TASK ORDER NO. NND09RR61T AIRBORNE SCIENCE THIS TASK ORDER PROVIDES FOR THE ENGINEERING AND PROJECT SUPPORT TO THE AIRBORNE SCIENCE PROGRAM AND ITS UNDERLYING PROJECTS AT THE NASA DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER (DFRC). THE AIRBORNE SCIENCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS AIRBORNE SCIENCE INSTRUMENTATION, WHICH PROVIDES DATA THAT COMPLIMENTS SPACEBORNE MISSIONS AND ALLOWS SAMPLING OF THE ATMOSPHERE. TRADITIONALLY AIRBORNE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN INTEGRATED ONTO A PARTICULAR AIRCRAFT, WHICH THEN PERFORMED ALL OF THE REQUIRED DATA COLLECTION FLIGHTS. THE AIRBORNE SCIENCE PROGRAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE AIRCRAFT AND SENSOR ASSETS THAT SUPPORT THE EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION WITHIN THE SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE (SMD). THE AIRBORNE SCIENCE PROGRAM AIRCRAFT INCLUDE BOTH UNIQUE NASA AIRCRAFT AND COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT THAT BENEFIT THE EARTH SCIENCE COMMUNITY. THESE MANNED AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT CARRY THE SENSORS THAT PROVIDE DATA TO SUPPORT AND AUGMENT SMD MISSIONS. THE PROGRAM WILL ALSO LOOK CONSTANTLY FOR NEW, EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR APPLICABILITY FOR EARTH SCIENCE. DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS AND THE OBSERVING NEEDS, THE CORE CAPABILITY IS EXPECTED TO EVOLVE AND CHANGE OVER TIME. THE OVERALL PURPOSE OF THIS TASK IS TO SUPPORT AIRBORNE SCIENCE MISSION EXECUTION AND SUPPORT VARIOUS CUSTOMERS IN FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES ON PILOTED AND UNPILOTED AIRCRAFT. DFRC IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, PILOTED & UNPILOTED AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS, PAYLOAD INTEGRATION, RANGE SUPPORT, FLIGHT SAFETY AND GROUND SAFETY. DFRC SUPPORTS ACCESS TO HIGH ALTITUDE RESEARCH THROUGH THE USE OF CONVENTIONAL AIRCRAFT, INCLUDING THE GULFSTREAM III (G-III) BUSINESS JET, TWO ER-2 HIGH-ALTITUDE RESEARCH AIRCRAFT AND A HIGHLY MODIFIED DC-8 AIRBORNE LABORATORY. ANOTHER DFRC FOCUS IS ON ADVANCED MISSION PLATFORM TECHNOLOGIES, AND UNINHABITED AERIAL SYSTEMS (UAS) DEVELOPMENT. AS PART OF ITS UAS EFFORT, DFRC HAS ACQUIRED USE TO A PREDATOR B, NAMED IKHANA, AND TWO GLOBAL HAWK AIRCRAFT. MOST OF THESE DFRC AIRCRAFT WILL RESIDE AT THE DRYDEN AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS FACILITY LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE U.S. AIR FORCE PRODUCTION FLIGHT TEST INSTALLATION (PLANT 42) IN PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA, 70 MILES NORTHEAST OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES. THIS AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS FACILITY OFFERS THE EXPANDED SPACE NEEDED TO MANAGE DFRC'S AIRBORNE SCIENCE MISSIONS AND RESEARCH PLATFORMS.