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Technology Needs Form
COR Technology Needs Form is now available for download [DOCX].
NASA's Astrophysics Division funds the development of technology at all levels of maturity. The Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) program funds technology development in the earliest phases, from basic research through the first feasibility demonstrations, (typically Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1 through 3). The Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program matures technologies that address the needs of a specific future mission, taking them from the feasibility demonstration to a lab demonstration of a design that meets specific performance requirements (TRL 4 through 6). The final maturation stages (TRL 7 through 9) focus on proving the technology's flight-worthiness for a mission-specific application. Thus, these stages are addressed by incorporating the technology into a flight project's implementation plan through a vetted Technology Development Plan (TDP). Occasionally, a mission concept in pre-formulation is well-enough defined to have a vetted TDP. When budget constraints allow, the COR program will fund the development of those technologies through a specific funding allocation in the Supporting Research and Technology budget.
Targeted Technology Awards
The COR Program has supported technologies under development for key strategic goals as a direct investment in FY10-11 (with some projects continuing into FY12). The table below provides information for the technologies previously selected for COR funding.
| Targeted Technology Awards Started in FY10/11 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission | Technology | PI and Institution | Years Supported |
| SOFIA | Submillimeter Heterodyne Receivers | Paul Goldsmith, NASA/JPL | FY11/12/13 |
| Future UV/Optical | High Quantum Efficiency UV Electron-Bombarded CMOS Detectors | Bruce Woodgate, NASA/GSFC | FY11 |
| SOFIA | Far-Infrared Large-Format Array Detectors | S. Harvey Moseley, NASA/GSFC | FY10/11/12 |
Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) Awards for Start in FY12
The Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters solicits proposals under the Strategic Astrophysics Technology/Technology Development for the Cosmic Origins Program (SAT/TCOP) program to mature key technologies for implementation in space flight missions. Selection of proposals for funding under the SAT/TCOP portion of the ROSES2010 solicitation were made based on the following factors: (1) the overall scientific and technical merit of the proposal; (2) the programmatic relevance of the proposed work; and (3) the cost reasonableness of the proposed work. The table below provides information for the technologies approved for development in FY12.
| SAT/TCOP Awards Selected for Start in FY12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission | Title | PI and Institution | Years Supported |
| Future UV/Optical | Advanced UVOIR Mirror Technology Development for Very Large Space Telescopes | Phil Stahl, NASA/MSFC | FY12/13 |
| Future UV/Optical | High performance cross-strip micro-channel plate detector systems for spaceflight experiments | John Vallerga, U.C. Berkeley | FY12/13 |
| Future UV/Optical | Enhanced MgF2 & LiF Overcoated Al Mirrors for FUV Space Astronomy | Manuel Quijada, NASA/GSFC | FY12/13 |
Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) Awards for Start in FY13
The Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters plans to solicit proposals under the SAT/TCOP portion of the ROSES2011 solicitation, available online at the NSPIRES ROSES2011 SAT call for proposals. The priority ranking of potential technologies to fulfill COR mission needs is recommended by the Cosmic Origins Program Office, detailed each year in the Program Annual Technology Report (PATR). The top-ranked technologies are determined to be of the highest interest to the Cosmic Origins Program and it is recommended that they should be invested in first, when funding is available. This priority level consists of technologies in the following areas:
- High-QE, large-format UV detectors: Future NASA UV missions require high-QE (>70%), large-format (>2K x 2K) detectors for operation at 100-400 nm or broader . The goal is to produce large-format, high-QE, low-noise UV-sensitive detectors routinely that can be employed in a variety of suborbital, Explorer, medium-class, and strategic missions.
- Photon-counting, large-format UV detectors: Future NASA UV missions, particularly those devoted to spectroscopy, require high-QE (>50%), low-noise (<10-7 ct/pixel/s), large-format (>2K x 2K) photon-counting detectors for operation at 100-400 nm or broader .
- UV coatings: Development of UV coatings with high reflectivity, high uniformity, and wide bandpasses, ideally operating from the visible to wavelengths below 100 nm.
- Ultra-low-noise Far-IR direct detectors: Future NASA Far-IR missions require detectors optimized for the very low photon backgrounds present in space for spectroscopy at wavelengths between ~30µm and ~300µm. Detector sensitivities with noise equivalent powers of ≈ 3⋅10-21 W/√Hz are needed for spectroscopy, arrayable in a close-packed configuration in at least one direction.