Thu, Feb 17, 2011
Space Technology Office To Support High-Payoff Programs
Strong support for space technology investments in the new NASA
FY2012 proposed budget, including such high-profile programs as
Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research, Centennial Challenges, and
NASA's commercial parabolic flight program, has won accolades from
the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
"Consistent with the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, these
investments in space technology R&D represent a renewed focus
by NASA on innovation, which is the seed corn of American economic
competitiveness," said CSF President Bretton Alexander. "Between
2005 and 2009, NASA's technology programs were cut more than 50%,
and we applaud NASA's plan to reverse this decline. Robust
funding for technology R&D will help ensure that the United
States remains a global leader in space."
Specific technology programs that are part of the new NASA
budget include:
- NASA's Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program,
funded at $15 million per year, which will give scientists and
students access to conduct research using low-cost commercial
suborbital vehicles.
- NASA's Centennial Challenges Program, funded at $10 million per
year, which offers incentive prizes in the mold of the $10 million
Ansari X PRIZE to spur innovation in diverse areas of space
technology.
- NASA's Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for
Technology Development and Training (FAST), funded at about $2
million per year, a commercial parabolic flight program to conduct
research and technology development on "zero gravity"
aircraft.
- Other exciting NASA technology programs, including:
Cryogenic Propellant Transfer and Storage, In-Space Propulsion,
Space Power Generation and Storage, Nuclear Systems, Lightweight
Materials and Structures, Human-Robotic Systems, Autonomous
Systems, Next-Generation Life Support, Adaptive Entry Systems, and
In-Situ Resource Utilization.
Bretton Alexander
"These will be some of NASA's most high-profile, exciting
programs," said CSF Executive Director John Gedmark. They are
what the nation needs to generate new technology breakthroughs and
precisely the kind of programs that will inspire the next
generation to go into fields of science and engineering."
NASA's decision to increase technology funding follows a letter
released last September by a group of 14 Nobel Laureates to
Congress that emphasized the importance of technology investment.
"Innovative technology development must once again become a high
priority at NASA," the group said in the letter. "We urge that
NASA's total technology investment be increased."
"Yesterday's technologies are not sufficient to keep America in
first place in the global race for economic competitiveness,"
Gedmark said. "Technology innovation is what got America to the
moon in the 1960s, and we need a renewed focus on technology to
drive NASA forward in the 21st century. NASA and private industry
can work together to find innovative technological solutions to
today's spaceflight challenges."
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