The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) Hypersonic Technology Project (HTP) under NASA’s Aeronautics Mission Directorate (ARMD) Advanced Air Vehicle Program (AAVP) is soliciting information from:
- Potential customers of reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight test services for hypersonic research activities which could eventually support commercial hypersonic operations.
- Potential providers of reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight test services. HTP sustains NASA’s competence in atmospheric hypersonic flight by developing and utilizing analytical tools, test techniques, and capabilities to advance critical technologies in support of the nearer-term Department of Defense (DoD) hypersonic missions and to enable a potential U.S. commercial hypersonic market.
HTP sustains NASA’s competence in atmospheric hypersonic flight by developing and utilizing analytical tools, test techniques, and capabilities to advance critical technologies in support of the nearer-term Department of Defense (DoD) hypersonic missions and to enable a potential U.S. commercial hypersonic market.
Airbreathing hypersonic flight has the potential to transform the aerospace industry and aid the U.S. to maintain its economic advantage in aerospace while significantly advancing its military capability. NASA intends to advance fundamental airbreathing hypersonic technologies to enable a revolutionary advancement in routine, reusable high-speed flight. NASA’s primary emphasis is on developing two-stage to orbit vehicles with an airbreathing primary stage and rocket second stage. In the commercial aviation world, NASA also supports the long-term goal of point-to-point hypersonic flight when it becomes cost competitive with subsonic transportation on certain long-distance city pairs. There is growing interest from industry that sees the potential emerging market for commercial hypersonic vehicles.
Under the Congressionally directed FY24 appropriation (Ref. 1) for Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonic (MACH), Congress supports NASA’s efforts to collaborate with the commercial hypersonic industry to advance hypersonic endeavors. NASA intends to assess the need and identify what is required to extend the current hypersonic flight-test capabilities to facilitate the development of reusable hypersonic vehicle technologies. Although similar to DoD’s MACH-TB (Ref. 2 and 3) in that both MACH and MACH-TB seek to improve the nation’s hypersonic flight test capability, MACH is focused on providing flight test capabilities to further the development of NASA’s technologies for commercial hypersonic applications. This RFI is a prelude to a possible NASA acquisition to fund industry to support NASA’s assessment of a hypersonic flight opportunities program (i.e., MACH) by developing flight test planning information to identify vehicles, trajectories, flight conditions, equipment, and services to conduct flight tests that meet the nation’s access to space and long-term commercial hypersonic developmental needs.
NASA desires flight-test vehicles to provide sustained, repeatable, and recoverable experiments at speeds between Mach 5 and 8, at altitudes from 50,000 to 120,000 ft, and for durations on the order of minutes to an hour.
Vehicles should be capable of carrying and testing payloads, both internally and externally, that test technologies including, but not limited to, materials/structures, propulsion, and instrumentation systems under conditions not achievable through current ground- or flight-test capabilities. Additionally, NASA values the ability to conduct and host multiple hypersonic technology experiments on the same vehicle and flights.
Commercial providers may seek additional flight test opportunities to advance unproven systems or to validate technologies in flight at conditions not yet achievable with current vehicles. MACH may also fund improvements in flight-test vehicles to extend operating capabilities beyond what is currently available.
Therefore, this RFI requests providers to respond to one or both of the following two areas:
- Area 1: For potential customers of reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight test services. What reusable hypersonic technologies require flight testing and under what flight conditions (e.g., test conditions, durations, and number of flight sorties)?
- Providers are requested to outline why identified flight test conditions are desired.
- Area 2: For potential providers of reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight test services: How may commercial providers meet the desired flight test conditions defined above (i.e., Mach 5 to 8, altitudes from 50,000 to 120,000 feet, long duration flight times, recoverable payloads, etc.) for advanced reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight services either through modification of existing vehicles or development of new vehicles?
- Providers are requested to identify the type and specific vehicles that maymeet the desired flight test conditions and identify potential gaps/barriers to meeting these conditions. Improvements in vehicle systems and supporting infrastructure required to meet these needs should be identified.
- Providers should consider NASA’s affordability, reliability, and availability needs.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI), and members of the underserved communities as defined by Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity And Support For Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government, for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for this Hypersonic Test Planning Flight Test Service. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.
No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than ten pages plus a maximum of four single page resumes for participating individuals indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort.
The response format is as follows:
- Single spaced, typewritten using 12-point font on white 21.6 x 28 cm (8.5 x 11 inch) paper, in single or double columns with at least 1-inch margins left, right, top, and bottom margins. Chart, tables, and graphs may utilize 8-point font size and spacing.
- Responses shall be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF) format.
Responses to this notice are requested to address one or both of the following two areas:
- Area 1: For potential customers of reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight test services:
- What reusable hypersonic technologies require flight testing and why is current ground testing capability insufficient to mature technologies to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 (Ref. 4)?
- For the technologies identified in (a), what flight test conditions are required (e.g., Mach number, altitude, flight duration, number of cycles/flight sorties)?For the technologies identified in (a), what flight test freestream conditions are required (e.g., no interference from flight test vehicle)?
- For the technologies identified in (a), what type of data is anticipated to be acquired for technology validation (e.g., instrumentation, visual inspection, etc.)?
- Area 2: For potential providers of reusable atmospheric hypersonic flight test services:
- Identify relevant past performance that demonstrates capabilities that may meet or be used as a precursor to achieve NASA requirements.
- Identify capabilities the responder currently has to offer and how those capabilities relate to any or all of NASA’s requested provider capabilities.
- Identify critical or challenging areas/barriers that need to be overcome to meet NASA’s requirements.
- Identify government furnished equipment or resources (e.g., flight test range) that would need to be provided to achieve the requirements.
This requirement is considered to be a non-commercial product or service. All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Timothy K. Risch at timothy.k.risch@nasa.gov, Craig A. Stephens, at craig.a.stephens@nasa.gov, and Bernie Cenidoza, at bernard.c.cenidoza@nasa.gov, by 2:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on November 18, 2024. Please reference “HTP Flight Test Services” in any response.
This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement.
NASA intends to publicize a listing of respondents in order to facilitate teaming arrangements. Should your firm desire not to be included in this listing, clearly indicate this desire in your response.
References:
Congressional Record – Senate, March 5, 2024, https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/05/170/39/CREC-2024-03-05-pt1-PgS1223.pdf, page S1412.
Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0, https://nstxl.org/opportunity/mach-tb-2-0/
Propelling Hypersonic Innovation Forward, https://nstxl.org/mach-tb-case-study/
NASA Definition of Technology Readiness Levels, https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/space-communications-navigation-program/technology-readiness-levels/
Nomenclature:
AAVP Advanced Air Vehicles Program
AFRC Armstrong Flight Research Center
ARMD Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
DoD Department of Defense
HBCU Historically Black Colleges and Universities
HTP Hypersonic Technology Project
HUB Historically Underutilized Business
MACH Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
OMU Other Minority Universities
PDF Portable Document Format
RFI Request for Information
SDB Small, Disadvantaged Businesses
SDVOSB Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
VOSB Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
WOSB Women-Owned Small Businesses
