NASA has awarded contracts worth $1.2 million in total to 11 organisations under its 2006, $127 million New Millennium programme budget, which develops exploration technologies, writes Rob Coppinger.
The contracts are for the one-year Space Technology concept definition phase. The eligible technologies have to be at a readiness level of four, which means that they could be used in a spacecraft in the next five years. After the concept phase there will be a downselect for the planned ninth Space Technology flight.
There have been eight Space Technology flights. These have included a laser interferometer space antenna for flight seven, to take place in 2008, and a formation of magnetospheric sensing satellites to be launched in 2006 on flight five.
The areas of investigation for flight nine include space telescopes, aerocapture heat-shield materials and guidance systems.
General Dynamics Decision Systems, headquartered in Arizona, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have been awarded contracts for precision satellite formation flying systems.
Large space telescope technology contracts were given to Northrop Grumman Space Technology in Redondo Beach, California and Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado. These are for a deployable sunshield and mechanical cryogenic cooler, respectively.
Phenolic and silicone materials for aerocapture systems are the focus of New Mexico’s Applied Research Associates and Ball Aerospace and Technologies, in Boulder, Colorado.
The companies will join five NASA-led system technology study teams.
Source: Flight International