NASA is seeking proposals from industry, academia and research institutions to test and demonstrate technology and research payloads on commercial suborbital vehicles as part of the Flight Opportunities program.
The space agency said Wednesday awardees can get up to $650,000 each in the form of a grant or cooperative agreement under the program to procure flights from commercial providers that operate suborbital rockets, high-altitude balloons, parabolic aircraft and other vehicles.
NASA is interested in three topics for the 2021 Tech Flights solicitation: capabilities that support national lunar efforts and other initiatives in cislunar space including scientific discovery and human and robotic exploration; Earth-observing capabilities to support national efforts to address climate change; and technologies that ensure national leadership in space and support the commercial space industry’s growth.
The agency will hold a question-and-answer session on July 14 with plans to accept preliminary proposals through July 26 and full proposals by Oct. 4. NASA intends to select awardees by December and award funding by February 2022.
