Sat, Jul 19, 2008
Seven Companies To Take Flight In September
NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program has selected seven Small
Business Innovation Research program, or SBIR, companies to
participate in reduced-gravity test flights in early September. The
companies will have the opportunity to test their newly developed
hardware on an aircraft that simulates the weightless conditions of
spaceflight. The fights will the first by NASA's Facilitated Access
to the Space Environment for Technology Development and Training
program, called FAST.
Testing new technologies in weightless conditions is an
important step in making them available for applications in NASA
space projects. An aircraft flying on a parabolic trajectory can
create weightless conditions for up to 30 seconds at a time and
simulate the reduced gravity conditions of the moon or Mars. This
allows developers to test new technologies to ensure that they will
work in space or, if they do not work during testing, understand
why.
It is difficult for emerging technology developers, especially
small businesses, to gain access to parabolic aircraft flights.
Through FAST, NASA will provide a flight demonstration opportunity
while the developer provides the technology.
The selection for the first round of flights was limited to
companies that already have SBIR contracts with NASA. The
technologies being flown address needs in each of NASA's four core
mission directorates. In the future, the competition will be
extended to any companies and laboratories working in partnerships
on technology of value to NASA's missions. Another important aspect
of FAST is that the Zero-Gravity Corporation of Las Vegas will
conduct the flights as a commercial service to NASA.
The September flights will include the following projects and
companies:
- Vacuum-Compatible Multi-Axis Manipulator/Machining Center for
Long-Duration Space Missions, Beck Engineering Inc., Port Orchard,
WA
- Investigation of Pneumatic Mining System under Lunar Gravity
Conditions, Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation,
NY
- Aircraft Sensor Logger, Metis Design Corporation, Cambridge,
MA.
- Microgravity Flight Testing of Passively Self-Deploying Shells,
Mevicon Inc., Sunnyvale CA.
- Virtual Sensor Test Instrumentation, Mobitrum Corporation,
Silver Spring, MD
- Nanofluid Coolants, nanoComposix Inc., SD
- Constant-Force-Exercise Sled, Valeo Human Performance LLC,
Houston
The Zero-Gravity Corporation contract is managed by NASA's Glenn
Research Center in Cleveland and is part of an effort to expand the
agency's use of commercial services. The reduced-gravity flights
will be conducted from Ellington Field in Houston. NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston and Glenn are providing technical support
to the participating companies.
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