Spring-Summer 2008 - Kennedy Space Center Technology Transfer ...

For the past two years, the IPP at NASA Headquartershas used the Partnership Seed Fund to address barriersand initiate cost-shared, joint-development partnerships.These partnerships are designed to increasethe range of technology solutions available to NASA,broaden NASA’s technology portfolio, improve costavoidance, accelerate development and maturation oftechnologies, and create a larger pool of qualified commercialproviders.IPP’s Seed Fund provides “bridge funding” that enableslarger partnership and development efforts. It alsoencourages the leveraging of funding, resources, andexpertise from the non-NASA partners as well as NASAprograms, projects, and Centers. For example, thePartner Technology/Focus Project Goals/BenefitspartnershipsIPP Partnership Seed Fund2007 Seed Fund projects based at KSC (see table below)are pooling together $6.2 million in funding. More than20%—$1.4 million—was provided by IPP’s Seed Fund,while the non-NASA partners chipped in $1.7 million. Theother half ($3.1 million) came from NASA programs.KSC’s IPP Office coordinates and advises the proposalefforts for Seed Fund projects, and partners can includegovernment agencies, small and large businesses, universities,and other NASA Centers. More information aboutthe next Partnership Seed Fund is scheduled to appear inthe Fall/Winter issue of Kennedy Tech Transfer News. Orcontact Janice Lomness, Innovative Partnerships Manager(867-1539; Janice.K.Lomness@nasa.gov). nDEM Solutions Electrodynamic and mechanical Simulate granular materials, from dust to gravel, to reduce fieldforces to DEM softwaretesting.Hawaii Office of Lunar analog field demonstration Field test ETDP, ISRU and HRS technologies at a realisticAerospace Development of exploration technologies lunar-analog site to reduce mission risk, cost and time.and University of HawaiiPPG Industries and Rapid assessment of a smart, Select and develop materials that release corrosion-inhibitors onUniversity of Texas environmentally friendly coating demand to prevent corrosion at launch pads.Health Science CenterSierra Lobo Inc. Liquid to gaseous helium Develop and test a high-pressure liquid helium pump to replacepump skidaging helium tube bank trailers.United Launch Alliance Deployable sun shield Create a device to support extended cryogenic storage, savingtime and money, as well as to accelerate development ofspace-based deployable structures.2006 Seed Fund SuccessAlthough IPP’s Partnership Seed Fundprogram is a relatively new initiative,it is already demonstrating its value to NASA.For example, a 2006 project involving KSC andSierra Lobo is contributing to the Lunar Landerand Earth Departure Stage vehicles and may beused by the Ares I program.NASA contractor Sierra Lobo had invented Cryo-Tracker ® as ahigh-tech “gas gauge” for cryogenic fluids. Its mass gauging system(MGS) accurately measures cryogenic liquid mass and temperaturein tanks that are more than 60 feet tall. However, to be applied toNASA programs, this technology required testing for flight readiness.IPP’s Seed Fund provided the opportunity to develop FlightSystem Verification Plans for each of the major units of theCryo-Tracker MGS. In addition, the partnership enabled thermalmodeling for the sensing element as well as progress in convertingthe electronics to flight avionics.Watch future issues of Kennedy Tech TransferNews for more about how IPP partnershipsadd value to NASA. n6Kennedy Space Center | volume 1, number 1 | spring/summer 2008