WASHINGTON - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are turning to industry for subsonic aircraft designs and other technologies as the agency looks to stimulate innovation and the development of advanced conceptual designs for entry into service around 2050. NASA says submissions will be used to identify key technology areas for agency investment and will influence the future content of its subsonic transport research and technology portfolio.
The project is a part of NASA's Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) program, which is focused on eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from commercial aircraft by the middle of the century.
The NASA Research Announcement (NRA) is intended to identify and evaluate advanced airframe and propulsion concepts and corresponding technologies deemed to be critical for meeting the environmental goals and remaining commercially viable.
This project is not a traditional request for proposal (RFP) with a defined statement of work (SOW); rather, it seeks to identify concepts and technologies to support that can result in an RFP with SOW. NASA notes that the government will weigh technical merit of these concepts rather than potential costs.
As part of technology concept submissions, NASA ask for context that may influence it, such as energy availability, infrastructure, and other market factors; emissions estimates; a technology roadmap that define the current tech readiness level; and a risk analysis, plus others deliverables.
Each proposal will be evaluated by a NASA panel to assess the relevance to the AACES 2050 goals, technical merit, work plan, and its cost realism and reasonableness.
There is no due date announced at this time for proposals. Additional information, including documentation and project requirements is available at https://sam.gov/opp/6922c1158dba4387a6f2208198721312/view. The primary point of contact for this project is Ashlee Shaw, who can be emailed at [email protected].
