Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761
sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov
Leslie Williams
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
661-276-3893
leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 11-147
NASA SELECTS FIRST PAYLOADS FOR UPCOMING REDUCED-GRAVITY FLIGHTS
WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 16 payloads for flights on the
commercial Zero-G parabolic aircraft and two suborbital reusable
launch vehicles as part of the agency's Flight Opportunities Program.
The flights provide opportunities for space technologies to be
demonstrated and validated in relevant environments. In addition,
these flights foster the development of the nation's commercial
reusable suborbital transportation industry.
The payloads and teams from ten states and the District of Columbia
were selected from applications received in response to a NASA call
issued last December. Of the payloads, 12 will ride on parabolic
aircraft flights; two on suborbital reusable launch vehicle test
flights; and two on both platforms.
"Through our Flight Opportunities Program, NASA is able to align
research and technology payloads with commercially-available flights
to mature technologies that will benefit America's future in space,"
said Bobby Braun, NASA chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "This program allows researchers, technologists and
innovators to help NASA meet our future mission needs while infusing
new knowledge and capabilities into our nation's universities,
laboratories and space industry."
The commercial Zero-G aircraft payloads will fly during a weeklong
campaign from Houston's Ellington Field in mid-July. The suborbital
reusable launch vehicle payloads will fly on the Xaero, developed by
Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif., and the Super Mod, developed
by Armadillo Aerospace of Heath, Texas. These selected payloads will
fly on test flights scheduled throughout 2011.
Selected payloads to fly on both platforms:
--"Investigation to Determine Rotational Stability of On-Orbit
Propellant Storage and Transfer Systems Undergoing Operational Fuel
Transfer Scenarios" from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,
Daytona Beach, Fla., NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and United
Launch Alliance, Centennial, Colo.; Sathya Gangadharan, project
manager (PM)
--"Printing the Space Future" from Made In Space Inc., Moffett Field,
Calif.; Jason Dunn, principal investigator (PI)
Selected suborbital reusable launch vehicle payloads:
--"Electromagnetic Field Measurements on Suborbital Launch Vehicles"
from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, Md.;
Todd Smith and Lars Dyrud, co-PI
--"Precision Landing Exploration Technology (PLANET) Demonstration"
from Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, Ma., and
NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston; Douglas Zimpfer, PM; Tye Brady,
PI
Selected parabolic payloads:
--Crew-Autonomous Biological Telemetric experiment from the University
of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; Robert Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul, co-PIs
--Advanced, Two-Phase, Space Heat Exchangers Design Tools experiment
from the University of Maryland, College Park; Jungho Kim and Serguei
Dessiatoun, co-PIs
--Thermosyphon Array with Controlled Operation experiment from NASA's
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland. Donald Jawaorske, PI
--Radio Frequency Mass Gauge experiment from Glenn; Gregory Zimmerli,
PI
--Grey Water Purification using Control Moment Gyroscopes from
Kennedy, Glenn and the ASRC Aerospace Corp., Greenbelt, Md.; Walt
Turner, PM
--Indexing Media Filtration experiment from Glenn, Aerfil LLC,
Filtration Group Inc, Joliet, Ill., and ASRC Aerospace; Gary Ruff, PM
--Autonomous Robotic Capture from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md.; West Virginia University, Morgantown; the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory, Washington and Yasakawa America Inc., Waukegan,
Ill.; Thomas Evans, PM
--Validation of Atomization Mechanism and Droplet Transport for a
Portable Fire Extinguisher from Glenn, ADA Technologies Inc,
Littleton, Colo., and the Colorado School of Mines, Golden; Jim Butz,
PM
--Cryocooler Vibrational Characterization from Ad Astra Rocket Co.
Webster, Texas; Benjamin Longmier, PI
--Monitoring Radiation-Induced DNA Degradation from Kennedy; Howard
Levine, PI
--EHD-Pumped Two-Phase Loops experiment from the Air Force Research
Laboratory and Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; Greg Busch, Sam
Sinnamon and Andrew Williams, co-PIs
--Electric Field Effects on Pool Boiling Heat Transfer experiments
from the University of Maryland and University of Pisa, Italy; Jungho
Kim and Paolo DiMarco, co-PIs
NASA will continue to accept Flight Opportunities Program proposals
until Dec. 31, 2014. NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist directs
the Flight Opportunities Program, which is managed at NASA's Dryden
Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. NASA's Ames Research Center
at Moffett Field, Calif., manages the payload activities for the
program. For more information on the Flight Opportunities program,
visit:
http://flightopportunities.nasa.gov
-end-
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