Interim Report on NASA's Draft Space Technology Roadmaps

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Interim Report on NASA's Draft Space Technology Roadmaps

In his letter introducing the new 2011 Strategic Plan for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the administrator of NASA referred to the importance of laying the groundwork for a sustainable program of exploration and innovation (NASA, 2011, p. i). No aspect of laying that groundwork is more important than providing the advanced space technology base that is essential to NASAs achieving important goals in space exploration and science. Technology roadmaps that lay out the time sequencing and interdependencies of high-priority advanced space technology research and development over the next 5 to 30 years will enhance the effectiveness of future missions. Accordingly, the initiative by the Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) to develop comprehensive space technology roadmaps is encouraging. The roadmap effort is a sorely needed national endeavor. This study of the Steering Committee for the NASA Technology Roadmap will conclude with a final report, to be issued early in 2012, that will provide specific guidance on how the effectiveness of the technology development program managed by NASA OCT can be enhanced in the face of scarce resources by focusing on the highest-priority technologies.