OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUBORBITAL REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES AND PAYLOAD INTEGRATION SERVICES FOR MATURING CROSSCUTTING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ADVANCE MULTIPLE FUTURE SPACE MISSIONS TO FLIGHT READINESS STATUS

Synopsis - Feb 15, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: RFI-NND13466402L Posted Date: Feb 15, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Feb 15, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Mar 08, 2013 Current Response Date: Mar 08, 2013 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 541712

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Dryden Flight Research Center, Code A, P.O. Box 273, Edwards, CA 93523-0273

Description

NASA/DFRC is hereby soliciting information and feedback from both current and potential flight service providers, as well as the technology payload providers and potential sources for Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles And Payload Integration Services For Maturing Crosscutting Technologies That Advance Multiple Future Space Missions To Flight Readiness Status.

1.0 Background

For the past two years, the Flight Opportunities Program (hereafter FOP or "the Program"), part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Technology organization, has worked towards maturing flight readiness of new crosscutting technologies that advance or enable multiple future space missions. FOP has provided opportunities to fly technology payloads on flight platforms that provide reduced gravity or other relevant environments required to test technologies in order to advance their technology readiness. The Program has provided flight opportunities for technology payloads to fly on both parabolic aircraft and suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLV). The operational focus of FOP is to bring together and match technologies that are to be matured (demand) with commercial flight opportunities (supply). For this purpose, the current Program's acquisition plan (1) solicits and selects technology payloads into the Program's "Payload Pipeline," and (2) manifests and offers flights of these payloads on a variety of commercial sRLV, including balloon platforms managed through commercial service Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with a number of Flight Service Providers (FSP) and Parabolic flight opportunities through Johnson Space Center's contract with Zero-G Corporation. The Program intends to continue to provide opportunities to fly technology payloads on platforms that provide reduced gravity or other relevant environments required to test technologies in order to advance their technology readiness. To emphasis our desire to foster growth in the emerging commercial suborbital platform industry, we are proposing to modify the existing sRLV acquisition strategy.

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NASA Solicitation: Opportunities for Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles and Payload Integration Services