Dec 20, 2011, post by Artur Nowak
NASA has selected 85 small business proposals to enter into negotiations for Phase II contract awards through the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.
The selected projects have a total value of approximately $63 million. NASA will award the contracts to 79 small high technology firms in 27 states. These competitive awards-based programs encourage U.S. small businesses to engage in federal research, development and commercialization. The programs also enable businesses to explore technological potential, while providing the incentive to profit from new commercial products and services.
“Small businesses are not only crucial to NASA’s trailblazing achievements in space exploration; they are the backbone of the American economy,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “As the wheels of our economy continue to pick up speed, it is important to remember that small business is the engine that is getting us moving again. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small firms have generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years. And federal procurement for women-, minority- and veteran-owned small businesses are a big part of that equation.”
NASA’s SBIR programs address specific technology gaps in agency missions, while striving to complement other agency research investments. Program results have benefited many NASA efforts, including modern air traffic control systems, Earth-observing spacecraft, the International Space Station and the Mars rovers.
“Working with small businesses through Phase 2 SBIR awards, NASA helps mature novel technologies and concepts to demonstrate their applicability to NASA’s current and future space and aeronautics needs,” said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA’s Space Technology Program. “This maturation process also provides NASA’s small business partners to more fully explore opportunities to transfer that technology to the marketplace, while creating new jobs and growing our economy.”
In addition to meeting NASA’s needs, the proposals also provide innovative research in areas that have other commercial applications. Examples include:
– Development of design and fabrication techniques that will be used to create better UV detectors useful to NASA’s missions to monitor ozone, aerosols and air pollution, which also are essential in the semiconductor, food processing and healthcare industries, where bacterial sterilization is important.
– A new composite material manufacturing process which could decrease manufacturing costs for NASA’s future heavy lift launch vehicles, as well as military and commercial aircraft, wind blades and towers, civil and automotive infrastructure and marine vessels.
– New high-performance lubricants beneficial to robotic spacecraft operations in extreme temperature ranges that also may benefit automobile performance.
– A laser-ranging technology that can be used as the next generation air data system for aircraft that will measure velocity, wind speed, air pressure and temperature. This will help predict turbulence, ensuring a safer and more comfortable flight.
The SBIR program is a highly competitive, three-phase award system. It provides qualified small businesses, including those owned by women and the disadvantaged, with opportunities to propose unique ideas that meet specific research and development needs of the federal government.
Phase 1 is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. Awards are for as long as six months. The selected Phase 2 projects will expand on the results of Phase 1 projects selected last year, with up to $750,000 to support research for up to two years. Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2 and requires the use of private sector or non-SBIR federal funding.
Participants submitted 428 Phase 2 proposals. The criteria used to select the winning proposals included technical merit and innovation, Phase 1 performance and results, value to NASA, commercial potential and company capabilities.
For more information about NASA: www.nasa.gov
Jun 16, 2011, post by Artur Nowak
The U.S. Navy today announced the Commonwealth of Australia has selected the MH-60R SEAHAWK® helicopter to fulfill the Australian Defence Force’s AIR 9000 Phase 8 requirement for a fleet of 24 new-generation, multi-role naval combat aircraft. The Commonwealth will acquire the helicopters with associated training and logistical support via the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales program.
“The companies that comprise Team Romeo are honored by the Commonwealth’s choice of the MH-60R Romeo helicopter to protect Australia’s maritime interests,” said Mick Maurer, president of Sikorsky Military Systems. “We look forward to collaborating with the Royal Australian Navy and local industry across Australia as we build and integrate these proven SEAHAWK aircraft.”
Team Romeo principals Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) have co-developed and delivered maritime helicopters for the U.S. Navy for more than 35 years. They are teamed with engine manufacturer GE Aviation, sonar and sensor provider Raytheon Company, and training and simulator provider CAE for the Phase 8 competition. In addition to delivering Romeo helicopters, the team plans to bring long-term jobs and work opportunities to Australian industry valued at $1.5 billion over 10 years.
“The MH-60R helicopter is a sophisticated sensor platform that has proven its ability to protect the U.S. fleet from submarines, ships and fast attack boats,” said Dan Spoor, Lockheed Martin Aviation Systems vice president. “We are committed to providing the Australian fleet with the same advanced capabilities, as the U.S. Navy continues its investment in the aircraft.”
The Commonwealth of Australia this week signed the Letter of Acceptance, a formal agreement with the U.S. Navy. The Letter of Acceptance marks the first-ever purchase of the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R helicopter outside the United States. The Royal Australian Navy is expected to take delivery of the first two MH-60R helicopters in 2014.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. Its parent company, United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning potential production and sale of helicopters. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in government procurement priorities and practices, budget plans or availability of funding or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corporation’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Please visit www.utcaero.com for Sikorsky and United Technologies news at the Paris Air Show 2011.
SOURCE Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
Mar 27, 2011, post by Artur Nowak
U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack is asking members of a federal committee to block the sale of Cirrus to a Chinese company pending assurances that sensitive technologies won’t be transferred to Chinese military uses.
Cravaack made the request in a letter sent Friday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who leads a federal committee looking into the proposed sale of Cirrus Industries. Besides possible loss of jobs to China, Cravaack said the sale to China Aviation Industry Aircraft Co. would be a national security risk. It would give China access to sensitive American aircraft technology, including advanced turbo-fan engine technology that has so far eluded the Chinese, according to Cravaack.
Read more: www.duluthnewstribune.com
