Texas · Nonprofit
Association of Space Explorers USA
Association of Space Explorers USA (Texas) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $212,666 to it, the largest being THE OLSEN FOUNDATION A NEW JERSEY NONPROFIT CORPORATION ($175,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $288k
- Funders on record
- 5
- Grants received
- $213k
- Net assets
- $551k
What Association of Space Explorers USA does
Mission
The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) is the international professional and educational association of men and women who have flown in Earth orbit. ASE's mission is to apply the unique perspective of its members to: promote the global benefits of space science, exploration and international cooperation; to educate and inspire future generations, and; to foster better stewardship of our home planet.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Professional Forum:Annual Planetary Congress: The annual planetary Congress allows the members to work towards the organization's mission and vision by providing broad and deep professional technical interchanges among the members and attendees. Valuable exchanges of information and expertise are created by astronaut reunions. Presentations are delivered to the general public at the annual Congress. The organization provides online accessible information with weekly interchange through the ASE downlinks. Member/Astronaut appearances at schools and other public forums provide a platform for promoting the benefits of space science and exploration.Astronaut Reunions: ASE organizes and hosts annual European astronaut reunions and biennial astronaut reunions for NASA astronauts in Houston, Texas. The reunions provide networking and professional development opportunities for active government astronauts, former government astronauts and commercial space travelers. Universal Astronaut Insignia: ASE representing the desire of the international community of space travelers to establish a single, commonly recognized insignia for all who fly into space, conceived, designed and approved a…
$78,639 spent64% of program spendingEducation: Celebrating Diversity from Space: Operating under a federal grant from the ISS National Laboratory/Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), ASE recently completed "Celebrating Diversity from Space", an educational program for under-represented youth in Boys & Girls Clubs. Students explored diversity at three levels: 1) EARTH's global diversity for its physical features and human geography; 2) ASTRONAUTS whose diverse backgrounds, experience and expertise are essential for success of ISS; and 3) local COMMUNITY of each Boys & Girls Club, where students celebrated rich diversity among themselves, their neighborhoods and families. All three realms have the common theme - diversity is an essential element of success. The program emphasized hands-on and inquiry-based learning. Each club created a 30-minute video, conveying these core concepts, working directly with astronauts. The ISS National Lab provided two essential assets: 1) wealth of photographs taken by the ISS astronauts as they orbit Earth, showcasing rich complexity; 2) the experiences of astronauts themselves, as diverse crews, working as a team, managing complex tasks, and solving problems with…
$34,006 spent28% of program spendingPlanetary Stewardship:Windows on Earth: Windows on Earth features the vast collection of photos and movies taken by astronauts on the ISS. ASE, with support from NASA and the Crew Earth Observation facility, established and maintain ASE's own image library, provide a friendly public front-end (WindowsOnEarth.org), and use these photos in creative ways. Since 2005, this work has been funded by a series of NSF and NASA grants, creating museum exhibits, curriculum guides, teacher training and innovative technical development. Now ASE will take some bold steps to greatly expand public access and educational use of these resources, through an ambitious partnership with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and its Supercomputer Center (SDSC). It builds on prior collaborations with UCSD, and their enthusiasm and expertise to take Windows on Earth to new levels of access and the potential for much larger reach. This partnership will also provide some powerful new tools for ASE members, as the original astronauts, artists and scientists who took these photos of Earth.Earth Music Theater: ASE manages an archive of images and photos of Earth taken by astronauts (from NASA, all…
$9,354 spent8% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $121,999.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2018 to 2019, from $418k to $528k (+26%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
92% of Association of Space Explorers USA’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (79% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Andy Turnage
Executive Director/Secreta
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $17k → $30k.
3 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 17% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of Association of Space Explorers USA’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Association of Space Explorers USA leans on a few funders — its largest provides 82% of grant income and the top three 99%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 91% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 99% · 2021 99% · 2022 99% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
Association of Space Explorers USA draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Texas, across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $36k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Association of Space Explorers USA runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 793 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 793 science & tech nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like Association of Space Explorers USA
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Texas
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
57% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
98%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Association of Space Explorers USA: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Association of Space Explorers USA?
- Association of Space Explorers USA (Texas) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $212,666 to it, the largest being THE OLSEN FOUNDATION A NEW JERSEY NONPROFIT CORPORATION ($175,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Association of Space Explorers USA have?
- IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $212,666 in grants to Association of Space Explorers USA, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Association of Space Explorers USA?
- THE OLSEN FOUNDATION A NEW JERSEY NONPROFIT CORPORATION is the largest funder on record, with $175,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Association of Space Explorers USA find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Texas. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Association of Space Explorers USA →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 5 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing