Oct 8 2010
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 10-345
NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR TECHNOLOGY FLIGHT DEMONSTRATIONS AND INFORMATION ABOUT SUBORBITAL FLIGHT SERVICES
WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking proposals from researchers interested in testing new technologies during suborbital flights. The agency also is requesting information from commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers and commercial payload integrators about carrying the technology payloads. The selected payloads will fly on aircraft that provide parabolic flight trajectories and on suborbital reusable launch vehicles capable of flying to altitudes above 62 miles. The flights will expose the payloads to reduced gravity and near-zero gravity environments. "During these flights, researchers will be able to test their technologies in a range of microgravity environments and share their data with NASA -- data NASA can use when planning future missions, said Bobby Braun, NASA chief technologist at the agency's headquarters in Washington. The solicitation is being made by NASA's Flight Opportunities Program, which is designed to foster development of a commercial reusable suborbital transportation industry while developing new technologies and improving microgravity research. When available, such reusable vehicles will provide lower-cost, more frequent, and more reliable access to space. Technology flights are expected to reduce risks associated with emerging technologies and procedures, and overall space operations in future missions, by demonstrating applications in a relevant environment. The solicitation for suborbital flights is open until Dec. 31, 2014. Applications for the first round of flights are due by Jan. 31, 2011. Responses to the request for information about services of commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers are due Jan. 20, 2011. Participation in both activities is open to all categories of organizations. The Flight Opportunities Program, part of NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist, integrates the existing Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research and Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology programs. The Flight Opportunities Program is managed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. The announcement of opportunity can be viewed at: http://go.usa.gov/rlq
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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-140
NASA SYMPOSIUM MARKS 50-YEAR-SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF LIFE IN UNIVERSE
WASHINGTON -- Media representatives are invited to attend a NASA symposium on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EDT, where world-renowned scientists will address past, present, and future activities in the search for signs of life in the universe. The event will take place at the Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center in Crystal City, Va. NASA Television's Education channel and the agency's Web site will provide live coverage via a Lockheed Martin Webcast at: http://www.livestream.com/astrobiology50th Scientists from NASA and around the world are celebrating a half century of astrobiology research. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. George Washington University in Washington consults with NASA in this arena and helped organize the speakers for the symposium. Speakers include former NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin; James E. Lovelock of the University of Oxford; and Lynn Margulis of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Lovelock and Margulis are early NASA astrobiology investigators and co-developers of the Gaia theory, which proposes that Earth and all of its life forms function as a single interconnected system. Other notable speakers are Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.; Nobel laureate Baruch Blumberg; and planetary habitability researcher Victoria Meadows of the University of Washington in Seattle. For a complete list of speakers, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/astrobiology_50th.html Media representatives interested in attending should send an email to Dwayne Brown at dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov. International journalists should provide their nationality, passport number and expiration date by 6 p.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 11. Domestic journalists should include their affiliation and office phone number by 6 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct 12
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