July 02, 2012

David E Steitz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1730 david steitz@nasa gov

Amy Johnson Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va 757-864-7022 amy johnson@nasa gov

RELEASE: 12-221

NASA SPACE TECH PROGRAM SELECTS TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION ON SUBORBITAL FLIGHTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA'S Space Technology Program has selected 14 technologies for development and demonstration on commercial reusable suborbital launch vehicles

The selected proposals offer innovative cutting-edge ideas and approaches for technology in areas including active thermal management, advanced avionics, pinpoint landing and advanced in-space propulsion They also address many of the high-priority technology needs identified in the recent National Research Council's Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities report These payloads will help NASA advance technology development needed to enable NASA's current and future missions in exploration, science and space operations

"These technology payloads will have the opportunity to be tested on commercial suborbital flights, sponsored by NASA, that fly up to and near the boundary of space," said Michael Gazarik, Director of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington "The flights will ensure the technology fidelity before they're put to work in operational systems in the harsh environment of space "

Proposals for this solicitation were received from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry, and non-profit organizations NASA's Flight Opportunities Program sponsored this solicitation in collaboration with NASA's Game Changing Development Program

Following their development, selected technologies will be made available to the Flight Opportunities Program for pairing with appropriate suborbital reusable launch service provider flights The Flight Opportunities Program provides opportunities for technologies to be demonstrated in relevant environments, while fostering the development of commercial reusable transportation to near space

Awards will range from $125,000 to $500,000 with a total NASA investment of approximately $3 5 million Payloads are expected to fly in 2013 and 2014 Proposals selected for contract negotiations are: -- "Demonstration of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nano-tubes for Earth Climate Remote Sensing," Howard Todd Smith, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore -- "Facility for Microgravity Research and Submicroradian Stabilization using sRLVs," Scott Green, Controlled Dynamics, Inc , Huntington Beach, Calif -- "Enhanced Thermal Switch," Douglas Mehoke, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md -- "Autonomous Flight Manager for Human-in-the-Loop Immersive Simulation and Flight Test of Terrestrial Rockets," Kevin Duda, Draper Laboratory, Inc , Cambridge, Mass -- "Armadillo Launch Vehicle Attitude Knowledge Capability Enhancement Using Advanced Micro Sun Sensor," Sohrab Mobasser, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif -- "Demonstration of Variable Radiator," Richard Kurwitz, Texas A&M University, College Station -- "Dynamic Microscopy System," John Vellinger, Techshot Inc , Greenville, Indiana -- "Design and Development of a Micro Satellite Attitude Control System," Manoranjan Majji, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, N Y -- "Suborbital Test of a Robotics-Based Method for In-Orbit Identification of Spacecraft Inertia Properties," Ou Ma, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces -- "Fuel Optimal Large Divert Guidance for Planetary Pinpoint Landing," Behcet Acikmese, JPL -- "SwRI Solar Instrument Pointing Platform," Craig DeForest, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas -- "Saturated Fluid Pistonless Pump Technology Demonstrator," Ryan Starkey, University of Colorado, Boulder -- "Electric-hydrodynamic Control of Two-Phase Heat Transfer in Microgravity," Boris Khusid, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, N J -- "An FPGA-based, Radiation Tolerant, Reconfigurable Computer System with Real Time Fault Detection, Avoidance, and Repair," Brock LaMeres, Montana State University, Bozeman

For information about NASA's Flight Opportunities Program, visit:

https://flightopportunities nasa gov/

For information about Game Changing Development, visit:

http://go usa gov/RPS

For more information about NASA's Space Technology Program, visit:

http://www nasa gov/oct

-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]