Photos are available. The experiment, developed by the Eidetics Corp., Torrance, Calif., will test whether electrically heating the skin of large jetliners could reduce the turbulence of the airflow along the fuselage, improving aerodynamic efficiency. Congress established the SBIR program in 1982 to provide seed capital to assist American-owned small businesses to participate in U.S. federal agency research and development efforts. NASA could use a crew return vehicle to evacuate crew members to Earth in cases of injury or illness. Also, the six-person vehicle could return the crew to Earth if an orbiter was unavailable or if the Space Station became disabled.
Photos are available.