for procurement of the presently available 

 expendable launch vehicles and the study of ad- 

 vanced space transportation, habitation, and in- 

 dustrial systems. This Office funds no basic re- 

 search per se, but supports basic research in its 

 provision of space transportation. One class of 

 expendable launch vehicles, that used to launch 

 the Explorer satellites, is classified basic research 

 for the purpose of NASA's report to NSF and 

 OMB's special analysis. 



The two preceding groups — the offices under the 

 Associate Administrator and that of the Associate 

 Administrator for Space Flight — fund all of 

 NASA's R&D programs and provide headquarters- 

 level management as here noted. The third major 

 group, that of the Associate Administrator for 

 Center Operations, is concerned with the imple- 

 mentation of the R&D program. Reporting to the 

 Associate Administrator for Center Operations are 

 1 1 major field installations (and 5 geographically 

 separate component installations). These field in- 

 stallations are charged with the conduct of in- 

 house R&D and with the direction of out-of-house 

 R&D funded by grant or contract. A small portion 

 of the R&D program — chiefly research in the space 

 and life sciences, is funded from and directed by 

 appropriate headquarters offices, but the great 

 majority of funds flow to the field installations. 

 The 1 1 field installations, with their respective 

 areas of basic research identified, are: 



• Ames Research Center, MofTett Field, Cali- 

 fornia. Basic research in life and engineering 

 sciences, with major programs in aeronautics. 



• Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center, 

 Edwards, California. Basic research in engi- 

 neering sciences, particularly in aeronautics. 



• Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, 

 Maryland. Basic research in physical and en- 

 vironmental sciences. 



• Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Califor- 

 nia (a contract laboratory). Basic research in 

 physical, environmental, and engineering sci- 

 ences. 



• Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, 

 Texas. Basic research in physical, engineer- 

 ing, and life sciences. 



• John F. Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy 

 Space Center, Florida. 



• Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. 

 Basic research in engineering sciences, with 

 major programs in aeronautics. 



• Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. 

 Basic research in engineering sciences, with 

 emphasis on aeronautical and space propul- 

 sion. 



• George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, 

 Huntsville, Alabama. Basic research in physi- 

 cal and engineering sciences. 



• National Space Technology Laboratories, 

 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. 



• Wallops Flight Center, Wallops Island, Vir- 

 ginia. Basic research in environmental sci- 

 ences. 



The field centers either conduct basic research in 

 house or fund extramural parties by grant or con- 

 tract to conduct basic research. The work is done 

 in the broad program areas established by the pro- 

 gram offices of headquarters, but a significant de- 

 gree of autonomy to determine more specific basic 

 research projects is delegated to the centers. The 

 grants and contracts awarded directly from head- 

 quarters can be used to conduct research in areas 

 not otherwise covered by programs directed by the 

 field centers. 



Management 



NASA's research and technology program, in- 

 cluding the basic research portion, is currently 

 managed through "the RTOP system. " The RTOP 

 — the research and technology objectives and 

 plans — is the key document in this management 

 system. It is a concise statement of the justifica- 

 tion, the objectives, the approach to be used, and 

 the resources required to conduct a definitive piece 

 of research. It is prepared by the field center in 

 response to an annual statement of program objec- 

 tives by the responsible headquarters program 

 office. The RTOP thus serves as a basis for com- 

 munication and negotiation between headquarters 

 and the field centers. When approved by headquar- 

 ters, it becomes a contract or agreement between a 

 headquarters program office and a performing field 

 center. Headquarters is obligated to provide the 

 resources, and the field centers are required to 

 execute the work (in-house or out-of-house) to ful- 

 fill the stated objectives. 



Within the RTOP system, each field center — or 

 each headquarters program office, in the case of 

 direct funding of grants or contracts — uses a some- 

 what different system for detailed initiation, re- 

 view, and evaluation of basic research activities or 

 projects. However, they usually include the fol- 

 lowing elements: 



• Proposals for basic research are usually ini- 

 tiated by the in-house or university researcher 

 in response to broad agency objectives and 

 funding guidelines or to specific solicitations 

 or announcements of opportunity. 



• These proposals are then evaluated by agency 

 program managers with assistance or advice 

 from external review boards or committees or 

 other peer-review groups. The perceived 

 importance or relevance of the task, the capa- 

 bilities of the researcher, the quality of prior 

 contributions, and the need for stability and 



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