Technology selection and validation: new millennium flight projects

NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP) was created to accelerate the insertion of advanced space-related technologies into future science missions by validating these technologies on deep space and Earth-orbiting technology validation missions. The process by which technologies are chosen for validation on NMP flights is complex, because many factors have to be considered. This paper describes the currently approved NMP flight projects and the processes used to select and validate their associated technologies. In addition, the processes being developed to select and validate technologies for future NMP flight projects and the relationships of these processes to NASA technology and science roadmaps are described.