OVER 100 SUBORBITAL EXPERIMENTS SELECTED BY NASA

FROM: NASA

NASA Selects New Suborbital Payloads, Total Tops 100 Experiments

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 21 space technology payloads for flights on commercial reusable launch vehicles, balloons, and a commercial parabolic aircraft.

This latest selection represents the sixth cycle of NASA's continuing call for payloads through an announcement of opportunity. More than 100 technologies with test flights now have been facilitated through NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate's Flight Opportunities Program.

"This new group of payloads, ranging from systems that support cubesats to new sensors technology for planetary exploration, represent the sorts of cutting-edge technologies that are naturally suited for testing during returnable flights to near-space," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "NASA's Flight Opportunities Program continues to mature this key technology development pipeline link, thanks to America's commercial suborbital reusable vehicles providers."

Fourteen of these new payloads will ride on parabolic aircraft flights, which provide brief periods of weightlessness. Two will fly on suborbital reusable launch vehicle test flights. Three will ride on high-altitude balloons that fly above 65,000 feet. An additional payload will fly on both a parabolic flight and a suborbital launch vehicle, and another will fly on both a suborbital launch vehicle and a high-altitude balloon platform. These payload flights are expected to take place now through 2015.

Flight opportunities currently include the Zero-G Corporation parabolic airplane under contract with the Reduced Gravity Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; Near Space Corp. high-altitude balloons; and reusable launch vehicles from Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, UP Aerospace and Virgin Galactic. Additional commercial suborbital flight vendors under contract to NASA, including XCOR and Whittinghill, also will provide flight services.

Payloads selected for flight on a parabolic aircraft are:
-- "Technology Maturation of a Dual-Spinning Cubesat Bus," Kerri Cahoy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
-- "Testing Near-Infrared Neuromonitoring Devices for Detecting Cerebral Hemodynamic Changes in Parabolic Flight," Gary Strangman, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
-- "Resilient Thermal Panel: Microgravity Effects on Isothermality of Structurally Embedded Two Dimensional Heat Pipes," Andrew Williams, Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M.
-- "Wireless Strain Sensing System for Space Structural Health Monitoring," Haiying Huang, University of Texas, Austin
-- "Monitoring tissue oxygen saturation in microgravity," Thomas Smith, Oxford University, United Kingdom
-- "Testing the deployment and rollout of the DragEN electrodynamic tether for Cubesats," Jason Held, Saber Astronautics Australia Pty Ltd., Australia
-- "Creation of Titanium-Based Nanofoams in Reduced Gravity for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Production," Kristen Scotti, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
-- "Testing a Cubesat Attitude Control System in Microgravity Conditions," Eric Bradley, University of Central Florida, Orlando
-- "Demonstration of Adjustable Fluidic Lens in Microgravity," James Schwiegerling, University of Arizona, Tucson
-- "Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in Microgravity," Douglas Ebert, Wyle Laboratories, Houston
-- "DYMAFLEX: DYnamic MAnipulation FLight Experiment," David Akin of University, Maryland, College Park
-- "Characterizing Cubesat Deployer Dynamics in a Microgravity Environment," Kira Abercromby, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
-- "Demonstration of Food Processing Equipment," Susana Carranza, Makel Engineering Inc., Chino, Calif.
-- "Advanced Optical Mass Measurement System," Jason Reimuller, Mass Dynamix Inc., Longwood, Fla.

Payloads selected for flight on a suborbital reusable launch vehicle are:
-- "Precision Formation Flying Sensor," Webster Cash, University of Colorado, Boulder
-- "Navigation Doppler Lidar Sensor Demonstration for Precision Landing on Solar System Bodies," Farzin Amzajerdian, NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.

Payloads selected for flight on a high altitude balloon are:
-- "Planetary Atmosphere Minor Species Sensor," Robert Peale, University of Central Florida, Orlando
-- "Satellite-Based ADS-B Operations Flight Test," Russell Dewey, GSSL Inc., Tillamook, Ore.
-- "Low-Cost Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (sRLV) Surrogate," Timothy Lachenmeier, GSSL Inc.
One payload will be manifested on a parabolic aircraft and a suborbital reusable launch vehicle:
-- "Real Time Conformational Analysis of Rhodopsin using Plasmon Waveguide Resonance Spectroscopy," Victor Hruby, University of Arizona, Tucson.

One payload will be manifested on a suborbital reusable launch vehicle and a high altitude balloon:
-- "Test of Satellite Communications Systems on-board Suborbital Platforms to provide low-cost data communications for Research Payloads, Payload Operators, and Space Vehicle Operators," Brian Barnett, Satwest Consulting, Albuquerque, N.M.

NASA manages the Flight Opportunities manifest, matching payloads with flights, and will pay for payload integration and the flight costs for the selected payloads. No funds are provided for the development of the payloads.

NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR SMALL SUBORBITAL PAYLOADS

The following excerpt is from the NASA website: “WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking proposals for small technology payloads that could fly on future NASA-sponsored suborbital flights. These future flights will travel to the edge of space and back, testing the innovative new technologies before they're sent to work in the harsh environment of space. "NASA's Game Changing Development Program focuses on maturing advanced space technologies that may lead to entirely new approaches for the agency's future space missions while providing solutions to significant national needs and adding to our nation’s innovation economy," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This solicitation offers an opportunity to develop potentially transformative technologies that take advantage of our Flight Opportunities Program platforms, which allow frequent and predictable commercial access to near-space, with easy recovery of intact payloads." NASA's Game Changing Opportunities research announcement seeks proposals for payloads, vehicle enhancements and onboard facilities for payload integration that will help the agency advance technology development in the areas of exploration, space operations and other innovative technology areas relevant to NASA's missions. Sponsored by NASA's Space Technology Program, the agency expects proposals from entrepreneurs, scientists, technologists, instrument builders, research managers, and vehicle builders and operators. "This call for proposals is a great opportunity to develop innovative technology development payloads for flight on commercial suborbital, reusable vehicles which have novel ideas and approaches have the potential to revolutionize future space missions," said Stephen Gaddis, Game Changing Development program manager at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Special emphasis will be given to proposals that address basic and applied research as well as development for advanced technologies and the development of test articles and techniques for evaluating the articles. Following development, selected payloads will be made available to NASA's Flight Opportunities Program for pairing with appropriate suborbital reusable launch service provider flights. In August 2011, NASA selected seven U.S. companies that can provide flight services and platforms to test innovative technology payloads through the Flight Opportunities Program. Under this solicitation, the selected Flight Opportunities suborbital reusable launch vehicles could be modified to facilitate integration and payload engineering of future payloads in support of specific research needs. Proposals will be accepted from U.S. or non-U.S. organizations including NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA expects to make approximately 20 awards this summer, with the majority of awards ranging between approximately $50,000 and $125,000 each. Several awards may be made for up to $500,000 in the area of vehicle integration and payload engineering technology enhancements and onboard research facilities to improve platform capabilities. The Game Changing Opportunities in Technology Development research announcement is available through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System website at: http://tinyurl.com/7xk52wa NASA's Langley Research Center manages the Game Changing Development Program and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif., manages the Flight Opportunities Program for the agency's Space Technology Program. For more information on the Game Changing Development activities and information on this solicitation for payloads, visit: http://go.usa.gov/RPS “