David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                             April 
20, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1730)


RELEASE:  94-63

NASA AWARDS TECHNOLOGY GRANT TO SIERRA COLLEGE


   NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has awarded 
a grant to Sierra College, Rocklin, Calif., for a hands-on 
community college engineering curriculum as part of the 
government's technology reinvestment project (TRP). 

   The TRP grant with Sierra College will allow for the school to 
design a 2-year curriculum focused on the development of a NASA 
Getaway Special (GAS) experiment, during which students will 
design and manufacture a small satellite.  A Getaway Special is a 
small container which is carried in the cargo bay of the Space 
Shuttle.  The project is expected to lead to four new courses in 
space technology and the development of standard hardware that can 
be used for multiple applications.

   The project will provide students with the experience of 
building a small satellite and educate the students in the 
manufacturing expertise sought by American industry.  Graduates 
will benefit from the manufacturing emphasis and should enjoy a 
significant advantage as they enter an increasingly competitive 
job market.

   The grant represents an example of NASA's efforts to foster 
improved manufacturing education and training as a means of 
providing America's future workforce with the skills necessary to 
compete in the global marketplace.

   Under TRP guidelines, the federal government provides up to 50 
percent of the funding towards development of technologies that 
can be used in both government and private sector settings.  In 
this case, TRP will provide approximately half of the $900,000 
cost of the grant over a 3-year period.  The college and it's 
research partners will provide the remaining funds.

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