National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Flight Opportunities Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)

NASA’s Flight Opportunities program strives to advance the operational readiness of innovative space technologies while also stimulating the development and utilization of the U.S. commercial spaceflight industry, particularly for the suborbital and small How to launch vehicle markets. Since its initiation in 2010, the program has provided affordable Access Flight access to relevant space-like environments for over 100 payloads across a variety of Opportunities flight platforms.

There are currently two paths for accessing flight test opportunities:

Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion (REDDI) External researchers can compete for flight funding through the REDDI NASA Research Announcement (NRA). Awardees receive a grant allowing them to directly purchase flights from U.S. commercial flight vendors that best meet their needs. The solicitation is biannual. Suborbital Reusable High-Altitude Balloon Parabolic Aircraft Launch Vehicles (sRLV) Systems These platforms enable NASA Internal Call for sRLVs enable a wide variety of These systems facilitate impact investigation of short-term Payloads experiments, such as testing studies on extended exposure exposure to reduced gravity, This path facilitates algorithms for landing or to cold, atmosphere, and with typical missions flying suborbital flight hazard avoidance, or evaluating radiation. In addition, high approximately 40 parabolas demonstrations for the response of systems to altitude balloons enable testing providing several seconds of technologies under microgravity. of sensors and instruments for reduced gravity during the flight. development by NASA and a variety of applications. other government agencies. Typical parabolic vehicles include Typical vehicles include Blue Zero G’s G-FORCE ONE. Flights are provided Origin’s New Shepard, Masten Typical balloon providers include by NASA’s contracted Space Systems’ Xaero/Xodiac, UP Near Space Corporation (NSC) providers. Aerospace’s SpaceLoft™ XL, and and World View® Enterprises. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. www.nasa.gov TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PROPOSAL

4 Explain Why Your Technology is Outstanding 4 Don’t Overlook the Basics Know the state of the art and very clearly explain why your Pay close attention to word and page limits, and make sure technology is superior than what has been done before. all required information is presented clearly. Extra pages are eliminated from the proposals before they are reviewed and 4 State Your Case for Flight could contain vital information. Why does your experiment need a test flight, and why now? Communicate what you will learn or gain by doing a flight 4 Be Clear and To the Point experiment and why it cannot be done on the ground. Make sure your writing is clear and cogent—and ask for peer reviews to get feedback before you submit your proposal. 4 Communicate the NASA Benefit How will your technology and flight experiment benefit NASA and its goals? Make sure this point has been carefully considered and communicated.

SUCCESS STORIES

Test Flights for Mars Landing Technology NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has developed technology for the Mars 2020 rover’s Lander Vision System (LVS), which will enable spacecraft to land at a specific location with more precision than ever before. The prototype vision system was tested aboard Masten Space Systems’ rocket-powered “Xombie” vertical-launch, vertical-landing test platform and helped guide the rocket to a precise landing at an optimal location. The Xombie was able to approximate Mars-like descent conditions, which are difficult to achieve through conventional flight test platforms. LVS, a camera-based navigation system, photographs the terrain beneath a descending spacecraft and matches it with onboard maps allowing the craft to detect its location relative to landing hazards such as boulders and outcroppings. The system can then direct the craft toward a safe landing at its primary target site or divert touchdown toward better terrain if there are hazards. This Xombie flight demonstrates a highly effective approach for rapid, low-cost validation of new technologies for the entry, descent, and landing The Mars 2020 Lander Vision System was flight of spacecraft on any space target of interest. Read more about this flight at tested aboard a Masten “Xombie.” http://go.nasa.gov/2dGyrdR.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) for Tracking of Commercial Space Transportation As commercial space operations in the U.S. increase, the operation of these vehicles must be accommodated within the National Airspace (NAS). The FAA is implementing ADS-B as the next-generation surveillance system for air traffic control, with full deployment planned for 2020. ADS-B is currently designed to monitor flights below 60,000 feet, however, using ADS-B to track flights above this altitude is under exploration. Starting in 2011, an ADS-B payload was designed by MITRE Corporation, ground tested on the Masten Xaero sRLV, and later flight tested on the Xombie sRLV. In 2012 and 2013, an ADS-B payload was “ruggedized” for suborbital rocket flight, then flown onboard the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft vehicle, each time with better performance. The lessons learned from these tests informed the design of an advanced experimental ADS-B payload, designed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) with FAA funding. During 2013, the ERAU payload was also flown onboard unmanned high-altitude The UP Aerospace balloons by Near Space Corporation. These increasingly complex demonstrations SpaceLoft vehicle is just one of ADS-B technology have shown its potential to permit the FAA to track high- of the many platforms used to altitude balloons and reusable launch vehicles in the NAS as they do aircraft. mature the ADS-B technology.

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Stephan Ord, Technology Manager [email protected] | @nasafo nasa.gov/flightopportunities www.flickr.com/photos/nasafo/sets