no debt, no problem

Rice University announces no-debt financial aid for more students

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It's now easier to attend Rice.

Photo courtesy of Rice University

Attending the Ivy League of the South just got a lot easier for myriad students. All students — domestic or international — who attend Rice University and qualify for need-based financial aid will be able to receive assistance without taking out student loans, according to the school.

Additionally, the university announced that full-tuition scholarships will now be awarded to eligible undergraduates with family incomes between $75,000 and $140,000. Families making more than $140,000 — specifically between $140,000 and $200,000 — will receive scholarships covering at least half of their tuition.

Current and incoming students will see these game-changing adjustments reflected in their financial aid profiles beginning in the fall semester of 2022, per a press release.

This new policy is aimed at students from low-income families, as students with family incomes below $75,000 will receive grant aid covering not only full tuition, but also all mandatory fees and room and board. The move comes in response to the devastation caused by the global pandemic, a release notes.

“The original goal of the Rice Investment is to invest in the promise of students, regardless of their financial background,” said Anne Walker, assistant vice president and executive director of university financial aid services, in a statement. “By offering financial aid packages without loans, we are continuing to invest in our students and their ability to create a bright future free from student debt.”

This has been a busy — and robust — season for Rice. In November, Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine ranked Rice University as the No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program in the United States for 2022. Also in November, Reginald DesRoches, who currently serves as the university’s provost, was named as the next (and only eighth in history) president.

In October, personal finance website WalletHub named Rice No. 1 in Texas and a No. 6 ranking nationally among colleges and universities.

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blasting off

Houston company wins NASA contract for fifth private mission to ISS

Courtesy of Axiom Space

Axiom will send another mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Space, a Houston-based space infrastructure company that’s developing the first commercial space station, has forged a deal with NASA to carry out the fifth civilian-staffed mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Mission 5 is scheduled to launch in January 2027, at the earliest, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew of non-government astronauts is expected to spend up to 14 days docked at the International Space Station (ISS). Various science and research activities will take place during the mission.

The crew for the upcoming mission hasn’t been announced. Previous Axiom missions were commanded by retired NASA astronauts Michael López-Alegría, the company’s chief astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the company’s vice president of human spaceflight.

“All four previous [Axiom] missions have expanded the global community of space explorers, diversifying scientific investigations in microgravity, and providing significant insight that is benefiting the development of our next-generation space station, Axiom Station,” Jonathan Cirtain, president and CEO of Axiom, said in a news release.

As part of Axiom’s new contract with NASA, Voyager Technologies will provide payload services for Axiom’s fifth mission. Voyager, a defense, national security, and space technology company, recently announced a four-year, $24.5 million contract with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to provide mission management services for the ISS.

On February 12, Axiom also announced on that it has secured $350 million in a financing round led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority.

The company shared in a news release that the funding will support the continued development of its commercial space station, known as Axiom Station, and the production of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) under its NASA spacesuit contract.

NASA awarded Axiom a contract in January 2020 to create Axiom Station. The project is currently underway.

"Axiom Space isn’t just building hardware, it’s building the backbone of humanity’s next era in orbit," Tarek Waked, Founding General Partner at Type One Ventures, said in a news release. "Their rare combination of execution, government trust, and global partnerships positions them as the clear successor-architect for life after the ISS. This is how the United States continues to lead in space.”

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This story was originally published on our sister site, InnovationMap.