Colorado Space Round Up Wrap-Up

Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) was delighted to join an impressive list of co-sponsors for the 13th Annual CSBR Space Round Up, held on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. 

COBRT sponsored a table, and ICOSA Media was the Media Sponsor. Major sponsors included Boeing, Boulder-headquartered Business Roundtable member Ball Aerospace, and Littleton-headquartered Oakman Aerospace, Inc., as well as companies with offices in Colorado like Business Roundtable member Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Northrop Grumman. The day-long event is among the most highly-anticipated among the Colorado aerospace community, and it attracts many companies and attendees from out-of-state as well.

This year's keynote speaker was Dr. Robert Braun, officially taking the reigns in January 2017 as Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder. Braun comes to Colorado from previous roles at Georgia Institute of Technology and NASA. Braun is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, vice chair of the National Academies Space Studies Board, an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics fellow and editor-in-chief of the organization's publication. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 technical publications. 

This year's event namesake panel, "The Future is in Focus: Earth, Moon, Mars & Stars," featured thrilling predictions about how technologies being developed in Colorado will put us within the grasp of the future imagined in the 1950's and 1960's.  It was moderated by Alires Almon, Orchestrator of Engagement, 100 Year Starship.

Panelists included:
Chris Crumley, VP, Civil and Commercial Space
Teledyne Brown Engineering

Tory Bruno, CEO, CisLunar Program
United Launch Alliance

Robert Chambers, Program Manager, MARS Basecamp
Lockheed Martin

Allison Barton, Program Manager, James Webb Space Telescope
Ball Aerospace

All of the panels included speakers at the height of their fields on a range of issues important to aerospace technology and workforce. Other panels included: Education: Watering the STEM; CSBR Report Card and Small Business Spotlight; Congressional Outlook: Change Has Come; and Colorado’s Role in International Space Policy. There was plenty of time for networking and exploring informational tables for education and partnership. 

See below for photos from ICOSA Media.

 

 

GOES-R Satellite Set for Saturday Launch

The world's most-technologically advanced satellite, the GOES-R, is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Saturday, but it has many ties to Colorado. GOES-R is a joint project of NASA and NOAA, which many in the metro area recognize from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder. The satellite was designed and built by Lockheed Martin, assembled in its Littleton facility. Centennial-headquartered United Launch Alliance has launched all the GOES satellites, and this one will be on an Atlas V rocket.

Colorado Business Roundtable is honored to be among these and other top company and government representatives attending this historic occasion. Witness launch preparations now and the event live (3:42 PM MST) at NASA TV, and stay tuned in the next couple weeks for more launch coverage from COBRT. 

There are many resources available online at GOES-R.gov including launch preparations, equipment specifications, mission objectives, multimedia resources and more. Here are some of our other recent favorites:

Or dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321

Boulder's Ball Aerospace Unveils First Non-Toxic Rocket Fuel Mission

Around Colorado, we hear a lot about aerospace – after all, we rank second in the nation for private sector aerospace employment, according to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. And around Colorado, we also hear a lot about green technologies, as Colorado Cleantech Industries Association reports that we are fourth highest on the 2015 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index. It seems an appropriate fit for the state, then, when a new technology combining BOTH of these popular topics is developed here. 

Colorado Business Roundtable attended a March 31, 2016 viewing, tour and panel which showcased NASA's Green Propulsion Infusion Mission (GPIM) at Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. This NASA spacecraft is safer on the ground and more efficient in space thanks to a new, non-toxic fuel. 

A Ball Aerospace engineer adjusts the thermal insulation on NASA's Green Propellant Infusion Mission spacecraft bus following integration of the propulsion system. Credit: Ball Aerospace

Enthusiastic remarks were given by stakeholders including Rob Strain, President of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; Steve Jurczyk, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington; Chris McLean, Principal Investigator for GPIM at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; Julie Van Kleeck, Vice President of Space Programs at Aerojet Rocketdyne; and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado.

Strain spoke first and broke it down for those of us who are not directly in aerospace engineering. GPIM means that both the vehicle and its fuel will be better, cheaper, simpler and safer all around. This GPIM is another in a long line of technological breakthroughs developed, in part, over Ball’s sixty year history on the Boulder campus.

NASA’s Jurczyk addressed the crowded room with some encouraging estimates: GPIM has a 50% decrease in fuel propellant with a 50% improvement in performance rating. Future satellites will have longer missions employing additional maneuverability, increased payload space and simpler launch processing. It employs the first modern thrusting system since the 1960’s. 

Rep. Perlmutter, who sits on the Subcommittee for Space on the House Committee for Science, Space and Technology, related how proud he is that an expert witness from Colorado is so often called for those panels, due to the state’s ranking and reputation. Perlmutter discussed the human drives for exploration and optimism which inspire people to ask and seek to answer the question, “What’s on the other side of the universe?”

Credit: Ball Aerospace

Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Van Kleeck noted how rare it is to get to create a new propellant. “I hate to say it’s rocket science, but, well…,” and she trailed off into chuckles. But everyone was listening with seriousness and agreement as she revealed how success in this project came through true collaboration, not just on the technology but on the execution. “We always found a way,” she said.

Colorado resident and project lead McLean provided many technological details, specifically noting that dramatic increases to safety in the past 10-15 years provided a great advantage in this process. Human and environmental health may be improved with this new green propellant, since traditional rocket fuels are highly toxic and unstable. McLean also spoke highly of the partnerships that led to this high level of progress: Ball Aerospace, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Edwards Air Force Research, Laboratory (AFRL), NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), with additional mission support from the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Kirtland Air Force Base.

GPIM will launch in 2017. The discussion and remarks took place in Ball’s Overlook Conference Room, which at the time happened to overlook the build-out of JPSS-1, the next-generation weather satellite. Stay tuned for that launch next year as well, as the Colorado aerospace climate continues to soar.

Learn more:
GPIM Fact Sheet from Ball Aerospace

An artist's rendering of NASA's Green Propellant Infusion Mission payload in flight aboard the Ball Aerospace BCP-100 spacecraft. Credit: Ball Aerospace

Credits: Ball Aerospace

NASA Selects American Small Business, Research Institution Projects for Continued Development

NASA has selected 137 research and technology proposals from 117 American small businesses and research institutions that will enable NASA's future missions into deep space, while also benefiting the U.S. economy right here on Earth.

The agency received 323 proposals in response to its 2015 solicitation for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. From those, NASA selected 134 SBIR Phase II General proposals, with a total value of approximately $100.5 million, and three Phase II Select proposals, valued at approximately $3.8 million, for contract negotiations under Phase II of the SBIR program. [Note from COBRT: twelve SBIR Phase II General proposals were chosen from ten Colorado-located companies: Composite Technology Development, Inc.; ExoTerra Resource, LLC; Extreme Diagnostics, Inc.; Pioneer Astronautics (two projects); Quest Thermal Group; ROCCOR, LLC; Sporian Microsystems, Inc.; TDA Research, Inc.; Tendeg, LLC; and Vescent Photonics, Inc. (two projects).]

Proposals were selected according to their technical merit and feasibility, in addition to the experience, qualifications and facilities of the submitting business. Additional criteria included effectiveness of the work plan and commercial potential.

"We are pleased to select more than 100 SBIR proposals again this year. These proposals represent the entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses that fuel our economy and create jobs on Main Street," said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The dollar value of these innovation projects represents an investment in the American economy."

Selected proposals from these small businesses will support the development of technologies in the areas of aeronautics, science, human exploration and operations, and space technology. A sampling of proposals demonstrates the breadth of research and development these awards will fund.

  • Software for single-operator, multiple unmanned aircraft systems missions that could assist NASA and the commercial space industry in managing multiple rover and spacecraft missions.
  • The ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) process will directly print parts in one machine at one time, eliminating part movements from process to process and vendor to vendor. UAM offers the potential for lower-cost, more reliable systems over other 3-D printing techniques such as laser-based systems.  
  • Development and commercialization of environmentally robust frequency combs that will enable the search for exoplanets. An optical frequency comb is a tool for precise measurement of color across the light spectrum.
  • Sensors for real-time cryogenic pipes monitoring that could be used not only for space launch facilities, but also for chemical refineries and production plants.

NASA's SBIR program is a competitive, awards-based program that encourages American small businesses to engage in federal research, development and commercialization. The program enables businesses to explore technological potential while providing the incentive to profit from new commercial products and services. Small businesses create about two out of every three jobs in the U.S. each year, and about half the American workforce either own or work for a small business.

SBIR Phase II General and Phase II Select projects will expand on the results of recently completed Phase I projects. Phase I projects received six-month contracts as much as $125,000. SBIR Phase II projects last no more than two years and receive contracts valued as much as $750,000 per award. Awards under the SBIR Phase II Select solicitation may be as much as $1.5 million per award. Phase III, or the commercialization of an innovation, may occur after successful completion of Phase II.

NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, manages the SBIR Program for STMD. Each of NASA's 10 centers manage individual projects.

STMD is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

-end-

Gina Anderson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1160
[email protected]

This news release originally appeared here at nasa.gov.