be
used in construction and operations, using minimally refined extraterrestrial materials as much as possible. Transportation
costs are reduced by shipping in CASSSCs.
Minimum requirement: chart or table identifying materials and equipment required for the settlement construction process,
and from where and how those materials and equipment are shipped.

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3.2 The Atlas design will show elements of basic infrastructure required for the activities of the settlement's residents,
including (but not limited to):
• atmosphere (define air composition at 80 kPa, and quantity)
• food production and processing (describe dedicated agriculture and “edible landscaping”)
• electrical power generation (specify kilowatts distributed to habitable areas)
• water management (including freshwater distribution and sewage)
• household and industrial solid waste management (trash and garbage)
• internal and external communication systems (specify devices and central equipment), and
• internal transportation systems (show routes and vehicles, with dimensions).
Define initial quantities of air water, food, and other consumables as the number of CASSSC-loads required for each
commodity. Air, water, other commodities, and standard infrastructure components are preferred to be supplied by
subcontractors.
Minimum requirement: drawing(s) showing locations of systems which provide required infrastructure, and, as appropriate,
their configurations (e.g., show routings of water and waste services).
3.3 Show designs of primary machines, jigs, and equipment employed for constructing the settlement, especially for
assembling exterior hull and interior buildings / structures using standard components. Jigs must keep components aligned
and precisely in proper position until they are joined, enable access for tools to complete joints, and enable access for
subsequent inspection. Show how construction machinery, jigs, and tools are shipped to the construction site.
Minimum requirement: drawings of machines and construction jigs, and how they are assembled on-site.
3.4 Another supplier will customise Atlas propulsion system(s) to parameters defined in the proposal. Specify amounts
of thrust required for continuous acceleration of 0.1 g, for Atlas alone and when it is moving various sizes of asteroids. Define
flat plate interface surface(s) configuration(s) where thrust is to be applied. Each propulsion unit will be self-contained
(including tanks and collection of asteroid dust for fuel), and must be clear to fire in any direction except through the
interface.
Minimum requirement: drawing(s) showing flat plate propulsion interface(s) size(s) and shape(s).
4. Human Factors - Quality of life is important to Foundation Society members, who plan to maintain traditional
comforts of Earth without the sacrifices normally associated with a frontier environment. Residents expect traditional
community attributes that citizens of Earth’s towns of similar size might enjoy. Assure that natural sunlight and views of the
captured asteroid are readily available to residents.
4.1 Atlas communities will provide facilities for services that residents could expect in a comfortable modern
community environment (e.g., housing, education, dining, entertainment, medical, parks and recreation, etc.), variety and
quantity of consumables and other supplies, and public areas designed with open space, long lines of sight, and appeal for
long-term human residency, yet reflecting Atlas’ unique location. The proposal must depict or specify means of distributing
consumables to Atlas residents (e.g., shops, deliveries, points-of-distribution).
Minimum requirement: map(s) and/or illustration(s) depicting community design and locations of amenities, with a distance
scale and/or dimensions of major features.
4.2 Include designs of typical residential homes, clearly showing room sizes. Homes can be duplexes, townhouses,
and/or upstairs floors of buildings with businesses at ground level. Show accommodations for transient population.
Anticipated demographics of the original population are:
Couples 55% (average age 38, median age 35)
Singles 43% (average age 27, median age 30)
Children 2% (average age 6, median age 5)
Minimum requirement: external drawing and interior floor plan of at least four home designs, the area for each residence
design, and the number required of each design.
4.3 Specify spacesuit features, types, quantities, and donning / doffing locations(s) required to enable work and
recreation outside of pressurised volumes; and safety systems enabling human inspection and repair of exterior surfaces of
rotating volumes. Provide protection from radiation and severe solar flares. Define how residents and visitors are informed of
emergency situations.

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Minimum requirement: show location(s) on community map for spacesuit donning / doffing.
4.4 Show location(s) and configuration(s) of research laboratory(ies) and the materials processing equipment available
to Atlas’ research engineers and scientists. Enable studies of new materials properties, processing techniques, and production
prototypes
Minimum requirement: describe equipment available to researchers to enable investigating a wide variety of materials,
manipulation conditions, and processes.
5. Automation Design and Services - For each subparagraph, specify numbers, dimensions, and types of computer
systems, robots, and other computing and information processing devices, multi-function personal electronic tools, servers,
network devices, and/or drones required to operate the settlement, run its community and businesses, and provide
convenience, entertainment, and safety for residents and visitors. Describe types and capacities of data storage media, data
collection, data distribution, data security, and user access to computing networks. Specify capabilities and control systems
for robots, drones, and automated systems. Identify processes requiring monitoring; provide control rooms and show displays
for systems that require human oversight; list alerts to get human attention for problem resolution, and specify reason(s) for
each type of alert.
5.1 Describe uses of automation during construction of settlement structures. Specify applications appropriate for fixed-
base, articulating, mobile, and/or other robot types.
Minimum requirement: chart or table describing automated construction and assembly devices.
5.2 Specify automation systems for settlement maintenance, repair, and safety functions; show how automation works
together with humans to perform these tasks. Describe when and how human intervention in automated functions is required.
Define physical locations of computers and robots for critical functions. Describe means for authorised personnel to access
critical data and command computer and robot systems; with security measures to assure access only for authorised purposes.
Minimum requirement: chart, table, or list(s) of settlement systems and parameters that must be monitored and controlled for
safe operations of Atlas, including during construction.
5.3 Show automation devices to enhance liveability in the community, productivity in workplaces, and convenience in
residences. Emphasize automation to perform maintenance and routine tasks, and reduce needs for manual labour. Describe
secure access to community computing assets and robot resources from individuals’ homes and workplaces, including
measures to assure no unauthorised operation of robots. Describe devices for personal delivery of information,
communications services, entertainment, computing, and robot resources. Robots that interact with residents will be between
two and four feet tall (600 mm to 1200 mm), and not anthropomorphic.
Minimum requirement: dimensioned drawings of robots and computing systems that people will encounter in Atlas, and
diagram(s) of network(s) to enable connectivity.
5.4 Provide automation for the process of capturing an asteroid and securing it for acceleration to its destination in cis-
lunar space.
Minimum requirement: drawing(s) of automation systems for deploying and/or activating asteroid capture and retention
system(s).
6. Schedule, Cost, and Risk - The proposal will include a schedule for completion and occupation of Atlas, and costs
for design through construction phases of the schedule.
6.1 The schedule must describe contractor tasks from contract award (14 January 2059) until the customer assumes
responsibility for the completed settlement. Show schedule dates when Foundation Society members may begin moving into
their new homes, and when the entire original population will be established in the community.
Minimum requirement: durations and completion dates of major design, construction, and occupation tasks, depicted in a
Gantt chart with monthly or smaller increments.
6.2 Specify costs associated with Atlas design through construction in Australian dollars, without accounting for
economic inflation. Justify contract costs to design and build the settlement, with estimates of numbers of employees
associated with each phase of design and construction. Do not include costs of consumables shipped to the base in CASSSCs;
do specify number of CASSSC-loads of each commodity required to be shipped to the construction site.
Minimum requirement: spreadsheet(s) listing separate costs associated with different phases of construction, and clearly
showing total costs that will be billed to the Foundation Society.

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6.3 Detail the risks associated with settlement construction and operations. Use a qualitative risk analysis to quantify the
likelihood, severity, and risk level of each threat. For each risk identified, propose a risk treatment strategy (avoid, mitigate,
transfer, or accept) and the details of the treatment.
Minimum requirement: chart(s) or table(s) listing the top three (3) threats and top three (3) opportunities identifying the
likelihood, severity, risk level and treatment strategy for each identified risk.
7. Business Development - Atlas’ commercial and industrial ventures will focus on one business pursuit: moving
Earth-crossing asteroids from solar orbit to an orbit in cis-lunar space, for the purpose of providing materials for orbital
manufacturing operations. Elements necessary to accomplish this purpose include the following:
• Asteroid capture and retention system(s)
o Define interface(s) for attaching to an asteroid and applying force to change its orbit.
o Define configuration(s) and deployment system(s) for asteroid capture and retention.
o Implement measures to prevent loose asteroid surface material from shedding off the asteroid when it is
accelerated at 0.1 g.
o Provide system(s) to mitigate asteroid dust migration into and inside the settlement - Specify number and
location(s) of propulsion interface(s) and thrust applied.
• Asteroid resource harvesting and shipping
o Describe system(s) for harvesting asteroid materials for research enroute to final destination.
o Provide system(s) for loading asteroid ore in CASSSCs.
o Provide transportation route(s) and vehicle(s) for moving ore-filled CASSSCs from the captured asteroid
to the spaceport dock.
o Show configuration of the spaceport dock; only one ship at a time will visit Atlas - Show how crews enter
and exit ships in the spaceport dock.
• Research laboratories
o Provide transportation of asteroid materials to research facility(ies).
o Provide research labs for ore-processing capability in various g levels between 0 g and 0.5 g, and in
various atmosphere pressures, compositions, and temperatures, from cold vacuum to small volumes with
high pressures and temperatures.
o A separate contractor will provide a variety of equipment (e.g., kilns, chemical catalysts, extruding and
rolling, introduction of impurities) to process asteroid materials in a search for new properties and
applications, and to test asteroid materials properties (e.g., strength, stiffness, flexibility, optical and
thermal properties, durability).

EVALUATION CRITERIA
Evaluation of each design presentation considers four general categories of factors:
• Thoroughness - Design meets depth and diversity of requirements in the entire Statement of Work (SOW). Graphs,
tables, drawings, and compliance matrices aid evaluation of this factor.
• Credibility - Design addresses requirements, safety, physical laws, and cost/schedule in a believable manner.
Errors, impossibilities, omissions, and illogic are penalised.
• Balance - Proposal places equal emphasis on four technical areas: structural design, operations, liveability, and
automation. Proposal is organised in a logical, easy-to-follow manner.
• Innovation - Design demonstrates original thinking to address SOW requirements. Technologies are applied and
combined in unique and creative ways.

ADDENDA
Proposals may suggest alternate names for this community, within the Foundation Society’s established naming convention
that requires the name to end with the suffix “as” (settlement is in orbit “around Sol”) and begin with the letter "A" (first
settlement at an “as” location).

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DELIVERABLE REQUIREMENTS
The tenderer shall provide a proposal in accordance with the following:

Format
Submissions shall be in the form of:
• slide deck
• 20-minute presentation
• five-minute Question-and-Answer session from the Foundation Society.

Note:
• Verbal content must be referenced within the slide deck to be judged.
• Back-up charts included in the slide deck may be used to assist in answering judges’ questions or to provide
supplementary data for the judges’ consideration.

Slide Formatting:
• A maximum of fifty (50) slides (including Appendices) may be submitted.
• Slides must be clearly legible when printed two-to-a-page in black-and-white on A4 paper.
• Each slide must be numbered.
• Each slide must reference the RFT section being addressed.
• All text must be in Australian English.

Measurements and Values:

• All measurements shall be in standard engineering metric units.
• All costs shall be in AUD as of January 2024 and shall not consider economic inflation.

Tables and Figures:

• All tables and figures must be appropriately titled.
• All figures (i.e., drawings, diagrams, schematics, images, graphics) must be attributed to an internal author or
external source.
• Unattributed figures will not be judged. If AI-generated, identify software and prompts used to create content.
• All figures must be appropriately dimensioned unless specified as artistic impressions.

References:
• All non-original content including, but not limited to, diagrams, research, and text must be appropriately and
uniformly referenced.

Submission:
The Proposal must be submitted:
• in accordance with the published schedule
• through the Foundation Society provided online collaboration tool or in-person by USB
• as a Portable Document Format (.pdf) and a PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx).

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