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Advisory Committee Subcommittee-Any committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel, task force; or other similar group, or any subcommittee or other subgroup thereof, that is not wholly composed of full-time Federal Government employees, and that is established or utilized by NASA in the interest of obtaining advice or recommendations.
Announcement of Opportunity (AO)-A document used to announce opportunities to participate in NASA programs.
AO Process-A term used to describe the program planning and acquisition procedure used to acquire investigative effort, initiated by an AO.
Categorization-The process whereby proposed investigations are classified into four categories: synopsized here as Category I-recommended for immediate acceptance; Category II-recommended for acceptance but at a lower priority than Category I proposals; Category III-sound investigations requiring further development; Category IV-rejected.
Co-Investigator (Co-I)-Associate of a Principal Investigator, responsible to the Principal Investigator for discrete portions or tasks of the investigation. A NASA employee can participate as a Co-I on an investigation proposed by a private organization.
Data Users-Participants in NASA programs, selected to perform investigations utilizing data from NASA payloads or facilities.
Experiments-Activities or effort aimed at the generation of data. NASA-sponsored experiments generally concern generation of data obtained through measurement of aeronautical and space phenomena or use of space to observe earth phenomena.
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-The regulations governing the conduct of acquisition.
Flight-That portion of the mission encompassing the period from launch to landing or launch to termination of the active life of spacecraft. The term shuttle "flight" means a single shuttle round trip-its launch, orbital activity, and return; one flight might deliver more than one payload. More than one flight might be required to accomplish one mission.
Flight Investigation-Investigation conducted utilizing aeronautical or space instrumentation.
Flight Opportunity-A flight mission designed to accommodate one or more experiments or investigations.
Guest Investigators-Investigators selected to conduct observations and obtain data within the capability of a NASA mission, which are additional to the mission's primary objectives. Sometimes referred to as Guest Observers.
Investigation-Used interchangeably with "Experiments."
Investigation Team-A group of investigators collaborating on a single investigation.
Investigator-A participant in an investigation. May refer to the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, or member of an investigation team.
Mission-The performance of a coherent set of investigations or operations in space to achieve program goals. (Example: Measure detailed structure of Sun's chromosphere; survey mineral resources of North America.)
NASA FAR Supplement-Acquisition regulations promulgated by NASA in addition to the FAR.
NMI-NASA Management Instruction.
Notice of Intent-A notice or letter submitted by a potential investigator indicating the intent to submit a proposal in response to an AO.
Payload-A specific complement of instruments, space equipment, and support hardware carried to space to accomplish a mission or discrete activity in space.
Peer Group-A gathering of experts in related disciplinary areas convened as a subcommittee of the Program Office Steering Committee to review proposals for flight investigations.
Peer Review-The process of proposal review utilizing a group of peers in accordance with the categorization criteria as outlined in this Handbook.
Principal Investigator (PI)-A person who conceives an investigation and is responsible for carrying it out and reporting its results. A NASA employee can participate as a PI only on a government-proposed investigation.
Program-An activity involving human resources, materials, funding, and scheduling necessary to achieve desired goals.
Project-Within a program, an undertaking with a scheduled beginning and ending, which normally involves the design, construction, and operation of one or more aeronautical or space vehicles and necessary ground support in order to accomplish a scientific or technical objective.
Project Office-An office generally established at a NASA field installation to manage a project.
Selection Official-The NASA official designated to determine the source for award of a contract or grant.
Space Facility-An instrument or series of instruments in space provided by NASA to satisfy a general objective or need.
Steering Committee-A standing NASA sponsored committee providing advice to the Program Associate Administrators and providing procedural review over the investigation selection process. Composed wholly of full-time Federal Government employees.
Study Office-An office established at a NASA field installation to manage a potential undertaking which has not yet developed into project status.
Subcommittee-An arm of the Program Office Steering Committee consisting of experts in relevant disciplines to review and categorize proposals for investigations submitted in response to an AO.
Supporting Research and Technology (SR&T)-The programs devoted to the conduct of research and development necessary to support and sustain NASA programs.
Team-A group of investigators responsible for carrying out and reporting the results of an investigation or group of investigations.
Team Leader-The person appointed to manage and be the point of contact for the team and who is responsible for assigning respective roles and privileges to the team members and reporting the results of the investigation.
Team Member - A person appointed to a team who is an associate of the other members of the team and is responsible to the team leader for assigned tasks or portions of the investigation.