NASA to launch more space technologies

New nanosatellites, night rovers, and sample-scooping robots were the highlights of a space technology industry forum hosted by NASA on 13–14 July on the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

NASA chief technologist Robert Braun briefed the more than 300 business owners, scientists, and policymakers who attended the event on the particulars of the agency’s new Space Technology Program (STP)—an expansion of NASA’s joint innovation efforts with the private and public sectors. The program is one element of President Obama’s radical plan for NASA’s future. As outlined in his FY 2011 NASA budget request, the plan calls for the space agency to shift its focus from near-term human exploration missions to longer-term research and technology development.

The forum’s tone and turnout reflected the optimism that many in industry and academia have for the STP. Provided its budget is approved by Congress, the STP will dole out $5 billion over five years into such existing NASA initiatives as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. It would also double the funding for NASA’s Centennial Challenges, which award cash prizes of $1.5 million–2 million to individuals or teams that are not federally funded and who achieve certain challenge goals.

On the forum’s first day, three new challenges, the first since 2005, were announced:

• Nano-Satellite Launch to send small satellites (with mass between 1-10 kg) into Earth orbit, twice in one week.
• Night Rover to develop a solar-powered exploration vehicle that can operate in darkness using stored energy.
• Sample Return Robot to build a robot that can locate and retrieve geological samples.

Although NASA creates and funds the challenges, nonprofit organizations manage them and set the competition rules; more details on the challenges will be available after the managing organizations are selected in October.

The Centennial Challenges, along with the SBIR and STTR programs, will fall under the new early-stage innovation division, one of three STP divisions whose objectives span NASA’s technology readiness level scale (where 1 is a pie-in-the-sky concept and 6 is a mission-ready demonstration model). The other two divisions are Game Changing Technology and Cross Cutting Capability Demonstrations. Each division will operate as progressive stages: At each stage, the number of accepted projects decreases, but the awards for each increase.

Students and academic researchers will benefit from the Early-Stage’s Space Technology Research Grants Program, which plans to annually award 100 NASA research grants, valued at $250 000, and up to 500 graduate-school fellowships, ranging from $55 000 to $60 000. Researchers at aerospace and space systems businesses will likely seek larger awards from yet another Early-Stage Innovation program, the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts. A two-phase program, NIAC gives $100 000 for viable technology ideas and $500 000 if those ideas show sufficient promise after one year of further development.

Game changing?

Forum attendees were less clear about the second division, particularly what was meant by “game changing.” Braun responded by indicating that “disruptive” was how he preferred to describe the technologies at the second stage and that they “should change the way we do business,” citing the cell phone and the internet as examples. The nature of NASA’s business partnerships will also change. Braun cited the agency’s plans to turn over the bulk of its human spaceflight program to the commercial sector.

Few technologies will graduate from Game Changing Technology Division to the Cross Cutting Capability Demonstrations Division, says Braun. Those that do will be tested for their ability to benefit multiple missions or multiple NASA customers--for example, satellites for academic research and communications companies. NASA says that at least 70% of the budget for the Division will be dedicated to projects that were competitively selected by the Early-Stage Innovation Division. Also, STP projects will not be NASA-center-specific; rather, grantees will have access to all of the agency’s 10 nationwide centers.

For now, though, all eyes are on Congress, where several key legislators have mounted stiff opposition to the Obama Administration’s plans to halt the existing Constellation program, whose goal is to send humans back to the Moon and to Mars. On 15 July, in its latest response to Obama’s NASA budget, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed an alternative spending plan for NASA that, according to the press release,

Final passage of the president’s budget isn’t expected until late fall.

Jermey N. A. Matthews