Execution of commercial capabilities for suborbital and small orbital payload integration for advancing NASA future mission needs a key aspect of NASA's strategy to stimulate space industry and…

The Aerospace Corporation was awarded a delivery order contract valued at $364,455 by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center to provide technical and commercial space analysis in support of the Flight Opportunities Program (FOP). Under this cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, The Aerospace Corporation will continue delivering specialized technical advisory services to optimize NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate investment opportunities with U.S. industry. The work, to be performed at The Aerospace Corporation's El Segundo, California headquarters, supports NASA's strategy to accelerate the development and operational readiness of suborbital and small orbital launch vehicles and payload technologies. This effort aligns with the broader government objective of leveraging commercial space industry capabilities to advance technology maturation for future NASA, other government agency, and commercial missions while stimulating economic growth in the space sector.

The Flight Opportunities Program, managed through Armstrong Flight Research Center, utilizes commercial flight platforms to rapidly mature space technologies and reduce development timelines. As a non-profit federally funded research and development center, The Aerospace Corporation brings extensive experience in space systems engineering, technical assessment, and mission assurance across civil and commercial domains. This delivery order, which commenced February 1, 2019, and is scheduled for completion by May 31, 2020, represents a continuation of The Aerospace Corporation's ongoing support to FOP initiatives. No set-aside designation was applied to this award, reflecting the specialized technical nature of the required services and The Aerospace Corporation's established role as a premier technical advisor to NASA space programs.

Execution of commercial capabilities for suborbital and small orbital payload integration for advancing NASA future mission needs a key aspect of NASA's strategy to stimulate space industry and spark economic growth, while leveraging the industry's commercial capabilities, is to deliver technologies and capabilities needed for future NASA, other government agency, and commercial missions. In support of that strategy, the flight opportunities program is helping to foster development and operational readiness of suborbital and small orbital launch vehicles and payload technologies to accelerate maturation of commercial flight opportunities for the rapid development of space technology. To facilitate optimization of the NASA space technology mission directorate investment opportunities with U.S. Industry, the flight opportunities program is tasking the aerospace corporation to continue providing technical and commercial space analysis to ongoing and future projects.