Wed, Dec 22, 2010
Goal Is To Demonstrate Robotic Lunar Landing Missions
NASA has issued delivery orders to three companies as part of
its Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data (ILDD) project. Each order
is worth $500,000 and will help develop vehicle capabilities and
demonstrate end-to-end robotic lunar landing missions.
The three companies selected are:
- Astrobotic Technology Inc., Pittsburgh, PA.
- Dynetics Inc., Huntsville, AL.
- Moon Express Inc., San Francisco, CA.
All three companies are pariticpating in the Google Lunar
X-Prize. These companies are among six that received ILDD contract
awards in October. After issuing the ILDD Broad Agency
Announcement, NASA awarded six firm-fixed price,
indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts, with a potential
total value for all awarded contracts of up to $30.1 million during
a period of up to five years.
After those awards, each ILDD contractor submitted System
Definition Review (SDR) packages, in which they identified their
top risks. NASA invited the ILDD contractors in November to propose
task plans for the delivery of data associated with a critical
component demonstration test that addresses one or more of the SDR
risk items. In response to the delivery orders NASA is now issuing,
each of the three selected companies is expected to provide data
capturing these results.
The ILDD contracts also provide for issuing subsequent delivery
orders that will specify data associated with system testing and
integration, launch, in-space maneuvers, braking burns, lunar
landing and other enhanced capabilities. Knowledge acquired from
this data will be applied to the development of lander systems
necessary to execute human and robotic missions to the moon,
near-Earth asteroids or other solar system destinations. The data
also will contribute to NASA's efforts to enable affordable and
sustainable space exploration.
The ILDD contracts are being managed by the Exploration Missions
and Systems Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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