NASA ARC Internal Memo: Gerstenmaier Call: International Space Station (ISS) Opportunities
Subject: Gerstenmaier Call: International Space Station (ISS) Opportunities
From: Centerwide Announcement
Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
TO: Resident Staff
FROM: Chris Christensen, Director, Ames International Space Station Program Office
SUBJECT: Gerstenmaier Call: International Space Station (ISS) Opportunities
I am pleased to forward to you a Headquarters announcement for an opportunity to submit concepts for the ISS. A copy of the message from Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, follows below. I would request that each ARC Directorate assign a representative by Friday noon to work with me to create a unified Center team. In the interim, I will forward the Gerstenmaier call and quad chart format to directorate management. The Center team will review and recommend a prioritized list of the top 10 concepts to Center Management. A meeting is planned for Tuesday, Feb. 9, in Bldg 555 conference room from 8:30-11:30 a.m. to discuss the overall process and schedule for this activity, along with the plan for scoring and prioritization of the concepts.
For input to this call, Bev Girten will serve as the point of contact. Concepts should be developed, placed in a quad chart format, and forwarded to Bev as soon as possible. I have asked John Hines to remain as a member of the Uhran review team at NASA Headquarters.
Please send me the name and e-mail address of the individual in your directorate who you would like to represent your organization in this call no later than Friday noon.
Quad charts all need to be submitted to HQ by February 28, so it’s going to be a quick process and we need time for the team to review the concepts and present to Center management. We’ll develop the schedule that we all feel comfortable with on Tuesday.
Gerstenmaier Call: International Space Station Opportunities
The International Space Station (ISS) represents a uniquely capable test bed from which to conduct research, development, test and evaluation of technologies, instruments and spacecraft systems and components. As the ISS nears completion and transitions to full operation, opportunities will be available to use the station’s resources and accommodations in support of future NASA missions. In partnership with the Science Mission Directorate and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, the Space Operations Mission Directorate offers you the opportunity to identify projects that can be implemented on the ISS within the next 36 months. The intent at this time is only to identify candidate concepts. Therefore, each concept proposal should be summarized in a one-page quad chart (format attached). The proposed concept implementation teams must be NASA-center or JPL led; however industry, academia, and multi-party partnerships are encouraged. Since available funding for instrument development will be very limited, concepts that maximize the use of available flight-qualified components and systems with early launch readiness are encouraged. However, the Agency will provide launch, accommodations and on-orbit resources for the selected experiments.
A multi-center team (copied above) has already been established to review the proposed concepts and provide recommendations for going forward. A team telecon will be scheduled to solicit viewpoints on the selection criteria and process, as well as answer any questions on the planned opportunity. Preliminary selection criteria include:
1. Value to the Agency
2. Rational for deployment on ISS
3. Integration & operations feasibility on ISS
4. Cost, schedule and technical risks
5. Partnership opportunities and leveraging
6. Ability to employ available flight hardware
7. Early launch readiness
