HUNCH Program Joins the Nanoracks Team

Nanoracks has been selected by NASA to manage the HUNCH program as part of a multi-year award. HUNCH (High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware) is a program where High School students learn how to design and fabricate products for space.

To date, the program has 277 participating schools, over 2,500 students, and has flown 1,340 items to the ISS. The program has a number of focus areas, including hardware manufacturing (design and prototyping as well as actual manufacturing), software development, soft goods sewing, video and media development, and culinary/cooking programs. Fundamentally it works like an apprenticeship; the programs in the schools teach students these skills and then immediately implement them to produce flight hardware for space.

HUNCH makes EXPRESS Rack lockers, IVA handrails, tape dispensers, CTB bags, and many other products with NASA as the customer. The HUNCH team host Video and Media challenges and culinary challenges that result in additions to the menus for on-orbit astronauts. The program uniquely exposes students from around the nation to valuable STEM/STEAM skills that prepares them to further their technical capabilities and launch their careers.

Mentors and experts from HUNCH’s many programs will be members of the Nanoracks team, giving Nanoracks in-house capabilities from varied disciplines that have been executing this program for years. Nanoracks inherited a program that is unilaterally considered a success. Moving forward, the Nanoracks team will work closely with HUNCH leadership, including the founders of this program, to further grow the program.

Nanoracks thanks Scott Rodriguez, Michael Lewis and the many other Nanoracks team members who assisted with this transition, as well as the HUNCH team and all of those who assisted as well.

The company says the HUNCH program is a great pathway to involve even more students in the vibrant growth of the commercial space industry. They say they will be reaching out to many of their commercial and government partners and customers to discuss how they can become part of the HUNCH program.

(Source: Nanoracks news release)