Aug 1 2012

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-143 NASA TO ANNOUNCE NEW AGREEMENTS FOR NEXT PHASE OF COMMERCIAL CREW DEVELOPMENT

WASHINGTON -- NASA will issue a news release to announce new agreements with industry partners for its Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative at 9 a.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 3. At 10 a.m. NASA will host a news briefing from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website. NASA also will host a follow-up teleconference for media representatives with detailed questions at 10:45 a.m., immediately following the briefing. Through CCiCap, NASA is stimulating the private sector to develop and demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities that could ultimately lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for both commercial and government customers. CCiCap is an initiative of NASA's Commercial Crew Program and a priority of the Obama Administration. The objective of the program is to facilitate the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from low Earth orbit and the International Space Station. After the capability is matured, NASA could purchase commercial services to meet its space station crew transportation needs. Televised news briefing participants at Kennedy are: -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden -- Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana -- Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango News teleconference participants are: -- Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Directorate William Gerstenmaier -- Director for Commercial Spaceflight Development Philip McAlister -- Deputy Manager for Commercial Crew Program Brent Jett

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-144 NASA HOSTS SOCIAL MEDIA EVENTS ACROSS SEVEN AGENCY FIELD CENTERS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's social media followers at seven field centers around the nation will virtually come together at a NASA Social on Friday, Aug. 3, to preview the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory's (MSL) Curiosity rover on Aug. 6 EDT (Aug. 5 PDT). NASA Socials are in-person meetings with people who engage with the agency through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks. Events will be held simultaneously at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.; Johnson Space Center in Houston; Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Kennedy will be celebrating its 50th anniversary during its NASA Social. From 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. EDT, every center will be connected with JPL, which manages the MSL mission for NASA, via a multi-center NASA Television simulcast. NASA Social participants at each center will have the opportunity to ask questions of the JPL science and engineering teams during the simulcast. More than 150 social media followers also will tour their respective host NASA center. After the multi-center events on Friday, the JPL NASA Social will continue with activities on Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5, for 25 participants. They will have the opportunity to tour JPL, participate in news conferences and be present when the first signal of the rover's landing is detected by JPL mission control.

RELEASE: 12-261 2012 NASA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS SELECTED FOR STUDY

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Space Technology Program is turning science fiction into science fact. The program has selected 28 proposals for study under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program. Eighteen of these advanced concept proposals were categorized as Phase I and 10 as Phase II. They were selected based on their potential to transform future aerospace missions, enable new capabilities, or significantly alter and improve current approaches to launching, building and operating aerospace systems. The selected proposals include a broad range of imaginative concepts, including a submarine glider to explore the ice-covered ocean of Europa, an air purification system with no moving parts, and a system that could use in situ lunar regolith to autonomously build concrete structures on the moon. "These selections represent the best and most creative new ideas for future technologies that have the potential to radically improve how NASA missions explore new frontiers," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "Through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, NASA is taking the long-term view of technological investment and the advancement that is essential for accomplishing our missions. We are inventing the ways in which next-generation aircraft and spacecraft will change the world and inspiring Americans to take bold steps." NIAC Phase I awards of approximately $100,000 for one year enable proposers to explore basic feasibility and properties of a potential breakthrough concept. NIAC Phase II awards of as much as $500,000 for two years help further develop the most successful Phase I concepts and analyze their potential to enable new or radically improved future NASA missions and potential applications with benefits for industry and society. "We're excited to be launching Phase II, allowing the 2012 NIAC portfolio to feature an exciting combination of new ideas and continued development of last year's Phase I concepts," said Jay Falker, NIAC program executive at NASA Headquarters. NASA solicited visionary, long-term concepts for technological maturation based on their potential value to NASA's future space missions and operational needs. These projects were chosen through a peer-review process that evaluated their innovation and how technically viable they are. All are very early in development -- 10 years or longer from use on a mission. NASA's early investment and partnership with creative scientists, engineers, and citizen inventors from across the nation will provide technological dividends and help maintain America's leadership in the global technology economy. The portfolio of diverse and innovative ideas selected for NIAC awards represent multiple technology areas, including power, propulsion, structures, and avionics, as identified in NASA's Space Technology Roadmaps. The roadmaps provide technology paths needed to meet NASA's strategic goals. NIAC is part of NASA's Space Technology Program, which is innovating, developing, testing, and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. These competitively-awarded projects are creating new technological solutions for NASA and our nation's future.