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Capabilities for the Future An Assessment of NASA Laboratories for Basic Research (2010) / Chapter Skim
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2 Assessment Methodology
Pages 6-9

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From page 6...
... The use of the OMB categories and the financial data reported allowed the committee to determine trends in expenditures for fundamental science and engineering research and for the facilities and equipment that support that research. NASA uses the terminology of technology readiness levels (TRL levels 1 through 9)
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From page 7...
... STUDY PROCESS AND LIMITATIONS The committee invited NASA Headquarters personnel and representatives of each NASA center that sponsored fundamental research to make a series of presentations at the first committee meeting held at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C., on September 8 and 9, 2009. Before the meeting, the committee had requested that NASA Headquarters and each NASA center provide the following information at this first meeting and limit all presentations and material to activities encompassing TRLs 1-3: • Expenditures by year for new laboratory equipment over the past 5 years; • Expenditures for new facilities and major upgrades to existing facilities over the past 5 years; • Planned expenditures for laboratory equipment and facility improvements over the next 3 years; • The age distribution of existing laboratory equipment and the maintenance, repair, and upgrades of older equipment; • Facility maintenance budgets by year over the past 5 years; and • The uniqueness and importance of specific facilities to the NASA scientific and technology missions.
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From page 8...
... The SOT did not call for a detailed study of the individual programs that constitute the NASA fundamental research enterprise or an assessment of the efficacy and quality of the research performed, or the adequacy of those programs to support the NASA goals. As required by the SOT, the committee focused on assessing the state of laboratory capabilities and on whether they are equipped and maintained to support the NASA research activities.
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From page 9...
... At the second committee meeting, in Irvine, California, on November 11 and 12, 2009, the committee was briefed on the fundamental research, equipment, and facilities at Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)
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