Mar 4 2010
From The Space Library
CONTRACT RELEASE: C10-072
NASA SELECTS COMPANIES FOR ADVANCED AIRCRAFT CONCEPTS STUDY
WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded two contracts for studies designed to identify advanced concepts for airliners that could enter service in 2025 and fly with less noise, cleaner exhaust and lower fuel consumption. A team led by Lockheed Martin of Palmdale, Calif., was selected for a contract worth $2.99 million. A team led by Northrop Grumman of El Segundo, Calif., was selected for a contract worth $2.65 million. Both contracts have a performance period of 12 months, beginning in November. A key objective of the research is to ensure technological elements proposed for meeting NASA's noise, emissions and fuel burn reduction goals can be integrated on a single aircraft that could operate safely within a modernized air traffic management system. The teams will define a preferred system concept for an aircraft that can fly up to 85 percent of the speed of sound; cover a range of approximately 7,000 miles; and carry between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds of payload, either passengers or cargo. NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project is sponsoring the study. The project is part of the Integrated Systems Research Program managed by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington. The project is working to develop technology that would enable future aircraft to burn 50 percent less fuel than current models; reduce harmful emissions by 50 percent; and shrink the geographic areas affected by objectionable airport noise by 83 percent.
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RELEASE: 10-213
NASA AWARDS GRANTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE EDUCATION
WASHINGTON -- NASA will award about $4 million in grants to public school districts, state-based education leadership, and not-for-profit education organizations to support academic excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The first round of awards is valued at $3.1 million. Each award is expected to leverage NASA's unique contributions in STEM education, enhance secondary students' academic experiences, and improve educators' abilities to engage their students. A total of eight proposals were selected for funding to school districts and organizations in California, Maine, New York (2), North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas. The selected proposals illustrate innovative approaches to using NASA-themed content in support of secondary-level teaching and learning, with a particular emphasis on high school education. The proposals were selected through a two-step process, merit-based, peer-reviewed competition. The awards have a two-year period of performance, and range in value from $350,000 to $400,000. The Summer of Innovation Capacity Building Awards are valued at $1 million. They will be shared among institutions that showed student participation in summer learning experiences helped academic performances in the following school year. The Summer of Innovation Capacity Building effort also looked for programs with the potential to be a model for middle school education. Each funding proposal leverages NASA content in STEM education to build successful programs with a special interest in reaching underserved students and strengthening the bridge between out-of-school and in-school learning programs. There were 16 proposals selected for funding representing the District of Columbia and these 13 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia (2), Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Virginia (2), Washington and Wisconsin. For a list of selected proposals in both of these award categories, visit: http://nspires.nasaprs.com
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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-170
DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT OF FALCON 9 ROCKET SET FOR WEDNESDAY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first demonstration flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window extends from 9 a.m. to 12:22 p.m. EST. During a routine inspection this week, SpaceX engineers observed two small cracks in the rocket's second stage engine nozzle. SpaceX completed repairs to the cracked nozzle Tuesday. Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Television and the agency's website. For streaming information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
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