Release of the FY15 NASA Innovative Concept (NIAC) Phase II solicitation
NASA is looking for far-out ideas. NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is seeking Phase II proposals for continuation of promising studies selected during the first phase of the visionary program.
The NIAC program funds cutting-edge concepts with the potential to transform future aerospace missions, enable new capabilities, or significantly alter current approaches to launching, building, and operating aerospace systems.
“Creating the technologies needed to keep our explorers — robotic and human — alive and well is a terrific challenge, and these transformative concepts have the potential to mature into the solutions that enable our future missions,” said Steve Jurczyk, NASA’s associate administrator for space technology in Washington. “NASA’s early investment and partnership with creative scientists, engineers and citizen inventors from across the nation holds the potential to pay huge technological dividends and help maintain America’s leadership in the global technology economy.”
NIAC’s Phase II opportunity continues development of the most promising Phase I concepts. These are visionary aerospace architecture, mission, or system concepts with transformative potential, which continue to push into new frontiers, while remaining technically and programmatically credible. NIAC’s current portfolio of diverse efforts advances aerospace technology in many areas, including science, aeronautics, robotics and manufacturing.
Recent NIAC Phase II studies have included a 10-meter, sub-orbital large balloon reflector that might be used as a telescope inside a high altitude balloon and uses part of the balloon itself as a reflector for the telescope, a spacecraft-rover hybrid that uses spinning flywheels to tumble and hop these robotic explorers across the surface of an extraterrestrial body, a concept for deep mapping of the interior of small solar system bodies using subatomic particles, a low-mass planar photonic imaging sensor and spectrometer design to replace bulkier telescopes, and an ultra-large space aperture using an orbiting cloud of dust-like matter to provide higher-resolution imaging.
“Phase II proposals are especially exciting because they can provide the opportunity to bring real breakthroughs one step closer to implementation,” said Jay Falker, NIAC program executive at NASA Headquarters.
NASA will be accepting NIAC Phase II proposals of no more than 20 pages in length until April 28th. Selection announcements are expected later this year. This solicitation is open only to current or previously awarded NIAC Phase I concepts. Complete guidelines for proposal submissions are available on the NIAC website at http://www.nasa.gov/niac.
2015 NIAC Phase II Solicitation: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={4B4A7307-C956-A6C1-0F34-98CE76B299A9}&path=open
NSPIRES: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/