NASA And Air Force Work To Establish Hypersonic Science Centers

Sept. 22, 2008

Beth Dickey
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087
beth.dickey-1@xxxxxxxx

Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-9886/757-344-8511
kathy.barnstorff@xxxxxxxx

Larine Barr
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
937-522-3525
larine.barr@xxxxxxxxxxxx

RELEASE: 08-238

NASA AND AIR FORCE WORK TO ESTABLISH HYPERSONIC SCIENCE CENTERS

WASHINGTON -- NASA and the United States Air Force are looking for
university and industry partners as they work to advance hypersonic
research.

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington and the
Air Force Research Laboratory's Office of Science Research at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, have released a
broad agency announcement describing their intent to establish three
national hypersonic science centers. Hypersonic speed is defined as
Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, and faster.

NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program and the Air Force Office of
Science Research plan to set aside as much as $30 million to fund the
centers over five years. The maximum grant will be approximately $2
million a year. The jointly funded program will support
university-level basic science or engineering research that provides
improved understanding of hypersonic flight.

"We have identified three critical research areas: air-breathing
propulsion, materials and structures, and boundary layer control,"
said James Pittman, principal investigator for NASA's Fundamental
Aeronautics Program's Hypersonics Project at NASA's Langley Research
Center in Hampton, Va. "These three areas are the biggest hurdles to
successful hypersonic flight and low-cost space access using an
air-breathing engine."

Details about the announcement and the process for submitting
proposals are available at:


http://www.grants.gov


For more information about NASA's aeronautics research, visit:

http://aeronautics.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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