Tagged with international space station
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – NASA announced on Monday its founding partnership of Launch, an initiative to identify, showcase and support innovative approaches to sustainability challenges through a series of forums.
The first forum will be centered on water sustainability: “Launch: Water,” which will be taking place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida from March 16-18.
U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department and Nike are additional founding partners that will bring together 10 entrepreneurs from around the world. They will be presenting water scarcity solution plans as 40 council members, representing business, policy, engineering, science, communications and sustainability sectors will be present during the two-and-a-half day forum.
“NASA is perfectly positioned to host a conversation with experts about potential solutions to the world’s most perplexing sustainability problems,” said NASA’s Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, the host of the forum. “NASA offers a culture of problem-solving, deep technical expertise on sustainable systems such as the International Space Station, and a unique capacity to capture and analyze data about our home planet.”
The global initiative Launch plans to organize further events that will discuss issues such as water, air, food, energy, mobility and sustainable cities.
CHICAGO (BNO NEWS) – The Boeing Company announced on Monday that it will draw on its human space flight experience, as well as its knowledge of International Space Station (ISS) operations and cargo processing, to bid on NASA’s ISS Cargo Mission Contract.
NASA released a Request for Proposals last Friday for a contract to provide technical support services, including the analysis and physical processing of pressurized cargo and flight equipment to be transported to and from the ISS. The contract also launch preparations and post-landing activities related to processing the flight crew equipment.
“Boeing’s experience with the International Space Station program allows us to provide an offer that supports NASA’s priorities for safety, mission success, and innovation,” said Brad Cothran, Boeing’s capture team lead for the contract. “We look forward to continuing our support of NASA and the future of the International Space Station.”
Boeing is the prime contractor to NASA for the ISS. In addition to designing and building all major U.S. elements, Boeing is also responsible for ensuring the successful integration of any new hardware and software – including components from international partners – as well as providing reliable and sustainable engineering work for the ISS.
Proposals are due to NASA on April 1. NASA is scheduled to select a contractor at the end of September; work will begin in January 2011.
The performance contract is three years with four one-year options, for a potential total of seven years.
