Apr 2 2013

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 13-090 - NASA ANNOUNCES 17TH SCREENING OF SPACE PROGRAM ARTIFACTS --WASHINGTON -- NASA is inviting eligible educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical space artifacts. The artifacts represent significant human spaceflight technologies, processes and the accomplishments of NASA's many programs. NASA and the General Services Administration worked together to ensure broad access to space artifacts and to provide a web-based electronic artifacts viewing capability. This is the 17th time since 2009 NASA has made this opportunity available.

RELEASE: 13-094 - NASA SEEKS ACADEMIC PARTNERS FOR SMALLSAT TECHNOLOGY COLLABORATION --WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking small spacecraft technology project proposals from U.S. colleges and universities that would like to collaborate with agency researchers. Small spacecraft, or smallsats, represent a growing field of space research and operations in which universities often have led the way in technology development. Smallsats, some of which are as small as a four-inch cube, are not expected to replace conventional spacecraft, but sometimes can provide an alternative to larger, more costly spacecraft. Smallsats can serve as platforms for rapid technology testing or specialized scientific research and exploration not otherwise possible. Smallsats also can be developed relatively quickly and inexpensively, and can share a ride to orbit with larger spacecraft. This new opportunity will engage university students and graduate researchers in advancing technology of value to NASA and the nation, and help strengthen our high-tech work force, said Andrew Petro, program executive for the Small Spacecraft Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "There is a vibrant small spacecraft community emerging within America's universities and NASA is taking steps to increase our collaboration with that community. The universities will benefit from the deep experience NASA has in space research and technology, while NASA will benefit from fresh ideas and cost-conscious innovation at the universities." NASA expects to competitively select approximately 10 proposals. Each team will form proposal partnerships with researchers from any of NASA's field centers. Awards for each project will include as much as $100,000 ($150,000 for teams of more than one school). Proposals submitted in response to this NASA cooperative agreement notice are due June 5. In addition, NASA will fund the time for NASA employees to work with each selected team. Project funding is for one year with the potential to continue for a second year. Proposed projects could include anything from laboratory work to advance a particular spacecraft technology to flight testing of a new smallsat. For example, projects might focus on a technology area such as propulsion, power or communications, or on a smallsat capability, such as formation flight or satellite rendezvous.

RELEASE: 13-095 - NASA ASKS UNIVERSITIES FOR EARLY STAGE INNOVATION TECH PROPOSALS --WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking innovative, early-stage space technology proposals from accredited U.S. universities that will enable NASA's future missions and America's leadership in space. Proposals are sought for science instruments, cryogenic propellant storage for long-duration space exploration, optical coatings for astrophysical pursuits, oxygen recovery for life support systems, and to improve our understanding of and protection from near-Earth asteroids. Each of these space technology areas requires dramatic improvements over existing capabilities. New early stage, or low technology readiness-level, technologies could mature into tools that solve the hard challenges facing NASA's future scientific and human spaceflight missions. Researchers should propose unique, transformational space technologies that address specific topics found in this solicitation. "Space technology is the underpinning of all of NASA's future missions," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. "NASA's collaboration with the National Research Council and the agency's recent Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan have helped us identify areas where new, cross-cutting space technologies are needed to enable our future missions. Now we're reaching out to American universities to tap into the nation's best and brightest minds to help solve these tough technology problems." This solicitation requests proposals on five topic areas. The first topic area seeks new instrument technologies for the exploration of planetary bodies within our solar system. Innovative technology advances are needed to support the instruments that scientists will need to better understand the history, climates, evidence of past life and future potential habitability of planets and moons within the solar system. Spaceflight architectures for future human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit will require technologies and capabilities not available today, such as long duration storage of cryogenic propellants in a zero gravity environment. Under a second topic area for this solicitation, NASA is particularly interested in proposals regarding how to mature fundamental experimental and computational solutions to address the challenges of cryogenic storage of liquid hydrogen. Through a third topic area for this solicitation, NASA is seeking advances in optics technologies to enable the challenging science measurements that may contribute to the understanding of the first moments of the universe, the characterization of galaxy evolution over time and the characterization of newly found exoplanets. As future exploration missions extend beyond low-Earth orbit, vehicles and extraterrestrial surface habitats housing astronauts will need to be highly reliable and self-sufficient; the opportunity for resupply of consumables diminishes the farther from home you go. The fourth topic area of this solicitation seeks novel technologies that will help close the atmosphere revitalization loop aboard spaceships and surface habitats during long duration space missions. New technologies must have the potential to significantly increase the oxygen recovery rate beyond the current state of the art. Under a final topic area, NASA is seeking proposals for new technologies to better understand and protect our planet from near-Earth asteroids. Early stage technologies that will help with characterizing, understanding, and planning how to mitigate the threat of near-Earth asteroids are of great interest. These efforts are important for the sustainability and future of our home planet. NASA expects to make approximately 10 awards this fall, based on the merit of proposals received. Each award will be made for one year with an additional year of research possible. The typical annual award value is expected to be approximately $250,000. Second-year funding will be contingent on the availability of appropriated funds and technical progress. Only accredited U.S. universities may submit proposals to this solicitation. Notices of intent are due by April 29 with proposals due May 21.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-054 - NASA TV BRIEFING DISCUSSES ALPHA MAGNETIC SPECTROMETER RESULTS --WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 3, to discuss the first results of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment. AMS is a state-of-the-art cosmic ray particle physics detector located on the exterior of the International Space Station. The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website. The participants include: -- William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations -- Samuel Ting (participating by video link), AMS principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- Michael Salamon, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science program manager for AMS -- Mark Sistilli, NASA AMS program manager AMS was constructed, tested and operated by an international team of 56 institutes from 16 countries and organized under U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science sponsorship. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the AMS Integration Project Office. AMS was launched on space shuttle Endeavour on May 16, 2011. Operations on the space station began three days later. AMS continues operations aboard the station today.