NASA has selected six companies from five U.S. states to participate in a government-and-industry partnership to advance composite materials research and certification.
The companies are Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas; GE Aviation, Cincinnati, Ohio; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Palmdale, Calif.; Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Boeing Research & Technology, St. Louis, Mo.; and a team from United Technologies Corporation led by subsidiary Pratt & Whitney in Hartford, Conn.
They were selected from 20 proposals submitted by teams from industry and academia in response to a call from the Advanced Composites Project, which is part of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s Integrated Systems Research Program. The project sought proposals to reduce the time for development, verification and regulatory acceptance of new composite materials and structures.
A panel of experts from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory reviewed the submissions and assessed them according to specific criteria. The six firms were chosen for their technical expertise, willingness and ability to share in costs, certification experience with government agencies, focused technology areas and partnership histories.
The first task for the partners is to develop articles of collaboration, establish how the alliance will work and how companies may be added in the future.
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Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-9886/757-344-8511
kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1979
michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov