National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

Flight Opportunities

Testing and maturing space technologies with commercial providers

Flight Opportunities rapidly demonstrates promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion 

of space commerce through suborbital testing with industry flight providers. The program matures capabilities 

needed for NASA missions and commercial applications while strategically investing in the growth of the U.S. 

commercial spaceflight industry.

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This category includes both suborbital 

reusable launch vehicles (sRLVs) that 

reach high altitudes and may include 

periods of microgravity, as well as lander 

vehicles that specialize in entry, descent, 

and landing (EDL) technologies. Both of 

these classes of vehicles are typically 

recoverable and reusable after launch. 

They can be used for testing:

 EDL and navigation systems

 Atmospheric and surface sampling

 Biological experiments

 Robotic systems

 In-space manufacturing methods

 Electronics and information 

technology systems

High-Altitude Balloons

Large balloon systems reach a nominal 

altitude of 30 km and can also typically 

sustain the longest duration of the 

suborbital vehicles—hours, days, or even 

weeks at a time. This makes them ideal 

for payloads that benefit from extended 

periods of data collection. These 

systems are ideal for testing:

 Sun-sensitive and solar instruments

 Earth-observation instruments

 Other instruments and technologies 

that may benefit from high-altitude 

observations (both to ground and into 

space) and drop tests

Parabolic Flights 

These airplanes achieve brief periods 

of reduced gravity through a series of 

maneuvers called parabolas. These 

flight profiles can be used for testing 

technologies that need to operate in 

the technologies that need to operate in 

zero or reduced gravity, such as:

 Space-based medical experiments

 Biological experiments

 Robotic systems

 In-space manufacturing methods

 Electronics and information 

technology systems 

Flight Opportunities is also partnered with NASA’s Small Spacecraft 

Technology program to provide access to commercial hosted orbital 

payload opportunities for technology flight testing.
What is NASA looking for? 

Technologies and experiments that fit 

the four “thrusts” of NASA’s Strategic 

Technology Framework and will enable 

NASA’s future exploration missions are 

well-suited for flight testing through 

Flight Opportunities. Examples include:

 GO: Nuclear propulsion, cryogenic 

fluid management, and advanced 

propulsion

 LAND: Entry, descent, landing; 

precision landing

 LIVE: Advanced power; in-situ 

resource utilization; advanced thermal 

management; advanced materials, 

structures, and construction; 

advanced habitation systems

 EXPLORE: Avionics; communications 

and navigation; robotics; autonomous 

systems; satellite servicing and 

assembly; advanced manufacturing; 

small spacecraft rendezvous, 

proximity operations, and capture; 

sensors and instrumentation

What is a “relevant 

environment”?

Flight Opportunities provides access 

to relevant flight test environments for 

space technologies. These environments 

are relevant because they replicate 

some of the conditions encountered 

on orbital missions and beyond, such 

as extreme temperatures, microgravity 

conditions, radiation, and other factors. 

These conditions are difficult, and in 

some cases impossible, to replicate in 

ground-based laboratory testing.

What is the value of 

these flights?

 Mature technologies faster (and 

farther) than ground-based 

laboratory testing alone

 Obtain data to refine and prepare 

technologies for spaceflight

 Demonstrate technologies in 

advance of space missions, such 

as small spacecraft, International 

Space Station, or lunar missions

nasa.gov/flightopportunities | nasa-flightopportunities@mail.nasa.gov

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Getting to Know Flight Opportunities

U.S.-based researchers can also compete for payload 

development funding and access to flights through NASA’s 

TechLeap Prize. Separate funding opportunities may also be 

available for NASA and NASA-supported researchers, who are 

encouraged to contact Flight Opportunities directly for details. 

The Space Technology Mission Directorate is strongly committed to ensuring that proposal review is performed in an equitable and fair manner that 

reduces the impacts of any unconscious biases. In addition to other techniques, Flight Opportunities uses a dual-anonymous peer review (DAPR) process 

where the identities of both reviewers and proposers are not shared until after the technical merit has been evaluated for all anonymized proposals.

How do I get my technology on a flight?

Researchers from U.S.-based industry, academia, and other 

non-NASA organizations can compete for funding through 

NASA’s TechFlights solicitations. Awardees receive a grant 

or collaborative agreement allowing them to purchase flights 

directly from a U.S. commercial flight vendor that best meets 

their needs. 

Sign up for the Flight Opportunities newsletter to stay up to date on solicitations, prizes, and challenges: https://go.nasa.gov/32jXl9s

Photo credits: (Front, left to right) Blue Origin, World View Enterprises, Zero Gravity 

Corporation (Front, lower center) NASA/Dominic Hart (Back, center, top to bottom) 

NASA, Airborne Systems North America, Carthage College (Back, bottom, left to right) 

University of Florida/Virgin Galactic, Zero Gravity Corporation/Steve Boxall