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April
20, 2001
NASA's
economic program expands
By
Wayne T. Price
FLORIDA TODAY
An
economic-development program sponsored by NASA is being expanded to four
states and will include more government financing.
The
Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program allows private businesses to use
the expertise of people involved in the space program to fix problems with an
operation or system.
The
help, which is free, come from experts at NASA, area universities and
aerospace companies.
U.S.
Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Palm Bay, announced the program's expansion Thursday to
about 150 Florida economic-development officials, who were at the Kennedy
Space Center to watch the launch of the shuttle Endeavour.
The
program will receive $6 million from NASA over the next two years. Businesses
in Florida, New Mexico, New York and Texas are eligible.
Last
year, the program - managed by the Technology Research and Development
Authority in Titusville - operated on a $600,000 budget and included just
Florida and Texas.
By
expanding it to include the two other states, federal lawmakers were more
willing to chip in additional funding for the program.
"The
initiative is a truly world-class, innovative way for small companies in the
state of Florida to tap into a unique, high-tech reservoir to help them
compete in an increasingly global marketplace," Weldon said. "I am
excited to see it grow."
Weldon
is one of the lawmakers credited with helping secure the additional financing
for the program from Congress.
"We
commend the efforts of Congressman Weldon on behalf of Florida's small
business to grow an initiative which has a profoundly positive impact on
economic development," said Frank Kinney, executive director of the
Technology Research and Development Authority.
"We
are eager to build on the established success of the Space Alliance
Technology Outreach Program in Florida and Texas to bring the talent and
ingenuity of the space program to the new states."
The
Technology Research and Development Authority claims that more than 1,000
jobs and $47 million in sales revenues were created since the outreach
program's inception in 1995.
The
free program works like this: Say a company has a particular problem that
threatens to halt production.
The
company submits a one-page request for technical assistance to Space Alliance
Technology Outreach Program managers, who then see if one of the experts
involved in the space program can help solve the problem.
For
example, WOSN-FM in Vero Beach asked the program's experts about how to
protect the station's radio tower and equipment from lightning strikes.
Engineers
from The Boeing Co. visited the radio tower and provided the station with
information on how to protect the structure.
The
grounding system the station installed is similar to what is used to protect
the space shuttle against lightning strikes when it's on the launch pad.
Wayne
Dillon, WOSN's general manager, said the program "worked out very
well." The engineers studied the problem and, at no cost to the radio
station, recommended a sophisticated grounding system for the station's
equipment.
"We
implemented quite a number of the recommendations they set forth for
us," Dillon said. "And the fact that it didn't cost us anything was
wonderful."
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