NASA Tech Flights Grant for Technology Advancement

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters anticipates a release of a solicitation, titled Technology Advancement Utilizing Suborbital Flight Opportunities “Tech Flights”, as an Appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement (NRA) titled “Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2020 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2020), on or about February 28, 2020. The solicitation is available by opening the NSPIRES homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ , selecting “Solicitations,” then selecting “Open Solicitations,” and, finally, selecting “Technology Advancement Utilizing Suborbital Flight Opportunities “Tech Flights”.”

STMD’s Flight Opportunities program facilitates rapid demonstration of promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion of space commerce through suborbital testing with industry flight providers. The program matures capabilities needed for NASA missions and commercial applications while strategically investing in the growth of the U.S. commercial spaceflight industry. The following topics are anticipated for the final Appendix: 1) Supporting Sustainable Lunar Exploration and the Expansion of Economic Activity into Cislunar Space, 2) Fostering the Commercialization of Low Earth Orbit and Utilization of Suborbital Space. 

All U.S. private entities (for-profit & non-profit), Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (except NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)), and U.S. Universities may propose under this Appendix. Proposing U.S. entities may include a participating foreign entity but shall not transfer any awarded funds to their foreign partner. This Appendix is applicable to external, non-NASA Principal Investigators. NASA employees and contractors may, however, participate as Co-Investigators and/or Collaborators.

See Appendix Section 3.0 for complete eligibility restrictions. Awards to this Appendix will be accomplished via grants and/or cooperative agreements. See Appendix for cost share requirements.

The technology proposed for flight must have successfully completed ground-based development and be ready for demonstration, testing, or collection of design data in a space-like environment relevant to its intended use.

The financial and programmatic support for the Flight Opportunities program comes from the STMD. Awards are planned to start in October 2020. NASA plans to make approximately 10-20 awards as a result of this Flight Opportunities solicitation, subject to the receipt of meritorious proposals and the availability of funds. The actual number of awards will depend on the quality of the proposals received; NASA reserves the right to make no awards under this solicitation.

All proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES by an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR). A Mandatory Abstract is due March 20, 20120 at 5:00 pm ET with Proposals due on or before April 24, 2020. Note that the submission of a Mandatory Abstract is a prerequisite for submitting a Proposal. Detailed submission instructions are provided in the solicitation. Potential proposers and their proposing organizations are urged to familiarize themselves with the submission system(s), ensure they are registered in NSPIRES, and submit the required abstract and proposal materials well in advance of the deadlines.

Technical and programmatic comments and questions may be addressed by e-mail to the Flight Opportunities Program Executive, Christopher Baker at HQ-STMD-FO@nasaprs.com. Responses to inquiries will be answered by e-mail and may also be included in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents located on the NSPIRES page associated with the solicitation. Anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.