Parabolic Flight Services

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for Parabolic Flight Services for the Flight Opportunities Program.

The Flight Opportunities program is conducting this market research to gather information from industry regarding capabilities to deliver reduced gravity environments, including microgravity, through parabolic flight that meet NASA's technical and operational requirements, enabling the testing of new technologies and conducting of research experiments.

Respondents are encouraged to submit capabilities statements with innovative approaches to delivering Parabolic Flight Services. This may include the use of aircraft platforms not traditionally used for parabolic fight services (e.g., business jets, experimental aircraft, supersonics, autonomous systems). NASA is interested in flexible, scalable, and novel operational concepts with the potential to help NASA expand access to reduced-gravity environments and accelerate space technology readiness.

NASA 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) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for parabolic flight services. 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.

Information Sought:

1. Programmatic Information: Please describe your business model and prior parabolic flight experience. Is your organization fully U.S owned and operated?
2. Aircraft: What aircraft brand(s) and model(s) does your organization have available to provide parabolic flight services?
3. Aircraft Airworthiness: What airworthiness standards, certifications, special permits, etc., does your aircraft operate under? Can your organization provide services on a fully commercial basis?
4. Parabolic Operations: Can you accurately achieve Martian, lunar, and microgravity profiles? How will you verify and maintain reduced gravity accuracy?
5. Payload Safety and Integration: How does your organization ensure that payloads do not compromise the aircraft’s structural, operational, or electrical integrity, remains sound under off-nominal loads, and poses no hazards to other payloads or personnel during aircraft operations?

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.

Vendors having the capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to submit appropriate documentation, literature, brochures, and references.

Please advise if the requirement is considered a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial product and commercial service is defined in FAR 2.101, Definitions.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to afrc-flight-opportunities-procurement@mail.nasa.gov no later than 2:00PM Pacific on March 2, 2026. Please reference 80AFRC26SS007 Parabolic Flight 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.