Flight Opportunities Program
Quick Facts
- Agency
- NASA
- Funding
- Varies by flight test
- Deadline
- Rolling (Rolling / Open)
- Status
- Active
- Eligibility
- Researchers, universities, nonprofits, industry developing space technologies
About This Grant
Flight Opportunities Program is sponsored by NASA. Funds flight tests of technologies in microgravity and lunar gravity, including regolith processing into feedstock and additive manufacturing systems for lunar applications. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.
For planning purposes, treat rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.
Current published award information indicates Varies by flight test Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.
Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Researchers, universities, nonprofits, industry developing space technologies If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.
A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Flight Opportunities Program.
Official Opportunity Details
Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
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gov Maintenance Calendar Technology Advancement Utilizing Suborbital Flight Opportunities "Tech Flights" National Aeronautics and Space Administration Document Type:Grants Notice Funding Opportunity Number:80HQTR19NOA01-19FO-F1 Funding Opportunity Title:Technology Advancement Utilizing Suborbital Flight Opportunities "Tech Flights" Opportunity Category:Discretionary Opportunity Category Explanation: Funding Instrument Type:Cooperative Agreement Grant Category of Funding Activity:Science and Technology and other Research and Development Expected Number of Awards:20 Assistance Listings:43.
012 -- Space Technology Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:Yes Last Updated Date:Feb 20, 2019 Original Closing Date for Applications:Feb 11, 2019 Current Closing Date for Applications:Mar 22, 2019 Archive Date:Mar 23, 2019 Estimated Total Program Funding: Eligible Applicants:Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification) Additional Information on Eligibility:See "Description" below or Full Announcement for clarification.
Agency Name:NASA Headquarters Description: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 2019 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2019), on February 19, 2019.
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"."
The Flight Opportunities program within the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) strategically invests in the growth of the commercial spaceflight market by providing flight opportunities to test space exploration and utilization technologies on commercially available suborbital flight platforms.
Suborbital flight opportunities take technologies from the laboratory to a relevant flight environment that facilitates technology maturation, validates feasibility and reduces technical risks. These investments enable infusion of key space technologies into multiple future space missions.
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 must be at a Technology Readiness Level of 4 at the time of proposal submission with a low fidelity system having been built and tested in a laboratory environment to demonstrate basic functionality. Associated performance predictions for the system should also have been defined relative to the final spaceflight operating environment.
The financial and programmatic support for the Flight Opportunities program comes from the STMD. Awards are planned to start in October 2019. 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 22, 2019, at 5:00 pm ET with Proposals due on or before April 26, 2019.
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.
Link to Additional Information:NSPIRES Website Grantor Contact Information:If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact: Christopher Baker, Flight Opportunities Program Executive Flight Opportunities Program Executive #### Health & Human Services * Vulnerability Disclosure Policy * Frequently Asked Questions Your session will expire in 3 minutes.
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Eligibility Requirements
- Researchers, universities, nonprofits, industry developing space technologies
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply for Flight Opportunities Program?
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Researchers, universities, nonprofits, industry developing space technologies Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
What is the typical funding level for Flight Opportunities Program?
Current published award information indicates Varies by flight test Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
When is the deadline for Flight Opportunities Program?
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
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