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Space Shuttle Atlantis at liftoff in Feb. 2001 on a mission to deliver the module, Destiny, to the ISS. Development of lightweight materials for spacecraft of the future will reduce fuel requirements and increase payload budgets. Credit: NASA.

“Success in executing future NASA space missions will depend on advanced technology developments that should already be underway,” according to a study by the National Research Council of the National Academies that was released yesterday.

However, the report continues, “it has been years since NASA has had a vigorous, broad-based program in advanced space technology. NASA’s technology base is largely depleted,” leaving the agency with “few new, demonstrated technologies” to conduct its mission.

Relevant to the materials community is a call for making lightweight and multifunctional materials and structures a priority.

The 2010 NASA Authorization Act required NASA to find a way to maintain its R&D in space technology. In response, the agency released a strategic plan in early 2011. Of the six points on the plan, five are relevant to NASA’s aeronautics mission and were evaluated in the NRC study. As part of the strategic plan, NASA drafted 14 space technology roadmaps “to identify a number of critical enabling technologies.” The NRC review committee used these 14 roadmaps as the starting point for its study.

Of the 14 draft roadmaps, two explicitly address materials science issues and four imply materials science. The rest address systems issues, such as propulsion, launch, landing, IT, etc. and human health issues.

The study committee teased out three technology objectives from the NASA strategic plan and roadmaps:

1. Extend and sustain human activities beyond low-Earth orbit,
2. Explore the evolution of the solar system and the potential for life elsewhere,
3. Expand our understanding of Earth and the universe in which we live.

Although each NASA roadmap identifies the technical challenges to meeting the needs of its technology area, and the committee attempted to add some focus: It made a list of which challenges applies to the three objectives above. The exercise revealed that there were groupings that cut across the three objectives (listed in the press release), which allowed them to identify five “unified technologies.”

In addition, working with the assumption that funding levels would be in the $500 million to $1 billion per annum range, the study committee determined 16 “highest priorities” for technology development.

Of the 16 high priority technology challenges, only one was listed under all three objectives: Lightweight and Multifunctional Materials and Structures. Within that section of the roadmap, nine technologies were identified as high priority, including “Lightweight Structure (Materials).” On the subject of lightweight materials the report says,

Advanced composite, metallic, and ceramic materials, as well as cost-effective processing and manufacturing methods, are required to develop lightweight structures for future space systems. Lightweight structural materials developed by NASA and other government agencies, academia, and the aerospace industry have found extensive applications in transportation, commercial aircraft and military systems. Continued NASA leadership in materials development for space applications could result in new materials systems with significant benefit in weight reduction and cost savings. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the mass of virtually all launch vehicles and payloads, creating opportunities for new missions, improved performance and reduced cost.

The other eight items in this technical area have to do with testing, certification, manufacturing, systems and reliability.

The NRC report, “NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities,” is dense — 470 pages. It includes a comprehensive description of the committee’s methodologies and recommendations. All 14 of NASA’s technical area roadmaps are included.

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Congress has finalized the first three of twelve parts of the FY’12 federal budget. So far, things look relatively promising for STEM R&D. Credit: Congressional Budget Office.

In November Congress approved three parts of President Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget request for FY 2012, which began Oct. 1, 2011.

Why only three? To make the budget job more manageable, the budget is divided into 12 chunks, which the Congress considers in no particular order. A story (see article summary) in Science by Jeffrey Mervis (Nov. 25, “First Spending Bill Giveth—And Taketh Away”) breaks down what the approved-to-date budget means for the STEM R&D community.

The overall $3.5 trillion request included $148 billion for federal support of R&D, but that is spread across about two dozen federal entities. November’s three “minibus” appropriations funded the departments of Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing, as well as the independent agencies NSF, NASA and the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

While the behemoth budgets for DOE and DOD have yet to be worked on, these first three approvals bode well (enough) for the materials science R&D community. The budgets of NIST (a Commerce agency), NASA and NSF all saw increases over FY 2011. NIST’s research programs received a nice 12% increase (from $507 M to $567 M), while NSF got only a 2.5% bump (from $6.86 B to $7.03 B, but that’s enough to fund more than a few research programs).

In a surprising outcome, the OSTP, which had a puny $6.6 M FY’11 budget, took a 32% hit and received only $4.5 M for FY’12. According to Mervis’ story, this seems to be a tit-for-tat move on the part of Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), who has been squabbling with OSTP over the Obama Administration’s interactions with China regarding high-technology sectors, including space.

Mervis quotes Charles Vest, president of the US National Academy of Engineering, “OSTP sits at the center of the federal government’s thinking and planning for science and technology that are at the absolute heart of what our nation has to do to remain competitive and to lead in the 21st century.”

What it means for OSTP and its 90 employees is unclear. In the article, OSTP’s director, John Holdren, says the smaller budget “will mean a lot of belt tightening and, inevitably, some reduction in the range of domains in which OSTP maintains a major presence.”

Since they were unveiled last summer, OSTP has been the leading voice for new White House initiatives that are of keen interest to the materials science and engineering community—the Materials Genome Initiative and the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership.

Cyrus Wadia, OSTP assistant director for clean energy and materials R&D, said in an email, “We do not foresee the budget cut having an impact on the MGI.” He may be right. Both the MGI and the AMP were envisioned as multi-agency, decentralized efforts, which should work to OSTP’s advantage as it adjusts to doing its job with a whole lot less.

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NASA is jettisoning some stuff they don’t need, now that the Shuttle program has ended, through their “Tiles for Teachers” and “Space Food for Schools” programs. There is even a link to lesson plans for grades 2-4, 5-8 and 9-12. There are a few rules, but they look fairly innocuous.

Spread the word to the teachers in your circle. Be the cool parent!

So you have all the facts, here’s the actual NASA press release:

“NASA Offers Shuttle Tiles And Space Food To Schools And Universities”

NASA is offering space shuttle heat shield tiles and dehydrated astronaut food to eligible schools and universities. The initiative is part of the agency’s efforts to preserve the Space Shuttle Program’s history and technology and inspire the next generation of space explorers, scientists and engineers.

The lightweight tiles protected the shuttles from extreme temperatures when the orbiters re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. The food, which was precooked or processed so that refrigeration is unnecessary, is ready to eat or could be prepared simply by adding water or by heating. Schools can register for a login ID and request a tile or food at: http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm

Click on the appropriate icon to log on to the request page. Eligible institutions use National Center for Education Statistics or Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System numbers assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to apply for the artifacts. Requests will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Because the tiles and food are government property, a transfer protocol is observed. Recipients will be responsible for a shipping and handling fee, which is payable to the shipping company through a secure website. “Tiles for Teachers” are offered for the shipping and handling fee of $23.40. “Space Food for Schools” is offered in one package containing about three space food items for a shipping and handling fee of $28.03.

If additional assistance is needed with registration, send an email to: HQ-NASA-AWG@mail.nasa.gov

For more information on tiles, food and other NASA artifacts available to museums and libraries, visit: http://artifacts.nasa.gov/

For lesson plans based on the tiles, visit: http://artifacts.nasa.gov/shuttle_tiles_teachers.htm

 

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The final Space Shuttle mission was completed on Thursday with the landing of  Atlantis in Florida. In this video, astrophysicist and science evangelist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, laments the end of the Shuttle program and rifs on the value of NASA to the nation. What do you think?

Hat tip: The Scholarly Kitchen

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