Feb 14, 2012

Michael Braukus/J D Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1979/5241 michael j braukus@nasa gov / j d harrington@nasa gov

Jennifer Stanfield Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala 256-544-7199 jennifer stanfield@nasa gov

RELEASE: 12-051

NASA SEEKS SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM ADVANCED BOOSTER RISK REDUCTION SOLUTIONS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala , has issued a NASA Research Announcement for the Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Booster risk-reduction effort

NASA is looking for an advanced booster concept with the goal of reducing risk in the areas of affordability, reliability and performance Proposals will identify and mitigate liquid or solid booster technical risks and provide related hardware demonstrations, as well as identify high-risk areas associated with adaptation of advanced booster technology to SLS

The 130-metric-ton evolved SLS vehicle will require a booster with a significant increase in thrust over existing U S liquid or solid boosters This new heavy-lift launch vehicle will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system

"These risk-reduction efforts will set the course for the full-scale design and development of this new advanced booster," said Chris Crumbly, SLS Advanced Booster NRA evaluation team chair "We're excited to see what innovative solutions industry will provide as we embark on this new capability -- enabling unprecedented missions beyond low-Earth orbit "

NASA anticipates making multiple awards in response to this solicitation, and anticipates $200 million total funding Final awards will be made based on the strength of proposals and availability of funds The deadline for submitting proposals is April 9 The anticipated period of performance for any contracts awarded as a result of this announcement is not expected to exceed 30 months and will have an effective date of Oct 1, 2012

This announcement is the second part of a three-part plan that includes risk-reduction planning prior to design, development, testing and evaluation of the advanced boosters

To view the announcement and instructions for submissions, visit:

http://prod nais nasa gov/cgi-bin/eps/synopsis cgi?acqid=149821

For information about NASA's Space Launch System, visit:

http://www nasa gov/sls

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/NASA_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]