User:Navarenko/Flight Opportunities

Flight Opportunities is a space technology program, funded by the U.S. Government, and administered by NASA. The program is designed to facilitate maturation of cross-cutting space technologies on behalf of NASA’s Space Technology Program while achieving a goal of the National Space Policy to “Encourage and facilitate” the growth of the U.S. commercial space industry.

Flight-testing is expected to reduce risk inherent in the use of emerging technologies, procedures and overall space operations by demonstrating application in a relevant environment. A measure of program success will be the extent to which it can infuse new technologies into NASA missions while encouraging development of commercial space services as well as a customer base for the emerging industry.

The program offers flight test opportunities in space-relevant environments (e.g. microgravity) using parabolic, balloon and low-cost commercial reusable suborbital launch vehicles (sRLV). Flight opportunities are provided to selected researchers to mature their technology from a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of approximately 4, to a higher TRL of 6 or higher.

The program is administered through the Agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Level II Program Management resides at NASA/Dryden Flight Research Center. Technology Management is based at NASA/Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, California.

Origin
The Flight Opportunities program was created in 2010 as a merger of the Facilitated Access to the Space environment for Technology (FAST) program providing access to parabolic flights and the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program developing access to emerging commercial suborbital platforms. The latter was specifically called out in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.

"SEC. 907. COMMERCIAL REUSABLE SUBORBITAL RESEARCH PROGRAM."

"(a) IN GENERAL.—The report of the National Academy of Sciences, Revitalizing NASA’s Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation and Developing Workforce, found that suborbital science missions were absolutely critical to building an aerospace workforce capable of meeting the needs of current and future human and robotic space exploration."

"(b) MANAGEMENT.—The Administrator shall designate an officer or employee of the Space Technology Program to act as the responsible official for the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program in the Space Technology Program. The designee shall be responsible for the development of short- and long term strategic plans for maintaining, renewing and extending suborbital facilities and capabilities."

"(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall establish a Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program within the Space Technology Program that shall fund the development of payloads for scientific research, technology development, and education, and shall provide flight opportunities for those payloads to microgravity environments and suborbital altitudes. The Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program may fund engineering and integration demonstrations, proofs of concept, or educational experiments for commercial reusable vehicle flights. The program shall endeavor to work with NASA’s Mission Directorates to help achieve NASA’s research, technology, and education goals."

"(d) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit a report annually to the appropriate committees of Congress describing progress in carrying out the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program, including the number and type of suborbital missions planned in each fiscal year."

"(e) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2013 to carry out this section."

Technology Maturation through Flight Testing
One of the greatest challenges to incorporating advanced technologies into future space missions is bridging the mid-technology readiness level (TRL) (5-7) gap (or 'valley of death'), between component or prototype testing in a lab or ground facility setting, and the final infusion of a new technology into critical path exploration or science mission development. To cross this gap, the proposed new technology must pass system level testing in a relevant operational environment.

Historically, NASA has provided several mechanisms for flight testing of space hardware, ranging from the NASA Vomit Comet, to sounding rockets, and balloons. The Flight Opportunities program continues this tradition of offering flight opportunities to researchers for testing their hardware in relevant environments. The main difference is that the program focuses on utilizing only commercially available services to perform these flight tests.

At present, the program provides the following relevant environments for flight testing :
 * Near-zero or reduced gravity environment- Parabolic and suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (sRLV) platforms provide reduced-gravity and near-zero gravity environments. Parabolic aircraft can provide a range of gravities - e.g., lunar (0.16g), Mars (0.38g), and near-zero - for about 20 seconds (17-20 seconds) during each parabolic path, with multiple parabolas flown during a single flight providing over 13 minutes of cumulative reduced gravity time. On flights above 100km, sRLVs can provide 3-4 minutes of continuous near- zero gravity on a single flight.
 * Near vacuum and extreme cold of near space - Balloons flying to high altitudes (approximately 30.5 km Above Sea Level) and held there for several hours.
 * Low altitude approach - test or demonstrate new guidance and landing systems on vertical landing sRLVs.

Fostering U.S. Commercial Space Industry
NASA recognizes the importance of supporting commercial reusable sub-orbital and parabolic activities and its role in advancing future science and exploration technological capabilities. Unlike past development efforts, in which NASA has contracted for a vehicle and then paid for its operation to achieve agency goals, the Flight Opportunities program is structured to enable NASA to use commercially available vehicles for its own research and provide opportunities for researchers across the nation. Officials hope the new approach will lead to significant cost savings to NASA as reusable launch vehicle technology matures. In addition, they hope the research that will take shape is inspiring to students and will result in technology development of benefit to the nation. The program is part of a broader strategy by NASA to support the development of the U.S. commercial Space Industry. Other NASA programs supporting this development are part of the broader Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

Payload Solicitation
Technology payload proposals are accepted from many sources including NASA, other government agencies, academia, industry, and international entities collaborating with U.S. partners. For selected payloads, the program funds flights and re-flights, if warranted. Proposal selection criteria includes assessments of: applicability to NASA high-priority technology areas; the opportunity for technology risk reduction; the technology and payload readiness level for a flight demonstration; and the adequacy of the proposing team's experience to deliver a safe payload for flight.

Announcement of Flight Opportunities (AFO)
The program has held 6 rounds of open technology solicitations, so-called Announcement of Flight Opportunities or AFO. The Announcement of Flight Opportunities is open through December 31, 2014. Regular cut-off dates are provided on a periodic basis to select new proposals.

Payload & capability development (NRA)
Starting in 2012, the program opened a separate solicitation using a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) to enable payload development and capability enhancement through NASA's Game Changing Development Program. Based on the responses received to a Request For Information issued by the OCT, the program decided to fund technology development for three flight payload areas: payloads to develop and demonstrate high-priority space technologies; flight vehicle enhancement for payload accommodations; and reusable onboard research facilities. 14 proposals were selected in the first NRA announcement (NRA1). The second NRA announcement (NRA2) closed June 17.

NASA Internal/Directed
NASA also occasionally selects NASA-internal payloads for flight on one of the qualified vehicles.

Other payload origins
Other NASA solicitations offering flight services through the Flight Opportunities program include the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) ROSES call and the Human Research Program (HRP).

Commercial Flight Services
In August 2011, NASA selected 7 commercial suborbital flight providers to provide flight services for the program. Including the parabolic flights on a modified commercial aircraft operated by Zero Gravity Corporation, a total of 8 Flight Service Providers are currently on an IDIQ contract. The parabolic flight campaigns are flown out of Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. The majority of the suborbital initial launches will be from the Mojave Air and Spaceport, Mojave, Calif., and the new Spaceport America facility near Las Cruces, N.M. 1 Qualified for Flight Opportunities program. 2 Zero Gravity Corporation serves as a dry lease contractor to the Reduced Gravity Office (RGO) at NASA/Johnson Space Center.

Flights
2011

2012

2013