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Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington                May 16, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1727)

RELEASE: C03-q

NASA SELECTS IN-SPACE PROPULSION INNOVATIONS FOR RESEARCH

     NASA has selected 15 industry, government and academic 
organizations to pursue 22 innovative propulsion technology 
research proposals that could revolutionize exploration and 
scientific study of the solar system.

Total value of the work to be done over a three-year period 
is approximately $20 million, with $9.6 million in fiscal 
year 2003; $10.2 million in fiscal year 2004; and $0.6 
million in fiscal year 2005. The research will be conducted 
in five, in-space propulsion technology areas: aerocapture; 
advanced chemical propulsion; solar electric propulsion; 
space-based tether propulsion; and solar sail technologies. 

Each technology identified for development is part of the 
In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Program, managed in the Office of 
Space Sciences, NASA Headquarters. The awards are being made 
as part of the In-Space Propulsion Technologies "Cycle 2" 
amendment to NASA Research Announcement 02-OSS-01.

"We want to increase the frequency, speed, and return on our 
missions and enable whole new missions that are impossible 
or impractical with today's propulsion technologies," said 
Dr. Colleen Hartman, director of the Solar System 
Exploration Division, NASA Headquarters.

"This round of selections further broadens NASA's investment 
portfolio for in-space propulsion technologies," said Paul 
Wercinski, ISP Program Executive, Office of Space Science, 
NASA Headquarters. "We are excited to see these technologies 
eventually fly on future science missions."

"Our goal is to develop technologies that will make deep-
space exploration more practical, more affordable, and more 
productive," said Les Johnson, In-Space Transportation 
manager at the NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), 
Huntsville, Ala.  

Contract awards:

Aerocapture Technology:  
     Ball Aerospace, Boulder, Colo.
     Lockheed Martin, Denver

Advanced Chemical Propulsion:
     TRW Space & Electronics, Redondo Beach, Calif.
     NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. (three 
awards)
     VACCO Industries, Inc., El Monte, Calif.

Kilowatt Solar Electric Propulsion System:
     NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
     Busek Co. Inc., Natick, Mass.

Momentum-eXchange/Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) Tether 
Technology:
     Tethers Unlimited, Inc., Lynnwood, Wash. (two awards)
     Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.
     Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tenn.
     Lockheed Martin, Denver (two awards)

Solar Sails:
     NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. (two awards) 
     NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
     Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
     NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
     U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington
     SRS Technologies, Huntsville, Ala.

The ISP Program is managed by the Office of Space Science, 
NASA Headquarters, and is implemented by MSFC. The ISP 
Program is supported by NASA's Ames Research Center, Calif.; 
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 
Pasadena, Calif.; Johnson Space Center, Houston; Langley 
Research Center, Hampton, Va. NASA's partners in meeting the 
ambitious in-space propulsion goals include industry, the 
nation's academic institutions and other government 
agencies. For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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