Status Report

NASA Solicitation: Early Stage Innovations

By SpaceRef Editor
May 21, 2015
Filed under , ,

Synopsis – May 21, 2015

 

General Information

 

    Solicitation Number: NNH15ZOA001N-15ESI-B2

    Posted Date: May 21, 2015

    FedBizOpps Posted Date: May 21, 2015

    Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No

    FedGrants Posted Date: May 21, 2015

    Classification Code: A — Research and Development

    NAICS Code: 541712

 

Grant Specific Information

 

    Funding Instrument Type: Grant

    Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement

    CFDA Number: 43.012

    Cost Sharing or Matching Required: No

    Estimated Total Program Funding: $6,000,000.00

    Expected Number of Awards: 12

    Ceiling Amount: none

    Floor Amount: none

    Funding Activity: Science and Technology and other Research and Development (ST)

    Eligible Applicants: 25 – Others

     (see “Description” below or Full Announcement for clarification)

    Link to Full Announcement: http://nspires.nasaprs.com

 

Contracting Office Address

 

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771

 

Description

 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters has released a solicitation, titled Early Stage Innovations (ESI), as an appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement (NRA) titled “Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2015 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2015), on May 20, 2015. The solicitation is available by opening the NSPIRES homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ , selecting “Solicitations,” then selecting “Open Solicitations,” and, finally, selecting “Early Stage Innovations (ESI).”

 

This Appendix seeks proposals to develop unique, disruptive, or transformational space technologies that have the potential to lead to dramatic improvements at the system level — performance, weight, cost, reliability, operational simplicity, or other figures of merit associated with space flight hardware or missions. Although progress under an award may be incremental, the projected impact at the system level must be substantial and clearly defined. The Appendix does not seek literature searches, survey activities or incremental enhancements to the current state of the art. The starting TRL of the efforts to be funded as a result of the Appendix will be TRL 1 or TRL 2; typical end TRLs will be TRL 2 or TRL 3.

 

The Appendix exclusively seeks proposals that are responsive to one of the seven topics: Payload Technologies for Assistive Free-Flyers, Robotic Mobility Technologies for the Surfaces of Icy Moons, Integrated Photonics for Space Optical Communication, Discrete Cellular Materials Assembly, Repair, and Reconfiguration, Computationally Guided Structural Nanomaterials Design, Atmospheric Entry Modeling Development Using Orion EFT-1 Flight Data, and High Voltage PMAD Electronics for Space Applications. NASA anticipates addressing other topics in future ESI Appendix releases.

 

NASA plans to make approximately 12 awards as a result of the Appendix, subject to the receipt of meritorious proposals. The maximum award duration will be three years, although proposals for less than three years are allowed.

 

Only accredited U.S. universities are eligible to submit proposals to this solicitation. Teaming or collaboration with other accredited U.S. universities, industry, not-for-profit entities, NASA Centers, other government agencies, and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) is permitted as specified in the Appendix.

 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Other Minority Universities (OMU) are encouraged to submit proposals. In addition, NASA encourages submission of ESI proposals on behalf of women, members of underrepresented minority groups, persons with disabilities, and faculty members who are early in their career.

 

All proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES or through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) by an authorized organizational representative. Notices of Intent (not mandatory) are due by June 12, 2015. Proposals are due on or before July 10, 2015. Detailed submission instructions are provided in the solicitation. Potential proposers and their proposing organizations are urged to familiarize themselves with the submission system(s), ensure they are registered in NSPIRES, and submit the required proposal materials well in advance of the deadline.

 

Technical and programmatic comments and questions may be addressed by e-mail to the Space Technology Research Grants Program Executive, Claudia Meyer, at hq-esi-call@mail.nasa.gov. Procurement questions may be addressed by e-mail to the procurement point of contact on this solicitation, Carl T. Weih, at hq-esi-call@mail.nasa.gov. Responses to inquiries will be answered by e-mail and may also be included in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents located on the NSPIRES page associated with the solicitation; anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.

 

Point of Contact

 

    Name: Claudia M Meyer

    Title: NASA Space Technology Research Grants Program Exec

    Phone: 202-358-4458

    Fax: 202-358-3602

    Email: hq-esi-call@mail.nasa.gov

SpaceRef staff editor.