Mar 1 2005
From The Space Library
NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that NASA intended to use to transport astronauts beyond low Earth orbit and to the Moon by 2020. NASA had set the deadline for submissions for 2 May 2005 and planned to select two contractors in September 2005. The two contractors would develop competing prototypes with a December 2008 completion date, at which time NASA would select the prime contractor. NASA stipulated that the minimum specifications for the CEV were that the craft weigh 20 tonnes (18.14 tons) or less; house as many as four astronauts, for as long as 16 days; have the ability to rendezvous and dock with future lunar landers and interplanetary modules; and allow a safe abort throughout all phases of its flight. NASA stipulated that it would permit contractors to design spacecraft that exceeded these specifications. For instance, the RFP permitted the design of craft that could maintain a crew in space for longer than 16 days or accommodate a crew of six. The RFP also gave contractors the flexibility to decide whether the CEV would be able to dock with the ISS. (NASA, “NASA Issues Solicitation for Crew Exploration Vehicle,” news release 05-063, 1 March 2005, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/mar/HQ_05063_crew_exploration.html (accessed 2 September 2009); Robert Zimmerman for United Press International, “Space Watch: Spacefaring by Bureaucrats,” 18 March 2005.)
NASA signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in an effort to improve global conservation through increased use of NASA's Earth science research and remote-sensing data. Under the agreement, UNESCO would use NASA-generated data to share scientific information about how Earth functions. In addition, the MOA would further an existing partnership between the NASA-supported Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) education program and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. NASA and UNESCO would train teachers in UNESCO-member states to work with UNESCO's Natural World Heritage Site managers on collaborative conservation program activities. (NASA, “NASA Research Aids UNESCO Global Conservation Efforts,” news release 05-061, 1 March 2005, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/mar/HQ_05061_unesco-global.html (accessed 2 September 2009).)
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