NASA Continues Implementation Of 2010 Authorization Act Program Offices, New Technology Solicitations Announced
WASHINGTON -- NASA has announced program office assignments at three NASA field centers to align the president's fiscal year 2012 budget request and the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The agency also has released three Space Technology Program solicitations. NASA will create new program offices to manage human spaceflight activities associated with the development of the Space Launch System, the heavy-lift rocket that will carry humans beyond low Earth orbit; the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the next human exploration spacecraft; and commercial spaceflight vehicles."NASA is moving forward to aggressively implement the bi-partisan
direction the President and Congress have given us, and these program
offices will help us carry out this important mission," NASA
Administrator Charles Bolden said. "The United States continues its
leadership role in human spaceflight and these moves will ensure this
continues for many years to come."
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a program office
responsible for developing the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Johnson
also will continue to lead the way in human research to enable
exploration beyond low Earth orbit. This research heavily leverages
the International Space Station. In addition, the center will be
critical to efforts to facilitate commercial access to low Earth orbit.
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will lead the way in enabling
commercial human spaceflight capabilities and host a program office
dedicated to that work. Kennedy will continue to provide launch
services to both science missions and commercial crew providers.
The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will lead NASA's
efforts on a heavy- lift rocket that will carry humans beyond low
Earth orbit. The center will house the program office for the Space
Launch System and continue to support station operations.
NASA also released three Space Technology Program solicitations
Tuesday as part of the agency's efforts to develop innovative
solutions to enable future exploration and science missions and lower
the cost of other government and commercial space activities.
"These solicitations for innovative research and technology
development, from their earliest stages through maturation and
testing in flight, will provide new knowledge and capabilities for
our future missions," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said.
"Technological leadership is how the United States is going to
out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world."
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program seeks transformative
ideas to enable new aeronautics and space systems capabilities.
NASA's Game Changing Development Program is soliciting proposals for
research and technology development for revolutionary improvements in
America's space capabilities. NASA also is seeking Technology
Demonstration Mission proposals in four areas: high-bandwidth deep
space communication, navigation and timing; orbital debris mitigation
or removal systems; advanced in-space propulsion systems; and
autonomous rendezvous, docking, close proximity operations and
formation flying.
The programs are managed by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist
consistent with provisions of the Authorization Act of 2010. NASA
seeks proposals for all three solicitations that align with the
agency's Space Technology Roadmaps and NASA's Grand Challenges.
Awards are contingent on availability of fiscal year 2011 appropriations.
For more information about the solicitations, including how to submit
applications, visit the "open solicitations" area of:
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/
For more details on the agency's fiscal year 2012 budget, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/budget
To learn more about NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist and future
innovative technology research and development, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/oct
Source: NASA
