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Advanced Component Technologies (ACT) Program
Overview
Advanced Component Technologies (ACT) implements technology developments that advance the state-of-the-art of instruments, Earth- and space-based platforms, and information systems. The ACT program
- Focuses requirements, defines technology roadmaps
- Refines reference-mission scenarios
- Advances component and subsystem developments
- Leverages technology investments by collaborating with national and international agencies, and with U.S. private industry
Objectives
The ACT funds the research, development, and demonstration of component- and subsystem-level technologies to reduce the risk, cost, size, mass, and development time of missions and infrastructure.
The ACT brings instrument, platform, and information system components to a maturity level that allows their integration into other NASA-funded technology projects, such as those funded by the Instrument Incubator Program. The ACT advances core component technologies to a technology readiness level (TRL) that enables their eventual infusion into missions. Some components are directly infused into mission designs by flight projects. Other components “graduate” to other programs for further development.
Although current ACT investments are primarily geared toward developing components for instruments, the ACT also develops new ways to perform measurements and process data products to expand research and application capabilities.
ACT Investments
The ACT program uses the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) as its investment vehicle. Links to the full solicitations and awards are listed in the table below.
Solicitation | Link to Solicitation | Link to Awards |
---|---|---|
ACT ROSES 2013 | Solicitation (link) | Awarded Projects |
ACT ROSES 2010 | Solicitation (90 K PDF) | Awarded Projects |
ACT ROSES 2008 | Solicitation (100 K PDF) | Awarded Projects |
ACT ROSES 2005 | Solicitation (168 K PDF) |
Awarded Projects |
ACT NRA 2002 | Solicitation (176 K PDF) | Awarded Projects |
ATI NRA 1999 |
Solicitation (160 K PDF) | Awarded Projects |
For a full list of ESTO investments, across all program lines, visit the Solicitations page.
Examples
Space-borne ocean altimeters, which measure the height of Earth’s oceans, are not effective when water vapor is present in the troposphere. Above is a multi-chip radiometer receiver module that incorporates a higher frequency (92 GHz) to help improve retrievals in coastal regions and enable
retrievals over land. (image credit: S. Reising)
This 2.4 meter reflector includes a new, high-precision adaptive control system developed to correct the surface distortions in large, space-deployable, membrane antennas. Ensuring that a large flexible antenna can maintain the correct shape and figure once deployed in space is a key challenge for future remote sensing systems at medium or geosynchronous Earth orbit.. (image credit: H. Fang)