What are the requirements/prereqs to get into NASA’s FRC teams?
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It’s a grant application process that in the past has always closed around Sept 30 for the season that starts the next January. Full details available at this link. Aside from the 2021 At Home season, the requirements and process haven’t substantively changed year-to-year.
Are you asking about how do you get your team sponsored by NASA, or are you asking how to join an established team that has a standing NASA sponsorship (like the Robonauts)?
An established team (like the robonauts). Obviously I’m not based in Houston and logistically it would be near impossible, but I was just curious what the application process looks like.
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I think the robonauts are the only ones.
Correct me if I am wrong though
Hi there! I think you’re located in Taiwan, but I could be wrong. All of NASA’s FRC “house teams” are located in the US. Each team will have different membership requirements. Some are open to any student, some have application-based membership, and some are restricted to a defined population like a certain school.
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As Nate mentioned, I believe you are asking about the NASA “House Teams” rather than just the NASA grant recipients.
I was a member of FRC 2252 “The Mavericks” (a NASA house team) from 2011-2014. We became a house team before the 2013 season. I was a member of the student leadership so I was somewhat involved in the process but it was largely handled by the mentors.
In terms of the prereqs/requirements:
- You have to be physically located near a NASA location. For example 2252 builds ~10min down the road from NASA Plum Brook Station.
- You have to have a NASA employee as a mentor.
Beyond that, I believe the requirements differ location to location.
In addition, as far as I know the actual sponsorship process is handled by the location itself (rather than a centralized committee or something), but that was the part of the process I wasn’t involved in so I could be totally wrong.
Being close to a NASA location is very important for the program from what I understand. House teams participate in events that wouldn’t be possible for teams further away. Team 1986 was a NASA house team through 2013 but not afterwards. I was told by a member of the team at that time that they were too far away from the location (Marshall Space Flight Center isn’t close to Kansas City) and the sponsorship was transitioned to teams much closer.
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Can confirm to an extent, there was a slight kerfuffle with this towards the tail end of 330’s run. At first we were the only team in SoCal at all, by the end we were in one of the most FRC-dense regions in the world, with plenty of teams between Hermosa and Pasadena.
IIRC NASA’s hands are also tied regarding international sponsorships
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