| *** AUGUST 2008 *** |
| NASA AMES AWARDS CONTRACT FOR AEROSPACE TESTING SUPPORT |
| ...NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., Monday awarded a contract modification valued at $34.8 million to Jacobs Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tenn. The modification will allow additional support for testing and facility operation, development projects, as well as the required maintenance and repairs on wind tunnels and other facilities at Ames. All work will be performed at the center. The cost-plus-incentive fee award fee contract will conclude July 31, 2009. This modification brings the total value of the contract, awarded in June 2004, to $123.8 million... |
| DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY VISITS NASA AMES |
| ...Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff visited NASA's Ames Research Center yesterday to see first-hand how NASA technology helps the nation deal with disasters ranging from the widespread wildfires raging throughout California, to the horrific hurricanes throughout the country that each year wreak havoc and leaves thousands of people homeless in their wake. During a brief visit yesterday afternoon, Chertoff saw a demonstration of the hyperwall-2, a high-resolution visualization system displaying images from the wildfires, learned about the key role that Ames' Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) plays in preparing for disasters such as earthquakes, floods and fires. Chertoff also learned how nanotechnology is being used in a variety of new technologies, such as a revolutionary biosensor that can detect trace amounts of specific bacteria, viruses and parasites and help prevent the spread of potentially deadly biohazards in water, food and other contaminated sources. "NASA is proud of this new exciting technology that is helping our country deal with disasters ranging from the raging wildfires that have consumed thousands of acres here in California, to the horrific hurricanes that have devastated so many other states," said S. Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames Research Center... |
| NASA NANOSATELLITES CATCH RIDE ON ROCKET, DEMONSTRATE TECHNOLOGY |
| ...NASA will fly two nanosatellites as secondary payloads aboard the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket planned for launch in August or September. Spaceflight engineers and project managers at NASA's Ames Research Center, and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., teamed together to arrange a fast-paced, low-cost mission. The mission provides an opportunity to demonstrate NASA-developed spaceflight technologies and the Ames-developed modular approach to constructing the PharmaSat Risk Evaluation (or PRESat) and NanoSail-D satellites. This same approach was used successfully on a previous mission, GeneSat, and will be used for the upcoming PharmaSat mission, scheduled to launch later this year. "This mission provides NASA with a unique opportunity to evaluate how our nanosatellite spacecraft and its payload perform, while demonstrating our ability to conduct fast turn-around, low-cost spaceflight projects," said John Hines, chief technologist at Ames' Small Spacecraft Division and PRESat-NanoSail-D technical director. "This collaborative mission has enabled NASA to demonstrate and support cutting-edge technologies." After successfully entering a low Earth orbit, PRESat will create a stable, space science laboratory using innovative environment control and biological detection techniques. NanoSail-D will deploy an ultra-thin, highly reflective solar sail for the first time in history, and validate cutting-edge, propellant-less space propulsion technologies... |