CLEVELAND - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Glenn Research Center will host an industry day on 23 April 2026 to brief companies on the agency’s Aeronautics Flight Accelerator (AFA) initiative and explore potential industry partnerships in advanced flight research, integration, and test capabilities.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern at the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland. Agency officials will provide an overview of AFA objectives and anticipated timelines, along with detailed information on available flight assets and the technical capabilities across NASA’s aeronautics research centers.
NASA says the AFA initiative is intended to accelerate the transition of advanced aeronautics technologies from research to flight demonstration by improving access to agency flight assets, streamlining integration and test processes, and enabling closer collaboration with industry. The effort is designed to support faster maturation of emerging technologies through flight validation in relevant operational environments.
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'Revolutionary' ideas sought
According to the solicitation, NASA is seeking "revolutionary" rather than "evolutionary" technologies, particularly those that can deliver step-change improvements in performance and capability. Areas of interest include technologies that enable rapid, flexible flight experimentation, as well as advancements in autonomy, sensing, avionics integration, and other flight-critical electronic and software-defined systems.
In addition to programmatic briefings, the industry day will include a question-and-answer session and structured opportunities for one-on-one meetings between NASA and participating companies. These sessions are intended to give industry insight into how their technologies could be integrated with NASA flight assets and test infrastructure, and to explore potential partnerships for future flight demonstrations.
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One-on-ones available
Industry participants may request a 20-minute one-on-one meeting, with sessions scheduled between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Due to limited availability, companies are required to identify three preferred time slots within that window when submitting their request, ranked by preference. NASA notes that while it will attempt to accommodate those preferences, final assignments may fall outside the requested times.
To be considered for a one-on-one session, participants must submit a two-page executive summary no later than 12 p.m. ET on 14 April 2026 using the AFA Industry Day Response Form. The summary should outline the company’s technical capabilities and proposed approach to supporting AFA objectives, while remaining high-level enough to avoid disclosure of proprietary or export-controlled information, including content subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
Companies selected for one-on-one sessions will be expected to present and discuss their executive summary during the scheduled meeting. NASA says it will evaluate submissions and assign meeting slots based on how well the proposed approaches align with AFA goals and the agency’s interest in advancing flight-ready technologies.
Each organization is limited to a single one-on-one meeting with up to five attendees. Teams planning to propose jointly are asked to coordinate and schedule a single session that includes representatives from each participating entity.
The event will be held in person only, with no virtual or hybrid participation option. NASA named Jenni Schnarr as the primary point of contact for this RFI. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/4caba20f928d4b6eb91337abb4c5183a/view.
