The goal of this 2013 NASA challenge conducted on Topcoder was to optimize the position of solar collectors on the International Space Station to generate as much power as possible during the most difficult orbital configurations. This three week, $25,000 prize competition featured 2,010 submissions from 459 registered members (see the problem statement).
The result created an energy output that increased power by a few percentage points more than the current state of the art solution. The algorithm maintains the energy output, even if the deteriorating nodes that rotate the ISS solar panels ultimately fail. For information see here.
