What National Space Grant Foundation does

National Space Grant Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2001, headquartered in Albany, Oregon. It serves as the central coordinating and pass-through fiscal agent for NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, a congressionally authorized STEM-education infrastructure covering all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The foundation channels NASA appropriations to 52 state and territory consortia — each comprising universities, industry partners, and government agencies — and supports hands-on student programs including the High-Altitude Student Platform (HASP, hosted by LSU), RockSat (University of Colorado Boulder), the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, and the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) program at UT Austin.

The foundation's core operational model is programmatic and administrative rather than commercial. It does not generate earned revenue; its operating budget is sustained by NASA appropriations and serves as a fiscal intermediary for downstream consortium funding. Annual program reach is substantial in beneficiary terms — over 6,300 college students, 1,400 community college students, 22,000 educators, and 400,000+ K-12 students — with 25% participation from underrepresented populations and 40% female participation. Staffing is lean (1-10 employees), with the majority of program delivery executed through university host institutions and state-level coordinators.

Recent strategic activity indicates programmatic expansion into deeper-research domains (space habitats, deep space exploration) and broadening of access (community college ballooning challenges, statewide symposiums). The foundation's competitive position is structurally protected by its NASA designation, but its financial sustainability is entirely a function of federal appropriations and congressional support for the Space Grant program.

Name

National Space Grant Foundation

Legal name

National Space Grant Foundation

Website

https://spacegrant.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Space Grant Foundation is a non-profit that coordinates NASA's Space Grant College and Fellowship Program across 52 state and territory consortia, funding hands-on STEM education programs for over 400,000 K-12 and college students annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Space & Astronomy Programs (EDAMABAE), Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB)

Keywords

• STEM education funding
• Space education programs
• Aerospace workforce development
• NASA partnership programs
• Consortium grant administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Space Grant Program Funding: The foundation coordinates NASA Space Grant funding distributed to state consortia to support STEM education, research opportunities, and workforce development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Space Grant Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports the Space Grant consortia in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in partnership with NASA to advance STEM education, research, and workforce development. It funds and administers programs such as the High Altitude Student Platform (HASP), RockSat, the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) program, and the High-Altitude Ballooning Challenge (HABC), serving thousands of college students, community college students, educators, and K-12 students each year.

Product overview

The National Space Grant Foundation operates a portfolio of STEM and space education programs administered through Space Grant consortia in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The core offerings include hands-on experiential learning programs such as the High Altitude Student Platform (HASP), RockSat, NASA Robotic Mining Competition, and STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES), which provide students from community college through graduate levels with direct involvement in aerospace, rocketry, and planetary science projects. Additional programs like the High-Altitude Ballooning Challenge engage community college students in designing and launching scientific payloads. These programs collectively reach over 6,300 college students, 22,000 educators, and 400,000 K-12 students annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) A program that provides college and university student teams the opportunity to design, build, and fly scientific and engineering experiments on a high-altitude balloon platform. It is intended for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing STEM research and aerospace workforce development.
• RockSat A hands-on program that allows student teams to design and launch experiments on suborbital sounding rockets, providing exposure to spaceflight hardware development and integration. It serves college students engaged in STEM and aerospace engineering projects.
• NASA Robotic Mining Competition A robotics competition in which university student teams design and operate autonomous mining robots, addressing topics relevant to NASA's excavation and in-situ resource utilization challenges. It is intended for college students preparing for aerospace and robotics careers.
• STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) A summer STEM internship program for high school students focused on Earth and space science, typically hosted at the University of Texas Center for Space Research. It serves secondary school students with interests in STEM and space science.
• High-Altitude Ballooning Challenge (HABC) A competition/challenge in which student teams design, build, and launch high-altitude balloon payloads. It is intended for middle school, high school, and college students seeking hands-on exposure to aerospace projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,300+ college students receive funding annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA partners with the National Space Grant Foundation to support space education and STEM workforce development. NASA and the foundation selected nine university teams to support space habitats and deep space exploration missions. Programs include High Altitude Student Platform (HASP), RockSat, NASA Robotic Mining Competition, and STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES).
• Space Grant Consortia (50 States, DC, Puerto Rico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation supports Space Grant consortia in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each consortium conducts strategically designed programs to support and enhance STEM education at the local level.
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Science MuseumsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an informal education partner through Space Grant Network Programs, providing science museum engagement opportunities.
• Louisiana State University (LSU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLSU hosts the High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) program, a hands-on opportunity for student-designed experiments.
• University of Colorado BoulderminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Colorado Boulder hosts the RockSat-C national program for student rocketry experiments.
• University of Texas at Austin (TSGC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC) at UT Austin hosts the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) internship program.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Geographic Society: Nonprofit funding and operating STEM education and exploration programs at national scale. Comparable to NSGF as a mission-driven grantmaking and program-delivery organization focused on science engagement.
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Large nonprofit advancing science education and workforce development nationally. Comparable to NSGF in operating national-scale STEM education programs and policy advocacy.
• AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics): Professional society for aerospace that runs K-12 and student STEM programs. Comparable to NSGF because both channel workforce development for the aerospace/space sector through institutional programming.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): Federal agency that funds STEM research and education through grants. Comparable to NSGF because both administer federal science/STEM funding via institutional networks and serve as national STEM pipeline funders.

Emerging players

• Space Center Houston: Official NASA visitor center delivering space education experiences and programs. Comparable to NSGF in channeling space-themed STEM education to students and educators through experiential programming.

Direct peers

• Challenger Center: Nonprofit delivering hands-on space and STEM educational programs to K-12 students nationwide. Comparable to NSGF in mission, target audience (K-12 students and educators), and space-focused experiential learning.
• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): Nonprofit running national robotics competitions for K-12 and college students. Comparable to NSGF in delivering hands-on STEM competitions that build the future aerospace/engineering workforce.
• The Planetary Society: Nonprofit space-advocacy and education organization engaging the public and students in space science. Comparable to NSGF as a nonprofit channel for space education and STEM workforce inspiration.
• Universities Space Research Association (USRA): Nonprofit consortium of universities that conducts space research and operates NASA-funded programs. Directly comparable because it sits in the same NASA-affiliated nonprofit space-education/research ecosystem as NSGF.

Regional players

• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: National museum delivering informal space education programming and listed as an NSGF partner. Comparable as an informal-education channel that engages K-12 students and educators in space science.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NSG_Foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/SpaceGrantFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-space-grant-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Space Grant Foundation