More good News! Here is latest press release from SPDV.
Tuesday May 19, 8:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: SpaceDev
SpaceDev Eligible for Funding Under Nasa's MIDEX Program
NEAP Customers Can Now Submit Proposals Under Two NASA Programs
SAN DIEGO, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- SpaceDev (OTC Bulletin Board: SPDV - news), the world's first commercial space exploration company, announced today that its Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP) is now eligible for NASA funding under the MIDEX program. This marks the second NASA program under which funding is available to scientists seeking to purchase a ride on NEAP for their investigations. SpaceDev has been eligible for funding under the NASA Discovery program since early 1998.
''We are very excited about the additional possibilities the MIDEX program provides,'' said SpaceDev CEO Jim Benson. ''We believe this will broaden our potential customer base considerably as the company provides new high-quality science opportunities at one-third the current cost. Once again, NASA is demonstrating its commitment to space commercialization by expanding MIDEX Missions of Opportunity to include our NEAP mission.''
Previously, MIDEX, which stands for MID-sized Explorer, consisted only of $140 million missions launched by NASA. Scientific groups submitted detailed proposals to NASA emphasizing the cost, approaches used, and expected scientific returns. Through this competitive bidding process, NASA selected one proposal to develop and launch each year.
''This year, MIDEX Missions of Opportunity are similar to the Discovery program, and are capped at $21 million,'' noted Benson. ''While NASA's Discovery program focuses on planetary science experiments, the MIDEX program focuses on astrophysics experiments. Institutions interested in astrophysics, which before could only propose complete missions, now have the choice of participating in a SpaceDev mission at a fraction of the cost. This creates many new opportunities for scientists,'' Benson added.
The deadline for submitting Notices of Intent (NOI) for MIDEX is June 25, 1998. The final MIDEX proposal deadline is August 21, 1998.
SpaceDev believes there is pent-up demand for economical space exploration. Earlier this month, seven principal investigators from leading universities and national laboratories, submitted NOIs to NASA, under the Discovery program. These notices make them eligible to submit formal proposals by June 29, 1998 for funding the purchase of insured rides for their instruments on SpaceDev's NEAP. The company believes a similar demand could exist for science proposals under the MIDEX program.
''What we offer is more science per dollar to the taxpayers,'' explained Mr. Benson. ''We are responding to the White House National Space Policy and to Congress and NASA's call for 'cheaper, better, faster,' space access via the private sector. We thank NASA for the opportunity and look forward to their support as we continue to work to open all of space to private enterprise.''
SpaceDev, the world's first commercial space exploration company, intends to launch the first privately financed spacecraft to assess and to land on a near earth asteroid. SpaceDev is selling rides for scientific instruments to governments and companies to transport their instruments and experiments through deep space to another planetary body. SpaceDev intends to sell the scientific data acquired by its instruments as commercial products. Colorado based SpaceDev has offices in San Diego, CA and Washington, D.C.
Except for historical financial information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release are forward-looking statements that are dependent on certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to such factors as market demand, pricing, and changes in worldwide economic conditions.
Note: News releases and other information about SpaceDev Inc. can be accessed at spacedev.com or ctaonline.com.
SOURCE: SpaceDev
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