Conference 7.286::space

873.0. "NASA selects 52 flight technology proposals (IN-STEP 1992)" by PRAGMA::GRIFFIN (Dave Griffin) Mon Oct 18 1993 15:29

Charles Redmond
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                     October 15, 1993

RELEASE:  93-186

     The NASA Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology has selected 52
proposals for negotiations leading to Phase A awards to develop flight
experiments in response to the 1992 In-Space Technology Experiments Program
(IN-STEP) Announcement of Opportunity.

     The objective of the IN-STEP program is to validate technology concepts
developed within NASA, university or industry facilities which require flight
testing and evaluation in the relevant space environment.

     For the 1992 program, proposals were solicited in eight different
technology areas: space communication; cryo fluid handling; human support;
in-space construction, repair and maintenance; space materials, coatings and
environmental effects; space power; science sensor and sensor cooling and
vibration isolation.

     Proposals also were solicited from U.S. university students to provide
them with an opportunity to participate in technology development experiments.
Five of the 52 proposals are student- submitted.

     This is the fourth small spaceflight experiment solicitation since 1986.
The first three resulted in the development of over 20 flight experiments with
six already completed and an additional eight scheduled to fly during 1994.
The rest are scheduled for flight later.

     More than 350 proposers responded to the announcement.  The proposals were
peer reviewed for technical merit, relevance to NASA and U.S. space technology
goals, for flight justification and for management and cost factors.

     Following completion of the Phase A effort, each of the 47 non- student
experiments selected will compete for approximately 15-20 Phase B awards and
continued hardware development and eventually, flight testing.


     The Phase A studies are expected to cost an average of $100,000 each.  The
experiments are expected to fly on a variety of platforms beginning in 1996.

     The following list identifies the proposals, investigators and

institutions selected:

Space Communications

Optical Beam Forming and Steering of Phased Array Antenna, Dr. Dilip Paul,
COMSAT Corp., Clarksburg, Md.

In-Space 20-GHz Phased Array Demonstration, John Windyka, General Electric,
Syracuse, N.Y.

Deployable, Electronically Steerable, Phased Array Antenna with On- orbit
Flatness Control, Michael G. Doty, Westinghouse Electric Corp., Baltimore.

Phased Array Antenna System For TDRSS, Dennis L. Coombs, Orbital Sciences
Corp., Chantilly, Va.

Superconducting/MMIC K-Band Ultra Low Noise Receiver for Inter- satellite
Links, Dr. Michael Knasel, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Brook Park, Ohio.

Evaluation of Space Effects on High-Bit-Rate, Fiber Optic Data Buses and
Interconnects, Dr. L. A. Bergman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Laser Intersatellite Data Relay Experiment, Peter O. Minott, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Precision Composite Mirror Experiment, Dr. Daniel R. Coulter, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.


Cryo Fluid Handling

Hydrogen Tank Thermodynamic and Fluid Dynamic Experiment, Michael Gruszczynski,
General Dynamics, San Diego, Calif.

Cryogenic Compression Quantity Gauging Concept for In-Space Flight Experiment,
A. C. Rogers, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio.

Subscale Orbital Fluid Transfer Experiment, Michael D. Bentz, The Boeing Co.,
Seattle.

Reduced-Fill Tank Pressure Control Experiment, Jihad M. Albayyari, University
of Cincinnati (student experiment).



Human Support Technology

Micro-Telerobotics Experiment: Micro-Trex, Dr. Blake Hannaford, University of
Washington, Seattle.

Body-Mounted, Head-Up Video Display Terminal, Rick J. Roberson, Tomorrowtools,
Inc., Huntsville, Ala.

EVA Instrumentation Flight Experiment, Dave L. Akin, University of Maryland,
College Park, Md. (student experiment)

Distribution and Automation Technology Advancement, Elaine R. Hansen,
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.


In-Space Construction, Repair and Maintenance

Middeck Non-Destructive Evaluation, Hyoung-Man Kim, McDonnell Douglas Corp.,
Houston.

Foam Inflated/Rigidized Structure Deployment Experiment, Dean Lester, Thiokol
Corp., Brigham City, Utah.

Microgravity Manipulation Dynamics Experiment, Dr. John R. Spofford, Martin
Marietta, Denver.

In-Space Welding Flight Experiment, Ray Miryekta, McDonnell Douglas Corp.,
Huntington Beach, Calif.

Micron Accuracy Deployment Experiment, Dr. Lee Peterson, University of
Colorado, Boulder, Colo.

Control of Flexible Construction Systems, Warren Seering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.



Space Materials, Coatings and Environmental Effects

Atomic Oxygen Durability of Protected Materials, Bruce Banks, NASA Lewis
Research Center, Cleveland.

Passive Materials and Coatings Experiment, Wayne S. Slemp, NASA Langley
Research Center, Hampton, Va.

Space Conductivity and Discharge Experiment, Donald R. Wilkes, AZ Technology,
Inc., Huntsville, Ala.

Active Simulation of Backscattered Chemical Contamination, George E. Caledonia,
Physical Sciences, Inc., Andover, Mass.

Solar Array Module Plasma Interactions Experiment Reflight, G. Barry Hillard,
NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland.

In-situ Monitoring of Orbital Debris, William H. Kinard, NASA Langley Research
Center, Hampton, Va.

Controlled Cross Contamination, Risto Pribisich, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland (student experiment).



Space Power

Micro-gravity Forced Convection Boiling and Condensation, Dr. James F.
Klausner, University of Florida, Gainsville, Fla.

Low Velocity Boiling Heat Transfer and Two Phase Pressure Drop, Vijay Dhir,
University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.

Determination of Flow Regimes for a Two-Phase Fluid in a Microgravity
Environment, Dr. Stevbe Benner, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md.

Inflatable Solar Panel, Patrick Malone, L'Garde, Inc., Tustin, Calif.

Secondary Lithium Cell Technology Flight Experiment, S. Surampudi, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Flight Testing of a Water Capillary Pumped Loop, Kimberly R. Kolos, University
of Maryland, College Park (student experiment).

Flexible Thin-Film Solar Array Experiment, Joseph Armstrong, Martin Marietta,
Denver.

Alkali Metal Thermal-to-Electric Converter Experiment, Mark L. Underwood, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.



Science Sensor and Sensor Cooling Technology

Stellar Interferometer Tracking Experiment, Dr. Edward F. Crawley, MIT,
Cambridge, Mass.

Dewar Lifetime Experiment, John B. Hendricks, Alabama Cryogenic Engineering,
Inc., Huntsville, Ala.

CRYOHP II - Flexible High-capacity Heat Pipe for Sensor Cooling, Dr. Jay H.
Ambrose, Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Sunnyvale, Calif.

Microaccelerometer for Microgravity and Vibration Isolation, Dr. William
Kaiser, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Superconducting Gravity Gradiometer Experiment, Dr. Ho Jung Paik, University of
Maryland, College Park, Md.

Particle Radiation Degradation of CCDs, Alan Delamere, Ball Aerospace, Boulder,
Colo.

Very Stable Lasers for Local-Oscillators at Submillimeter Wavelengths, Stephen
P. Sandford, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.

Two Micron Laser Flight Experiment, Richard H. Moyer, TRW, Redondo Beach,
Calif.



Vibration Isolation Technology

Active Isolation Fitting Flight Experiment, Dr. D. C. Hyland, Harris Corp.,
Melbourne, Fla.

Shuttle Middeck Isolation of Transient Events, Dr. Donald Edberg, McDonnell
Douglas Corp., Huntington Beach, Calif.

Micro Vibration Isolation Platform, Dr. Ray Manning, TRW, Redondo Beach, Calif.

Space Microgravity Payload Isolator Experiment, Dean Jacot, The Boeing Co.,
Seattle.

Robot Umbilicals for Vibration Isolation of Microgravity Payloads, L. Eric
Cross, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.

Six-Axis Smart Strut Isolation Experiment, Gregory W. Neat, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Modular Isolation Microgravity Experiment, Dale Lawrence, University of
Colorado, Boulder, Colo.