Conference 7.286::space

Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, DC            November 18, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1983)
 
Allen Kenitzer
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone:  301/286-2806)
 
 
RELEASE:  94-194
 
NASA AWARDS INTERNET PUBLIC ACCESS GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS
 
     NASA has selected ten organizations to receive a total of $6.8
million to help develop applications and technologies as part of the
agency's efforts to stimulate public use of Earth and space science
data over the Internet.  This is the final selection for the current
competition and follows the awards announced in August of this year.
 
     These awards are made by the NASA Information Infrastructure
Technology and Applications (IITA) program, a part of the federal
initiative to stimulate a U.S. National Information Infrastructure,
commonly called the "Information Superhighway."  The IITA program
aims to provide broad public access to remote sensing data, including
Earth and space science data, for general purposes such as education,
environmental emergency response and agriculture.
 
     "We're especially pleased by the diversity of institutions and
users represented by this set of projects," said Paul Hunter, IITA
program manager at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.  "We'll reach
museum visitors in six states, plus the District of Columbia; farmers
in Wisconsin; flood emergency managers in the southeast; Native
Americans in the Great Plains; and many, many students nationwide.
The developer community includes both large and small universities
such as the University of California at Berkeley and Bowie State
University in Bowie, MD, as well as large and small businesses."
 
     Museums participating in this selection round include the Gulf of
Maine Aquarium, Portland; Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,
Cambridge, MA; Hands On Museum, Ann Arbor, MI; Lawrence Hall of
Science, Berkeley, CA; Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield
Hills, MI; Boston Museum of Science; The Exploratorium, San Francisco;
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC; New York Hall of
Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park; and the Science Museum of
Virginia in Richmond.
 
     Schools and school districts under this selection include the
Yarmouth, ME, school district and Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor, MI.
Several of the projects will identify additional schools and school
districts for collaborative efforts.
 
     The IITA program is administered from NASA Headquarters with
technical management and coordination provided by Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.
 
 
             -end general release-
 
 
A completed list of the grants and cooperative agreements follows.
 
NASA IITA Internet Grants and Cooperative Agreements
 
     Passport to Knowledge:  Electronic Field Trips to Scientific
Frontiers via Interactive TV and the Internet -- a $902,000
cooperative agreement between NASA and The Childhood Project, Inc.,
Summit, NJ.  The NASA-funded portion of this project will use the
Internet to provide on-line access to scientists' diaries and other
curriculum materials in support of live, national, interactive
television field trips to the Antarctic, the Kuiper Observatory and
the Hubble Space Telescope.
 
     Surfing the Net:  Aquatic Applications of Archival Satellite
Imagery -- a $266,000 cooperative agreement between NASA and the Gulf
of Maine Aquarium, Portland.  This project will develop innovative
K-12 learning activities using on-line data to investigate the
land-sea interface, oceanographic applications and studies of the
effect of human activities on the environment.  Early efforts will be
tested by classes in the Yarmouth, ME, school district.
 
     Windows to the Universe - An Earth and Space Science Internet-
Based Active Learning System for the General Public -- a $900,000
grant to the University of Michigan to create a learning system for
Earth and simulation-guided animation and voice overlays to be
implemented in museums and libraries nationwide.  Collaborators in
this project include the Hands On Museum, Ann Arbor, MI; Cranbrook
Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, MI; and Pioneer High School,
Ann Arbor.
 
     A Science Infrastructure for Access to Earth and Space Science
Data Through the Nation's Science Museums -- a $900,000 grant to the
University of California, Berkeley, to create a national Science
Information Infrastructure, a natural partnering of science museums,
teachers and research institutions to stimulate public awareness and
use of remote sensing data and to deliver this information to the
general community.  This project presents a consortium of museums
whichinclude the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA;
 
Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, CA; Boston Museum of Science; The
Exploratorium, San Francisco; National Air and Space Museum,
Washington, DC; New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona
Park; and Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond.
 
     Dissemination of Atmospheric Sciences and Space Sciences Data
and Information for K-12 and the Public:  A Pacific Northwest Approach
 -- an $880,000 grant to the University of Washington, Seattle, to make
real-time and retrospective atmospheric and space science data
available to the general public with special emphasis on products for
use in science and mathematics instruction.  Products will be tailored
to display and explore the unique meteorology of the Pacific Northwest
and the Puget Sound area.
 
     Using Science and the Internet as Everyday Classroom Tools -- a
$667,000 cooperative agreement between NASA and the Smithsonian
Institution Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA.  Associates
include Tenon Intersystems and AT&T.  This project will develop a K-6
"hands-on" astronomy curricular theme that integrates science and
Internet/computer activities into the daily life of the classroom.
 
     Flood Management Enhancement Using Remotely Sensed Data -- a
$609,000 cooperative agreement between NASA and SENTAR, Inc.,
Huntsville, AL, to provide enhancements to existing flood management
capabilities by using remotely sensed Earth data and the extension of
Internet for the communication of data to the field.
 
     Satellite Data Driven Real-Time Agricultural Management
Decision Aids -- an $842,000 grant to the University of Wisconsin,
Madison, to develop four end-user applications of satellite data in
the agricultural and environmental management arena:  1) irrigation
scheduling for on-farm use, 2) irrigation electrical demand prediction
 
system for power generation decisions by utility companies, 3)
estimation of the duration of leaf wetness leading to foliar disease
prediction in potatoes, and 4) prediction of frost damage for
protection of cranberry crops.
 
     Emergency and Crisis Management:  A Remote Sensing
Application -- a $263,000 grant to the University of North Texas,
Denton, to build an application on the Internet to demonstrate the
usefulness of NASA's remote sensing data for use in mitigation,
preparation, response and recovery from natural and technological
disasters.
 
     SAIRE - A Scalable Agent-Based Information Retrieval Engine -- a
$600,000 cooperative agreement between NASA and Loral AeroSys,
Seabrook, MD, with support from Bowie (Maryland) State University.
This project will develop an intelligent software program that will
accept simple descriptions of a request, then correct errors or add
missing information, learn the user's preferences, and shield the user
from complex querying mechanisms in order to access and present Earth
and space science data available over the Internet.

Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, DC        November 15, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1779)              4:00 p.m., EST
 
Tammy Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone:  301/286-5566)
 
RELEASE:  C94-ii
 
 
ORBITAL SCIENCES SELECTED FOR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
 
     Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, VA, has been selected
by NASA to negotiate a firm fixed price contract to provide
launchservices to deploy Ultralight-class payloads into their
requiredorbits.
 
     The contract, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD, is expected to take effect in December, 1994, and
will provide launch services for two missions with priced options
for eight additional missions to be exercised within five years
after contract award.  The total proposed firm fixed price for
the ten launches is $67 million.
 
     In conjunction with NASA's Mixed Fleet Program, the
contractor will provide launch services for payloads with a
fairing dynamic envelope up to 70 inches (178 cm) cylindrical
length.  The baseline mission performance capability requirement
is equivalent to the injection of 300 pounds (136 kg) into a
circular 300-nautical-mile (555 km) polar orbit.
 
     The Ultralight Launch Services procurement supports a new
class of smaller, low-cost space flight missions.  The initial
user of this launch service will be the Student Explorer
Demonstration Initiative payloads under development through a
cooperative agreement with the Universities Space Research
Association, Houston, TX.

Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, DC        November 16, 1994
(Phone:  (202/358-1983)
 
Ann Hutchison
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
(Phone:  415/604-9000)
 
RELEASE:  C94-jj
 
SAIC CHOSEN FOR SAFETY/ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRACT AT AMES
 
     NASA has selected Scientific Applications International
Corp., (SAIC) of San Diego, CA, for the award of a contract to provide
occupational safety, industrial hygiene and environmental services in
support of NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA.
 
     The cost-plus-award fee contract will be valued at
approximately $33.8 million.  The five-year contract includes a
one-year base period followed by four one-year options.  It also
includes options for additional level of effort, materials and other
subcontracted services.
 
     Under the contract, SAIC will provide support to Ames
Research Center's Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance
in areas including health and safety, environmental protection and
hazardous waste management, and hazardous materials emergency response
and training.

 
Terri Hudkins
Headquarters, Washington, DC           November 30, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1977)
 
 
RELEASE:  94-198
 
EDUCATION TELECASTS SCHEDULED FOR 1994-95 SCHOOL YEAR
 
     The 1994-95 season schedule of "NASA...On the Cutting
Edge" pre-college educational telecasts will feature
presentations on the recent collision of comet Shoemaker-
Levy, unique research in microgravity, the Earth's changing
environment, and the diverse role of lasers in NASA
technologies.
 
     Now in its eighth season, "NASA...On the Cutting
Edge" is a series of four, one-hour, live and interactive
educational television programs broadcast via satellite to
schools in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico
between 4-5 p.m. Eastern time.  Last season, over 2,000
educational institutions participated in the series.
 
     The electronic field trips are one of NASA's major
telecommunications projects, providing educators with
resources for teaching mathematics, science and technology
subjects.  Participants learn about NASA programs through
discussions with scientists and engineers.  Aerospace
education specialists demonstrate classroom activities and
announce new education programs, products and activities
available to teachers.  The live broadcasts are interactive
via telephone and NASA Spacelink--NASA's computerized
library for educators.
 
     The 1994-95 season schedule includes:
 
Cosmic Collision: Comet Shoemaker-Levy   Dec. 1, 1994
The GEE! in Microgravity      Feb. 2, 1995
Environmental Change: Earth Observing
                               System   March 16, 1995
Lasers:  Learning with Light   May 4, 1995
 
     Elementary and secondary school faculty as well as
other educational institutions such as planetariums,
science centers, libraries and organized youth groups
receive the signal through school satellite antennas and
through participating cable television systems.
 
     NASA TV, the agency's video distribution system, will
transmit the programs live on Spacenet 2, transponder 5,
channel 8, 69 degrees West with horizontal polarization,
frequency 3880.0 MHz, audio on 6.8 MHz.
 
     There is no charge to participate in this program,
however, schools must register in advance to receive
announcements, publications and other materials for
teacher-participants.  To register, write NASA Education
Videoconference Producer, 308-A CITD, Oklahoma State
University, Stillwater, OK 74078-0422, or call 405/744-
6784.
 
     The educational broadcast series is produced for NASA
by the Teaching From Space Program at Oklahoma State
University's Educational Television Services.

 
Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, DC       December 6, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1779)
 
Myron Webb
Stennis Space Center, MS
(Phone:  601/688-3341)
 
RELEASE:  94-203
 
 
NASA SELECTS PROJECTS FOR COMMERCIAL REMOTE SENSING
 
     NASA has selected eight projects which could lead to new
private sector applications of space-based and airborne sensing
technologies.
 
     Named EOCAP '94, for Earth Observations CommercialApplications
Program 1994, the projects represent the fourth cycle in a continuing
program designed to increase a broader use of NASA-developed
technology for gathering and analyzing valuable information about
Earth and ocean resources through remote satellite or aircraft
observations.
 
     EOCAP is sponsored by NASA's Office of Space Access and
Technology and is managed by the Commercial Remote Sensing Program
Office at the John C. Stennis Space Center, MS.  NASA's investment
with these eight companies will total approximately $4.5 million over
three years.  The companies' investments over this same time period
will be approximately $12.3 million.
 
     The role of EOCAP in commercial activities is to provide
financial and technical support to companies for a limited time in
areas of remote sensing activities where there is substantial market
risk in matching science and technology with commercial demand.
 
     EOCAP supports technical, market and business innovation to
develop new products/services that serve emerging domestic and
international markets.  Winning proposals, in addition to high
technical competence, typically exhibit:  strong business and
marketing plans; product advisory boards to guide the product/service
development; and substantial financial commitments to the projects by
the companies.
 
     The eight projects selected for negotiation are expected to
lead to one-year funding cooperative agreements, with options to
extend funding up to two additional years.  The EOCAP solicitation is
open to U.S. companies of all sizes.  Six of the eight EOCAP '94
companies are categorized as small businesses.
 
The EOCAP ' 94 projects are:
 
     Model Supported Data Exploitation of Hyperspectral Imagery,
proposed by investigators affiliated with Photon Research Associates,
Inc., La Jolla, CA;
 
     Commercial Production and Real Time Access of High Resolution
Geographic Data, proposed by investigators affiliated with Hammon
Jensen Wallen and Associates, Oakland, CA;
 
     Windstar:  Satellite Derived Marine Wind Forecasts for
Commercial Television Weather Broadcasts, proposed by investigators
affiliated with User Systems, Inc., Chesapeake Beach, MD;
 
     Precision Data Products from Digital Airborne Topographics
Imaging System, proposed by investigators affiliated with Eagle Scan
Inc., Boulder, CO;
 
     The Development of Desktop Mapping Software Package
Integrating Vector Display, Raster GIS Analysis and RS Change
Detection, proposed by investigators affiliated with ERDAS, Inc.,
Atlanta, GA;
 
     User Installable Airborne Imagery Collection System for Cost
Sensitive Applications, proposed by investigators affiliated with
TASC, Ft. Walton, FL;
 
     GEODESY:  Geography Development, An Educational System for
Youth, proposed by investigators affiliated with Berkeley Geo Research
Groups, Orinda, CA;  and,
 
     Quantification of Impacts on Wildlife Resources, proposed by
Falcon Information Technologies, Inc., Dallas, TX.

 
Terri Sindelar-Hudkins
Headquarters, Washington, DC              December 9, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1977)
 
RELEASE:  94-207
 
LIVE EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTS FROM ANTARCTICA
 
     Students in the U.S. will be able to see and talk to 
scientists in Antarctica without leaving their desks during 
unique educational broadcasts from the South Pole beginning 
Dec. 13.  
 
     This ground-breaking educational project, Live From 
Antarctica, will virtually transport students to Antarctica 
via live televised broadcasts and on-line services.  During 
one episode, a student from Chicago will "reposition" the 
official South Pole geographic marker.
 
     NASA is a co-sponsor of the "Passport To Knowledge" 
series that uses the unique power of television and on-line 
computer networks to educate students about science through 
live, interactive expeditionary learning adventures. 
 
     Live From Antarctica, the first in a series of topics 
in the "Passport To Knowledge" educational program, is 
produced by Maryland Public Television (MPT), Geoff Haines-
Stiles Productions (GHSP) and WTTW/Chicago.
 
     Live From Antarctica is a series of four, 40-minute 
electronic field trips to Antarctica and will feature the 
first-ever live telecast from the geographic South Pole.  
 
     The episodes will be distributed by PBS over Telstar 
401 on Dec. 13 and 15, 1994 at 2 p.m. EST; Jan. 10 at 5:30 
p.m. EST; and Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. EST.  NASA Television, the 
agency's distribution system, will transmit the programs 
live on Spacenet 2, transponder 5, at 69 degrees West 
longitude with horizontal polarization, frequency 3880.0 
MHz, audio on 6.8 MHz.
 
     The episodes will show Antarctica's unique status as 
a research site governed by international agreements and 
how polar research permits scientists to see clues to the 
future of the entire planet.  
 
     Telecasts will allow students to examine Antarctica's 
geology, weather, biology and animal life, and to view 
astronomical, climatic and environmental research currently 
under way on the Earth's most remote continent.
 
     The students' guides will be young scientists who 
have made scientific achievement their passport to a 
lifetime of discovery.  Students will question scientists 
in Antarctica during each episode.  Pre-produced video 
reports will introduce and explain the key concepts of each 
episode and introduce the participating researchers. 
 
     A major highlight of the project will take place Jan. 
10 with the first-ever live telecast from the South Pole.  
Elizabeth Felton, a seventeen-year-old recent graduate of 
the Chicago Public Schools, will use U.S. Geological Survey 
data to reposition the copper marker designating Earth's 
geographic South Pole.  A videotape of the live telecast 
will be rebroadcast on Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. EST.  Should there 
be weather problems with the Jan. 10 live broadcast, the 
contingency date is Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m. EST.
 
     To augment the telecasts, students can participate in 
electronic correspondence with Antarctic researchers and 
receive updated scientific and weather data.  
 
     On-line services will be available through three 
sources accessible on Internet:  PBS ONLINE's Learning 
Link; NASA Spacelink (spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov); and via a 
server of NASA's K-12 Internet Project by sending an E-mail 
message to [email protected], leave the 
subject line blank and in the body write:  subscribe 
updates-lfa. 
 
     NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, is the 
video gateway for the four broadcasts.  Two NASA Science 
Internet technicians are in Antarctica providing technical 
support for the live broadcasts.  
 
     The Passport to Knowledge  project recently received 
a cooperative agreement grant under the NASA Information 
Infrastructure Technology and Applications (IITA) program, 
which is part of the federal initiative to stimulate a U.S. 
National Information Infrastructure, commonly called the 
"Information Superhighway."
 
     Antarctica was first connected live to the rest of 
the world using satellite, video, voice and network 
communications through the ground-breaking efforts of the 
NASA Science Internet (NSI) project.  NSI is a key element 
of NASA's science information systems infrastructure, 
providing the research community with reliable electronic 
communications access to colleagues, data archives and 
computational resources around the world.
 
     Offices within NASA participating in the project are 
the Education Division, Office of Human Resources and 
Education; IITA, Office of Aeronautics; NASA Science 
Internet, Office of Space Science; Office of Life and 
Microgravity Sciences; NASA's Ames Research Center; NASA's 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL; and NASA's 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.

 
Don Nolan-Proxmire
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   June 9, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1983)
 
Lori J. Rachul
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH
(Phone:  216/433-8806)
 
RELEASE:  C95-i
 
NASA SELECTS RESEARCH GROUP TO BOOST U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
 
     A Cooperative Agreement has been signed by NASA and a 
research consortium headed by United Technologies, Pratt & 
Whitney Group, to develop aircraft propulsion applications 
that will give a network of small computers the capabilities 
of a super computer.
 
     The alliance reflects a recent NASA initiative utilizing
cooperative agreements in joint ventures to conduct computer research.
 
     "This cooperative agreement has produced a powerful team 
from industry, academia and government that will integrate 
advanced aeropropulsion, computing and communications 
technologies to help the United States maintain its world 
leadership in aeropropulsion," said Dr. John K. Lytle, chief 
of Lewis Research Center's Interdisciplinary Technology Branch.
 
     Distributed computing is the thrust of NASA's Affordable 
High Performance Computing Project (AHPCP), an effort which 
focuses on specific requirements of the U.S. aerospace 
community and enhances the Nation's competitiveness.  This 
effort will concentrate on research and development in novel 
aircraft jet engine computer simulations, supporting high-risk 
and high-payoff opportunities that demonstrate strong 
potential for commercial benefits of NASA technology.
 
     The total value of the joint venture is $8.4 million including
$4 million direct NASA funding to conduct research under the program.
In addition to United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney Group, East 
Hartford, CT, consortium members are CFD Research, Huntsville, 
AL; Platform Computing, Newbury, MA; MacNeal Schwendler Corp., 
Los Angeles, CA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
Cambridge, MA; and State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
 
     As NASA's Center of Excellence in Aeropropulsion, Lewis 
Research Center, Cleveland, OH, will work jointly with the 
Pratt & Whitney team to apply high performance computing 
technologies to reduce design cycle time for aircraft jet 
engine compressors.  This research will lead to substantial 
increases in performance and reductions in development cost.  
NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, and NASA's 
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, also will participate 
in this research, with a focus on system software development.

 
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC                  June 7, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1979)
 
RELEASE:  95-85
 
STUDENTS SELECTED FOR NASA SCIENCE TRAINING PROGRAM
 
     Forty college students have been chosen by NASA to 
participate in an intensive six-week life sciences summer 
residence training program at the Kennedy Space Center, FL.  
The program is for undergraduate college students majoring 
in life sciences, bioengineering and related science and 
engineering fields.
 
     Now in its 10th year, the Space Life Sciences Training 
Program (SLSTP) is designed to attract college students to a 
career in space life sciences research.  Participants will 
gain insight into how space life sciences flight experiments 
are conducted, as well as explore current and future 
research opportunities.
 
     Selected students will work with NASA researchers in 
developing flight and ground-based space life sciences 
experiments.  In addition to offering hands-on research 
experience, the curriculum provides a complete overview of 
the field of space life sciences through lectures by 
astronauts, as well as NASA and university scientists, and 
includes facility tours and special projects.  
 
     On occasion the students may have an opportunity to 
participate in the preparation and monitoring of actual 
Space Shuttle flight experiments.  The SLSTP will be held 
from mid-June through the end of July.
 
     After the successful completion of the program, five 
semester hours of college credit will be offered to each 
student through Florida A&M University, which also is 
responsible for program promotion, student recruitment, 
selection, travel, housing, program evaluation and academic 
consultation.
 
     The 40 students were selected competitively from 
approximately 500 applicants.  Students in the program must 
be undergraduates majoring in science or engineering and 
have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0/4.0.  
More than 360 students have participated in the program 
since its inception in 1985.
 
     SLSTP is sponsored by NASA's Office of Life and 
Microgravity Sciences and Applications and the Office of 
Human Resources and Education.
 
The students selected for the 1995 Space Life Sciences 
Training Program are:
 
Student                  Hometown              College
 
Kineshia K. Abram      Columbia, MS          Jackson State U.
Lori A. Amason         Centralia, IL         Kaskaskia Jr. College
Robert W. Amerine      Colorado Springs, CO  Colorado State U.
Ellen Burts            Birmingham, AL        Stillman College
Matthew J. Carfrae     Cedar Rapids, IA      Marquette U.
Anita A. Chandrathil   Des Plaines, IL       U. of IL, Urbana-Champaign
Myron A. Chornuk       Seattle, WA           U. of Washington
Calvin N. Collins      Tampa, FL             Hills Borough Comm. College
Kathryn M. Davis       Longview, TX          Texas A&M U.
Alisha B. Diggs        New Orleans, LA       Xavier U.
Lynn M. Evans          Pewee Valley, KY      Wittenberg U.
Mark G. Fagan          Hanna, WY             Wesleyan U.
Jill A. Gogel          Dale, IN              Purdue U.
Brian E. Grace         Nortonville, KY       Western Kentucky U.
George R. Hamilton     Rochester, NY         SUNY at Buffalo
Shelly Harper          Omaha, NE             Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.
Clay H. Holdsworth     Wilbraham, MA         U. of Massachusetts
Felix A. Irizarry      Aquadilla, PR         U. of Puerto Rico
Christopher D. Jackson Decatur, GA           Florida A&M U.
Claudine L. Joyner     Cleveland, TN         Cleveland State Comm. College
Bryan D. Lambird       El Toro, CA           U. of Southern CA
Amy J. Litscher        Lake Mills, WI        Beloit College
Belise L. Livingston   Deltona, FL           Spelman College
Justin R. Lohmeier     Jackson, MS           U. of Virginia
Kennda L. Lynch        Rockford, IL          U. of IL, Urbana-Champaign
Gioia D. Massa         Big Arm, MT           Cornell U.
Suzanne K. Paris       Spring, TX            North Harris College
Eric E. Peterson       Napa, CA              Napa Valley College
Shawn W. Pyle          Finley, TN            Dyersburg State Comm. College
Demario L. Rollins     Tallahassee, FL       Florida A&M U.
Joy J. Serogum         Canton, IL            U. of IL, Urbana-Champaign
Kathleen H. Sienko     Endicott, NY          U. of Kentucky
Amy P. Synder          Upper St. Clair, PA   Cornell U.
Ee T. Tay              Palm Bay, FL          U. of Florida
Donna L. Todacheene    Lukachukai, AZ        Haskell Indian Nations U.
Nirav N. Vakharia      Westlake, OH          Case Western Reserve U.
Brian H. Wayman        Hillsboro, MD         U. of Maryland Baltimore County
Valerie S. Weidner     University Park, MD   Duke U.
James B. Wohlwend      Derby, KS             Friends U.
Heidi A. Zeleznik      Myrtle Beach, SC      Coastal Carolina U.

 
Ray Castillo
Headquarters, Washington, DC               June 13, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-4555)
 
 
RELEASE:  95-92
 
 
NASA ADMINISTRATOR RELEASES STATEMENT ON GAO REPORT
 
     "The GAO's annual audit of the international Space 
Station program proves, once again, that the international 
Space Station program is on schedule and under budget," 
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin said today.  "The GAO 
has validated our cost estimates for the design, 
development, on-orbit assembly and operations of the 
international Space Station."
 
     GAO reports that the estimate to design and build the 
international Space Station has remained constant at $17.4 
billion, and the estimate for ten years of operations is 
still $13.0 billion.
 
     While the GAO and NASA agree on these figures, the GAO 
makes other assertions with which NASA does not concur.  
For example, the report implies that the Space Shuttle 
program will have difficulty meeting the Space Station 
assembly schedule.   
 
     "I have full confidence that the Shuttle program can 
meet the Space Station's launch requirements on time and 
within budget," Goldin responded.  "The Space Station is 
not a paper program anymore.  We are building it.  We have 
completed over 48,000 pounds of hardware to date."
 
     GAO's Space Station life cycle cost estimate of $93.9 
billion includes $50.5 billion for Shuttle transportation 
costs.  NASA would still require funding for the Space 
Shuttle if the Space Station were canceled.  Furthermore, 
over fifty percent of the funding for research conducted 
under the Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications 
program is included in the Station budget.  Prior costs for 
other Station designs and civil service salaries also are 
included in the GAO estimate.
 
     "In this time of austere budgets, we must be very 
careful how we characterize NASA's funding," Goldin said.  
"These figures are not new.  They are based on the average 
cost of a Shuttle flight.  However, to suggest that these 
funds would be saved if Station were terminated is 
incorrect.  NASA is firmly committed to human exploration 
of space, and we would still fly the Space Shuttle if the 
Space Station program were canceled."
 
     The GAO Report did mention that the Space Station 
program is under budget and on schedule.  Goldin stressed 
that "the program has made a year of solid progress since 
their last report."  Some of the program's accomplishments 
over the past year include:
 
-	Completing every major milestone on time
 
-	Signing the Boeing prime contract for $5.63 billion, 
about $600 million less than originally estimated
 
-	Building over 48,000 pounds of hardware to date, with 
over 75,000 to be completed by the end of 1995
 
-	Signing the FGB protocol and successfully completing the 
FGB Critical Design Review
 
-	Flying a successful rendezvous between the Space Shuttle 
and the Mir Space Station
 
-	Launching Norm Thagard on his historic stay aboard Mir.
 

 
Don Nolan-Proxmire
Headquarters, Washington, DC                    June 13, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1983)
 
RELEASE:  95-91
 
NASA JOINS FAA AND DOD IN HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH
 
     NASA has joined with the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) in a comprehensive 
initiative to apply human factors research to the National 
Airspace System.  The plan represents an all encompassing 
national commitment to making the system safer and less 
complicated for the people who use it.
 
     "NASA is proud to work with the FAA and the Department 
of Defense in an effort to improve safety in commercial 
aviation," said NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.  "Since 
1976, NASA has managed the Aviation Safety Reporting System for 
the FAA.  Aviation incidents reported voluntarily and confidentially 
by pilots, air traffic controllers and others are combined to form 
the world's most comprehensive aviation human factors database," 
he added.
 
     The action plan titled, "The National Plan for Civil 
Aviation Human Factors", is compatible with Vice President 
Albert Gore's National Science and Technology Council.  The 
Council outlines a coordinated national agenda to address one 
of the principle goals established at the Department of 
Transportation's industry-wide Safety Conference last 
January:  to eliminate accidents and incidents attributed to 
human error.
 
     In spite of the success of more sophisticated and 
reliable technology, the proportion of human error-related 
accidents is still as high as 60 to 80 percent.
 
    The initiative will bring research results to the 
operational community.  Additionally the plan has three main 
goals:  identifying operational needs and problems involving 
human performance; guiding research programs which address 
the human factor; and eliciting the participation of the 
nation's top scientists and aviation professionals in 
government, private industry and universities.
 
     The plan provides for sharing of research results among 
the participating government agencies and the private sector 
to increase the speed and efficiency by which new concepts in 
human performance can be tested, validated and incorporated 
into the national aviation system.
 
                         -end-
 

 
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC               June 19, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1979)
 
Eileen Hawley 
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone:  713/483-5111)
 
RELEASE:  95-97
 
NASA LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH GOES ON LINE
 
    Beginning today on the Internet, computer users will be 
able to access the first stage of a NASA data archive that 
eventually will provide the wealth of scientific knowledge 
developed from 30 years of space-based research into the effects
of microgravity on living systems, including the human body.
 
    The Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) contains overview 
information on the 18 experiments conducted on the Spacelab 
Life Sciences-1 mission that flew on board the Shuttle in June 
1991.  As the system grows and matures, information from other 
life sciences research conducted on other missions, such as the 
International Microgravity Laboratory flights, Spacelab-Japan 
and Spacelab Life Sciences-2, will be included.
 
    "We have a great deal of valuable information in our life 
sciences archive," said Gerry Taylor, Project Manager of the 
Life Sciences Data Archive and staff scientist in the Life 
Sciences Program Integration Office at the Johnson Space Center 
(JSC), Houston.  "Now, people will be able to learn about the 
research we have done and how it has direct applications to 
their own quality of life here on Earth."
 
    The information is housed at the National Space Science 
Data Center (NSSDC) with active links to a number of other 
NASA-related home pages.  Internet users can access the 
information at: 
 
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/life/nssdc/life_home.html
 
    The archives are designed for easy use by researchers, 
educators and students.  The Master Catalog will serve as a 
top-level directory describing each completed life science 
space flight, and provide an overview of each experiment 
conducted during the flight.  Beginning in the Fall of 1995, 
users also will be able to order several CD-ROM products from 
the NSSDC for more detailed information about a single mission 
or single experiment.  The Mission CD-ROMs will provide 
information about the mission itself; the available LSDA 
Experiment CD-ROM will contain fundamental, analyzed and 
summarized data for any particular life sciences experiment 
conducted on a flight.
 
    "We are very excited about the prospect of sharing this 
wealth of knowledge with the American public," Taylor said.  
"With the archives available through the Internet, researchers 
will be able to stay current with space life science research 
and results, and will benefit from having a central location 
where they can find this information."
 
    Taylor also stressed that the information available on the 
Internet will be valuable to students and educators in 
preparing research papers or class lessons, and in proposing 
student experiments to NASA.
 
    The Life Sciences Data Archive was developed jointly by the 
Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications at 
NASA Headquarters; JSC; Ames Research Center, Mountain View, 
CA; and Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD; with 
support from Martin Marietta Services Group, Houston, TX; 
Futron Corp. and the Uniformed Services University of Health 
Sciences, Bethesda, MD; Lockheed Engineering and Science Group, 
Houston, TX and Sunnyvale, CA; Hughes STX, Greenbelt, MD; Mains 
Associates, Berkeley, CA; and Universities Space Research 
Association, Washington, DC.

Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, DC                    June 20, 1995
(Phone: 202/358-1547)                            10 a.m. EDT
 
RELEASE:  95-99
 
NASA RELEASES GOLDIN'S STATEMENT ON REDUCTIONS
 
     The following statement from NASA Administrator Daniel 
S. Goldin on the proposed cuts to the Agency's Mission to 
Planet Earth program was released today through the 
President's Office of Science and Technology Policy.
 
        Statement of NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin 
Regarding Effects of Proposed Five-Year, $2.7 Billion Reduction
 
     The House of Representatives has approved a FY96 budget 
resolution which assumes a massive reduction over the next 
five years to NASA's efforts to study the Earth - Mission to
Planet Earth.  Such a cut would dismantle the national approach
to U.S. global change research priorities established over the
last three Administrations and undercut U.S. leadership in this 
important area of research.  It would destroy this program's 
basic feature -- comprehensiveness -- and turn an integrated, 
global program into a series of disconnected and 
fundamentally less effective measurements.  Worse still, it 
would condemn American scientists to pursuing an approach to 
environmental research that is more than a decade out of date.  
 
     The cuts would cripple the core of the program - the 
Earth Observing System (EOS) - the first integrated satellite 
and research system designed to observe the linkages among 
all the components of the Earth system--the land, oceans, 
atmosphere, ice sheets, and ecosystems.  Understanding these 
linkages is the critical next step to unlocking the secrets 
of how the environment works and how it affects us all.  
 
     NASA's approach to EOS converges both scientific and 
practical interests.  First, the same instruments will 
collect data of significant value to both communities, as 
demonstrated by more than two successful decades of Landsat 
information.  Second, scientists recognize that they must be 
able to translate their research down to the regional level 
to truly understand global climate effects.  Practical users 
need regional information, as well as its global context.  
Most importantly, the EOS data will be used to forecast the 
climate -  a year in advance at first, then progressively 
longer.  The ability to make reliable regional and global 
climate forecasts will have a profound impact on society.  
Such forecasts are key to major improvements in agricultural 
and urban planning, water and forest management, investment 
and capital decisions, and fishing, all of which 
fundamentally affect U.S. competitiveness.  They would also 
enable improvements in our ability to predict and react to 
natural disasters, like floods and hurricanes, thereby 
preventing greater loss of life and property.  All of these 
gains would be lost if the proposed cuts to EOS are sustained.
 
     The U.S. government - in partnership with scientists, 
private companies, and other nations - must ensure that this 
cutting-edge research that is the foundation of Mission to 
Planet Earth is continued.  Government leadership in this 
science and technology innovation is the key to enabling the 
broad commercial contributions, foreseen by many, in the 
environmental field and realizing numerous benefits for 
science, commerce, and policy.  NASA has always been at the 
forefront of such advances in knowledge and we stand 
committed to this effort.
 
     By walking away from the systematic and comprehensive 
approach for Mission to Planet Earth, the U.S. would also 
give up its undisputed world leadership in  Earth observations,
jeopardize technologies which will be critical to the growing
commercial remote sensing market, and reduce our ability to influence
the global environmental agenda.   Significant U.S. investment in
environmental science is the key to preserving this impartiality
among nations and sustaining U.S. economic competitiveness in the global 
marketplace.
 
     We at NASA are all committed to prudent and permanent 
deficit reduction.  Recognizing our fiscal responsibility, 
NASA has already made enormous reductions in our future budgets.
However, further cuts to Mission to Planet Earth - and environmental
research in general - seriously jeopardize an investment in the future
that will return economic and quality of life benefits far in excess of 
what we spend today.  
 
                         - end -
 

 
Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC            June 21, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1753)
 
Diane Ainsworth
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone:  818/354-5011)
 
RELEASE:  95-100
 
NASA SELECTS NEW MILLENNIUM PROGRAM PARTNERS
 
        Twenty-three industry and university partners across 
the country, representing all sectors of the U.S. 
technological community, have been selected to team with 
NASA in the New Millennium Program.  This bold new 
technology effort aims to develop and demonstrate 
breakthrough technologies for low-cost space science 
missions of the 21st century.
 
        The 23 organizations will participate in four of the 
five Integrated Product Development Teams in the New 
Millennium Program, following a two-month process that 
reviewed more than 230 proposals originally submitted to NASA.
 
        "These teams will lead in the development and 
delivery of selected advanced technologies in four primary 
spaceflight development areas:  autonomy, communications, 
microelectronics and modular architectures and 
multifunctional systems," said Kane Casani, manager of the 
program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
 
        "With this dynamic, synergistic partnership, we are 
striving to introduce revolutionary technologies, spacecraft 
designs and operations concepts," Casani said, "to bring 
about a transformation in the way we explore the solar 
system and study Earth from space in the next century."
 
        Selection of industry, academic and nonprofit 
research organization members for the fifth Integrated 
Product Development Team -- focusing on science instruments 
and micro, electro and mechanical systems -- will be 
announced in late July.
 
        The New Millennium Program is focused on development 
and validation in space of advanced technologies needed for 
a fleet of small spacecraft that will explore the solar 
system, monitor Earth and observe the cosmos.  
Constellations or networks of spacecraft, carrying 
instruments sometimes as small as a dime, will be designed 
to study phenomena occurring in Earth's atmosphere, oceans 
and land masses, as well as astronomical events in the solar 
system and beyond.
 
        The Integrated Product Development Teams will play a 
multi-faceted role in the New Millennium Program.  They will 
be involved in all aspects of the program, from technology 
development through science data processing.  In identifying 
advanced technologies appropriate for demonstration on New 
Millennium flights, the teams will recommend technologies 
that should also sharpen the country's competitive edge in 
the commercial marketplace.
 
        The proposals under review for inclusion in the New 
Millennium Program cover a wide range of imaginative 
technologies that will enable NASA to launch focused space 
and Earth science missions as often as once a month by early 
in the next century, Casani said.  All were aimed at 
reducing total mission costs and improving the scientific 
benefits of Earth and space science missions now on the 
drawing boards at NASA.
 
        The program is designed to validate these advanced 
technologies and operations techniques through a series of 
actual spaceflight missions.  Among the most popular mission 
concepts now under consideration is a flight that includes a 
flyby of either a comet or asteroid.  This flight would 
provide an opportunity to demonstrate a solar electric 
propulsion system, which is much smaller in mass compared to 
traditional chemical propulsion systems.  Other mission 
concepts include Earth-observing networks and 
constellations, and a microlander that would be destined for 
Mars or other planets.
 
        These missions would demonstrate prototypes of 
highly sophisticated instruments designed to achieve 
specific scientific goals.  Another concept in review, for 
instance, is a free-flying interferometer, an optical 
science instrument that combines light from several 
telescopes flying in formation with each other into one 
unified image.  The mission would demonstrate the 
technologies and operating techniques for subsequent 
missions that should be able to detect and characterize 
planets around other stars.
 
        NASA plans to select three demonstration missions 
developed by the New Millennium Program teams and announce 
those mission selections by the end of the summer.  The 
first experimental mission will fly in late 1997 or early 
1998, with the remaining missions to follow at approximately 
one-year intervals through 2000.
 
        The New Millennium Program is managed by the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Offices of Space Science, 
Space Access and Technology and Office of Mission to Planet 
Earth, Washington, DC.
 
Note to Editors:  A list of industry partners and 
academic institutions teaming with NASA in the New 
Millennium Program follows.
 
			-end-
 
 
INTEGRATED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TEAM MEMBERS
 
COMMUNICATIONS:
 
        Lockheed Martin Corporation, Valley Forge, PA
        Boeing Co., Seattle, WA
        Loral, Palo Alto, CA
        University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
        TRW, Redondo Beach, CA
 
AUTONOMY:
 
        Lockheed Martin Corporation, Palo Alto, CA
        TRW, Redondo Beach, CA
        Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
        Hughes Danbury Optical Systems, Danbury, CT
        OCA Applied Optics, Garden Grove, CA
        Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
        Microcosom, Inc., Torrence, CA
 
MICROELECTRONICS:
 
        Lockheed Martin Corporation, East Windsor, NJ
        Loral, Palo Alto, CA
        TRW, Redondo Beach, CA
        Honeywell, Clearwater, FL
        Space Computer Co., Santa Monica, CA
        University of California at San Diego
        Optivision, Palo Alto, CA
        University of Southern California, Los Angeles
 
MODULAR ARCHITECTURES AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS:
 
        Lockheed Martin Corporation, Denver, CO
        L'Garde, Inc., Tustin, CA
        OLIN, Redman, WA

 
Terri Hudkins
Headquarters, Washington, DC               June 21, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1977)
 
Greta Creech
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone:  202/358-2343)
 
NOTE TO EDITORS:  N95-42
 
SPACE SHUTTLE AND SPACE STATION MOCKUPS COME TO DC
 
    Mockups of the Space Shuttle and the Space Station will 
land in Washington, DC, Thursday, June 22.
 
     Space Shuttle Blake, a 4/10 scale mockup of the Space 
Shuttle Challenger, will be launched on its educational 
mission with a ceremony on Capitol Hill with Congressman 
Paul McHale (D-PA), NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and 
astronaut G. David Low.
 
     The event will take place at 8:30 a.m. EDT in Garfield 
Circle, 1st St. and Maryland Ave., SW, near the entrance to 
the U.S. Botanical Garden.  After the ceremony, the Shuttle 
mockup will be on display until 2 p.m. for tours.
 
     A life-size mockup of the interior of the Space Station laboratory
and habitation modules -- where astronauts will conduct research and live
in space -- will be on display for viewing at the corner of 4th Street and
Independence Avenue, SW, just east of the National Air and Space Museum.
The trailers will be open to the public on June 22 from 10:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.,
June 23 from 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., and June 24 from 10:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
 
     The Station exhibit will offer visitors a view of life 
in space.  Staff will be available to answer questions and 
explain how the international Space Station will be used.
 
     Shuttle Blake began as a former Marine Corps bus that 
was transformed into a $3.1 million mobile classroom by art 
teacher Robert Boehmer and former principal Stephen Szilagyi 
of Schnecksville Elementary School, Schnecksville, PA. 
 
     The inspiration for Blake grew out of NASA's 1989 
education program that offered American students the 
opportunity to name the replacement Orbiter in recognition 
of both their remembrance of the Challenger and their 
enthusiasm for space exploration. 
 
	Szilagyi and Boehmer -- whose student team was a 
Pennsylvania state finalist in NASA's orbiter-naming 
competition -- wanted Blake to continue the Challenger 
mission.  They chose the name "Blake" in honor of America's 
first oceanographer, Alexander Agassiz, who expanded the 
research conducted on the renowned British oceanographic 
vessel Challenger.
 
    Blake was designed to simulate space travel and allow 
students to use education technology out of the traditional 
classroom.  The simulations of a launch and various aspects 
of a Shuttle mission provide real-time problem-solving and 
applied learning for students.  
 
     The 45-foot, road-ready educational Shuttle laboratory 
is equipped with a microcomputer network featuring 
interactive hypermedia, laser disc technology, optical data 
laser discs, computers, a flight simulator and software to 
amplify lessons in physics, English, math and geography.  
Other equipment includes a miniature robotic arm, weather 
systems, cellular communications, and ham-radio equipment 
for real-time contact with the Space Shuttle and Russian Mir 
space station.  
 
                    -end-
 

Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, DC               June 29, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1779)
 
RELEASE:  95-103
 
NASA ANNOUNCES 1995 STTR PHASE I SELECTIONS
 
     NASA has selected 30 research proposals for immediate 
negotiation of Phase I contracts as part of the 1995 Small 
Business Technology Transfer Pilot Program (STTR).
 
     "This program is one of the ways that NASA takes the 
knowledge gained in air and space exploration and transfers 
it to the public," said Jack Mansfield, Associate 
Administrator of the Office of Space Access & Technology, 
which is sponsoring the program.
 
     The 1995 Phase I solicitation closed on March 23, 
1995.  Seventy-nine separate proposals were submitted by 67 
small, high technology businesses from all sections of the 
United States.  Research topics included:  general 
aviation, advanced materials and structures for aerospace 
systems, energy conversion technology, access to space, and 
Mission to Planet Earth enhancements.
 
     All proposals were peer reviewed for both technical 
merit and commercial potential.  Four NASA field centers 
participated in these evaluations.  Each of the 30 selected 
proposals will be awarded a fixed-price contract valued up 
to $100,000 with 12 months to complete their Phase I projects.
 
     The STTR program requires small business concerns to 
conduct cooperative research and development by partnering 
with a research institution.  At least 40% of the work must 
be performed by the small business concern, and at least 
30% must be performed by the research institute. 
 
     Companies that successfully complete Phase I 
activities are eligible to compete for Phase II awards the 
following year.  The Phase II award process allows for two-
year, fixed-price contracts of up to $500,000.
 
                           - end -
 

 
Terri Hudkins
Headquarters, Washington, DC            July 3, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1977)
 
RELEASE:  95-106
 
NASA CREATES MINORITY UNIVERSITY INFORMATION NETWORK
 
     NASA has selected seven minority universities to 
receive cooperative agreement awards for developing Network 
Resources and Training Sites (NRTS) to stimulate the use of 
the Internet via computer networks.
 
     The awards will provide the universities with 
approximately $400,000 a year of research and development 
funding for up to five years and enable them to develop 
information infrastructure and advances that may later be 
applied in research and education activities.
 
     The NRTS will be responsible for building and 
maintaining Internet connectivity to minority institutions 
and predominantly minority-attended elementary and 
secondary schools.  The sites also will provide training in 
network implementation, operation and usage to faculty and 
students at those institutions. 
 
     The universities selected to receive awards are:
 
-	Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC
-	Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
-	Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX
-	South Carolina State University, Orangeburg
-	Tennessee State University, Nashville
-	The City College of New York
-	The University of Texas at El Paso
 
     These awards are the result of a competitive selection 
process under the NASA Institutional Research Award (IRA) 
program.  The objectives of the IRA program are to 
strengthen the capacity of minority institutions to provide 
a quality learning and research environment for minorities 
and to increase their opportunity to participate in and 
benefit from NASA and other federal programs.
 
     The IRA Program was established in 1994.  Six 
institutions received awards in discipline areas that 
support NASA's mission and NASA's Strategic Enterprises.  
The institutions selected in 1994 were:
 
-  California State University, Los Angeles
-  The University of Texas at San Antonio
-  New Mexico Highlands University
-  Florida International University
-  The City College of New York
-  The University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras
 
     The IRA Program is sponsored by NASA's Office of Equal 
Opportunity Programs, Washington, DC, with support and 
collaboration from NASA's Office of Mission to Planet 
Earth, Office of Space Science and the NASA Minority 
University - Space Interdisciplinary Network Program.
 
			-end-

    Has anyone seen any information on RADARSAT which was apparently
    launched successfully last Saturday from Vandenburg? I've gone
    thru several NASA WEB sites and can't seem to locate any information
    on this project. The STS-73 coverage was temporarily re-directed to
    Vandenburg to show the launch of RADARSAT atop a Delta rocket. The
    live video showed the launch, and the seps of the nine solid rocket
    boosters. It was mentioned that it was one of the cleanest seps of
    the SRBs attached to a Delta they had ever seen. They mentioned that
    it would be a couple of months before the satellite would be fully
    operational. It was to be launched into a 800+ mile polar orbit.
    
    Bob

It looks cool.

RADARSAT lift off has occured on schedule at 6:22 a.m. PST (9:22 a.m. EST).
Sucessful separation occured at L+ 1 hour 4 minutes over Central Africa.
Solar arrays deployed at L + 1 hour 30 minutes. The release of Synthetic
Aperture Antenna completed on schedule over Madrid, Spain, and will be
fully deployed at L + 2 days 8 hours 29 minutes. The satellite is now under
the control of the Mission Control Center at Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada.



Check out

http://adro.radar1.sp-agency.ca/adrohomepage.html

It really wants Netscape, btw.

Burns

    re .18
    
    An MCC in Quebec, huh? Are you sure that's a good idea? (-:

    I was surfing the web at home last night, and found a link
    from the JPL home page to a site for the RADARSAT. It didn't
    look like the URL posted in .18. I'll jot it down and post
    it here on Monday. What I've been looking for but haven't
    found it yet is the NORAD number for the RADARSAT. None of
    the 2-line element sets posted on TS Kelso's ftp site have
    anything that's recognizable as being the radarsat element set.
    
    Bob

Ed Campion/Ray Castillo
Headquarters, Washington, DC             November 7, 1995
(Phone: 202/358-1778)
 
RELEASE:  95-205
 
NASA TO PURSUE NON-COMPETITIVE SHUTTLE CONTRACT WITH U.S. ALLIANCE
 
     NASA will pursue a non-competitive contract with 
United Space Alliance to eventually assume responsibility 
for Space Shuttle operations.
 
     "This clearly is the appropriate path to take," said 
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.  "It will allow us to 
ensure the safe operations of the Space Shuttle, meet the 
flight manifest and maintain our commitment to launch the 
first Space Station element in late 1997.  I am committed 
to working with Congress to maximize the future commercial 
potential of the Station and make the best use of the 
American taxpayer's dollar." 
 
     Rockwell International and Lockheed Martin 
Corporation, which together hold 69 percent of the dollar 
value of all Shuttle related prime contracts, will form a 
joint venture, "United Space Alliance," to become the Space 
Flight Operations contractor.
 
     Goldin said reaching a contract with U.S. Alliance 
depends on three factors.  First, the two companies must 
form a viable, separate legal entity (U.S. Alliance) 
capable of operating the Shuttle program.  Second, NASA and 
U.S. Alliance must negotiate a contractual arrangement that 
commits the contractor and provides appropriate incentives 
to maintain safety, meet the flight manifest and achieve 
program efficiencies.  And third, the workforce which U.S. 
Alliance applies to the Space Flight Operations contract 
must possess sufficient experience with Shuttle operations 
that additional time-consuming training is unnecessary to 
keep the program progressing safely and efficiently. 
 
     "With Lockheed Martin and Rockwell, we have two 
experienced companies that clearly understand how to 
operate the Shuttle safely," Goldin said.  "There's no new 
contractor or workforce to train, and because the two 
companies already have nearly 70 percent of the dollar 
value of all Shuttle-related prime contracts, the task of 
combining the existing separate contracts under the 
consolidated Shuttle contract will be greatly simplified. " 
 
     Goldin said the Source Evaluation Board, which has 
been evaluating expressions of interest from companies in 
becoming the Space Flight Operations Contractor, concluded 
that a non-competitive contract with U.S. Alliance was 
clearly in the public interest.  "There was no other 
company that could possibly meet our safety, manifest and 
schedule requirements," said Goldin.  "Under all the
circumstances, the advantages of contracting directly 
with U.S. Alliance outweigh any benefits from competition."
 
     Goldin described the next steps which could lead to 
award of a non-competitive contract by September 1996.
 
-     Both parties must agree on a Statement of Work which 
adequately describes what the Space Flight Operations 
Contractor must do in performance terms.  "We will tell 
them what we want in terms of outcome, but we will not 
dictate the steps to get there," said Goldin.
 
-     U.S. Alliance must prepare definitive technical and cost 
proposals that are responsive to the Statement of Work.  
These proposals must contain specific plans and commitments 
to reduce contract requirements, facilities and workforce. 
 
-     NASA will evaluate these proposals and use them to 
      develop an agreed-upon contractual document that 
      incorporates all of U.S. Alliance's obligations 
      and provides appropriate incentives to ensure the 
      contractor maintains safety, meets the flight 
      manifest and achieves efficiencies.
 
-     The parties must develop a phased contractual 
      arrangement that commits U.S. Alliance to an 
      initial effort to identify program efficiencies 
      from within its current prime contracts and 
      provides clear milestones to reach a final, 
      definitive agreement on all aspects of Shuttle 
      operations as soon as possible.
 
     A single prime contract will reduce Shuttle costs by 
cutting out duplicative or unnecessary work while still 
performing all the work required for safe and reliable 
flights.  Because NASA will no longer be heavily involved 
in the management of day-to-day Shuttle operations, fewer 
civil servants will be needed to manage the program.
 
                     -end-