Naomi Cooper
Nine technologies have been selected to participate in a NASA program aimed at demonstrating advanced space exploration and Earth observation capabilities for the agency and commercial customers.
The selected space platforms will be tested aboard suborbital rocket-powered systems, high-altitude balloons and parabolic aircraft in space-like environments in preparation for a potential launch into orbit, NASA said Saturday.
The 2022 TechFlights program includes cislunar and lunar surface infrastructure and capabilities, low Earth orbit to geosynchronous Earth orbit technologies and Earth observation architectures.
The awardees are:
- Creare
- Giner
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
- Paragon Space Development Corporation
- Purdue University
- Rhea Space Activity
- San Diego State University
- University of Louisville
The teams were selected by the Space Technology Mission Directorate through the Flight Opportunities program and will be given the opportunity to fly with commercial platforms and spacecraft in orbit as part of the Small Spacecraft Technology program.
“This $6.1 million investment in technology testing will help mature technologies for agency goals, from space exploration to scientific discovery,” said Walt Engelund, deputy associate administrator for programs at STMD.
