The NASA Flight Opportunities program and Game Changing Development Program are soliciting proposals for the development of onboard research facilities and other enhancements to suborbital spacecraft. The goal of the joint solicitation is to to increase the number of research and technology payloads that can be carried by commercial suborbital spacecraft.

NASA desires proposals for enhancements and research facilities that support more than one user or can be carried by more than one spacecraft. If cost-effective, the proposed systems may make use of Shuttle- or ISS-heritage systems or other spacecraft standards (such as CubeSat).

Entrepreneurs, scientists, technologists, instrument builders, research managers, vehicle developers, and vehicle operators are eligible to propose. Proposers are required to have a letter of commitment from one of the Flight Opportunity Program’s suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV) partners. Current sRLV partners are Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, UP Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, and Whittinghill Aerospace.

The specific enhancements NASA is looking for are:

• Deployable external instrument booms for atmospheric collection, magnetic field instruments, testing outside a vehicle’s flow layer, and other research applications.
• Deployable, highly stable booms for secondary mirrors and external carriers to expose payloads to the space environment.
• Instrument pointing, tracking, and stabilization systems for telescopes, cameras, and other observational instruments for astrophysics, solar physics, or Earth observation.
• Deployment systems for small payloads that separate from a suborbital spacecraft and reenter on their own or are boosted to orbit by an upper stage.
• Biological facilities to support and isolate payloads that require the handling of fluids, may give off gasses, and may present biohazards.
• Deployment and metrology facilities to support research into deployment of rigid and soft structural systems (such as an inflatable aeroshell), including full-field photogrammetry to measure geometry during and after deployment.
• Vibration isolation facilities to reduce or eliminate the effect of vehicle vibrations on microgravity payloads.

NASA plans to issue up to five awards for onboard research facilities and enhancements, with up to $500, 000 per award.

NASA also plans to issue awards for the development of specific technologies for future NASA space missions that can be matured by flight-testing on commercial suborbital spacecraft.

The awards are part of a larger solicitation called Game Changing Opportunities in Technology Development, which can be found here.