National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2019 Accomplishments 

Flight Opportunities

SPACE TECHNOLOGY MISSION DIRECTORATE
[ 1 ]

Contents

Flight Opportunities Mission 1

Flight Highlights 2

Technology Transitions6

Technologies Tested in FY2019 10

New Technology Selections 12

Flight Providers 14

Technology Portfolio 16

Flight Opportunities Mission

NASA’s Flight Opportunities program facilitates 

rapid demonstration of promising technologies 

for space exploration 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. These flight tests take 

technologies from ground-based laboratories into 

relevant environments to increase technology 

readiness and validate feasibility while reducing 

the costs and technical risks of future missions. 

Awards and agreements for flight tests are 

open to researchers from industry, academia, 

non-profit research institutes, and government 

organizations. These investments help advance 

technologies of interest to NASA while supporting 

commercial flight providers and expanding 

space-based applications and commerce.

FY2019 QUICK LOOK

Payloads tested in flight

Successful flights

Active commercial flight 

 providers

Technologies selected for 

 future flight tests

47

15

10

25

Credit: Blue Origin
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Flight Highlights

Testing performed 

with commercial flight 

providers in fiscal 

year 2019 (FY2019) 

highlights the impact 

that rapid testing and 

reflight can have on 

increasing the speed 

and effectiveness of the 

technology development 

process. In addition, 

many technologies 

that are poised to 

help NASA achieve 

key mission goals 

were able to achieve 

notable maturation 

milestones during 

their flights this year.

LEVERAGING NEW VEHICLES FOR RAPID 

TESTING AND REFLIGHT

Vehicles from Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin demonstrated rapid testing and reflight for several Flight 

Opportunities–supported technologies on three successive launches over three months in early 

FY2019. Credits: Blue Origin (left), Virgin Galactic (right)

Between December 2018 and February 2019, 17 Flight Opportunities–

supported payloads were tested on three flights conducted by Virgin 

Galactic and Blue Origin. These three successful flights in a short threemonth timeframe represent the long-awaited emergence of two high-fidelity 

commercial suborbital platforms for testing program-supported payloads. 

Notably, these flights included:

l Virgin Galactic’s first two flights for Flight Opportunities, 

both on SpaceShipTwo

l Blue Origin’s first dedicated launch of its New Shepard 

rocket for NASA payloads

The flights carried a series of space exploration and utilization technologies, 

including research that could aid the ability of future missions to mitigate the 

impact of lunar surface dust on humans and equipment, separate gas and 

liquid for in situ resource processing and on-orbit fuel transfer, and understand 

how to help plants thrive in space as a resource for sustained human activity 

on the Moon and beyond. Many of the payloads were flown multiple times 

and on both vehicles, underscoring the benefit of gathering data on different 

flight platforms and exhibiting the potential for rapid testing and reflight of 

technologies. 

ENABLING SAFE AND PRECISE 

PAYLOAD RECOVERY

A guided parafoil system for payload recovery was successfully tested in 

FY2019. Credit: Airborne Systems North America

Airborne Systems North America tested a precision 

payload recovery experiment on two high-altitude 

balloon flights from World View Enterprises on April 9 and 

September 22, 2019. The flights demonstrated the ability 

of a guided parafoil to navigate to a logistically accessible 

recovery zone and potentially improve midair retrieval 

of reusable rocket components and payloads returning 

to Earth.

FACILITATING RAPID SAMPLE RETURN 

FROM LOW-EARTH ORBIT

Raven Aerostar conducted its first flight for a Flight Opportunities–supported 

technology in FY2019. Credit: NASA

On August 29, 2019, NASA’s Ames Research Center 

tested its exo-atmospheric aerobrake technology on a 

high-altitude balloon flight from Raven Aerostar above 

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The payload is a passive reentry/deorbit device designed to enable quick sample 

return from the International Space Station and other 

orbital outposts. Notably, the flight marked the first for 

Raven as a commercial provider for Flight Opportunities.

“Suborbital flights enable researchers to quickly and iteratively test technologies with the opportunity to 

make adjustments between flights. The ultimate goal is to change the pace of technology development 

and drastically shorten the time it takes to bring an idea from the lab to orbit or to the Moon.” 

— Christopher Baker, Program Executive, Flight Opportunities
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Flight Highlights

ADVANCING LUNAR AND PLANETARY NAVIGATION

A successful test of Draper’s terrain-relative navigation system on Masten Space Systems’ Xodiac 

rocket has made the system one of several navigation tools in consideration for future missions to the 

Moon through NASA’s Artemis program. Credit: NASA 

On September 11, 2019, Draper 

tested the performance of a terrainrelative navigation system on 

Masten Space Systems’ Xodiac 

rocket. The goal: to demonstrate the 

technology’s ability to identify land 

features in real time and characterize 

navigation performance, which will 

be critical for landing on the Moon or 

Mars. This capability would improve 

a lander’s knowledge of where it is 

and where there is a safe place to 

touch down. NASA’s work to develop 

this and related technologies 

falls under the Safe and Precise 

Landing–Integrated Capabilities 

Evolution (SPLICE) project. 

Draper also leveraged balloon 

flights with World View Enterprises 

on April 9 and September 22, 

2019, to gather valuable data in the 

high-altitude descent regime for 

another aspect of its portfolio of 

entry, descent, and landing (EDL) 

technologies: a vision navigation 

solution known as the Draper MultiEnvironment Navigator. Draper has 

leveraged NASA-sponsored flights 

on several vehicles through Flight 

Opportunities, enabling researchers 

to test their EDL technologies at a 

variety of altitudes and conditions 

to help ensure that the systems 

can successfully execute a landing 

on the Moon or Mars. Draper’s 

work resulted in the selection of its 

Navigation Doppler Lidar technology 

to fly to the Moon on a future NASA 

Commercial Lunar Payload Services 

(CLPS) flight.

“If we didn’t have these 

integrated field tests, a lot 

of new precision landing 

technologies might still be 

sitting in a lab or on paper, 

being deemed too risky for 

flight. This gives us the very 

necessary opportunity to get the 

data we need, make revisions, 

and build insight and confidence 

into how these technologies 

will perform on a spacecraft.” 

— John M. Carson III, SPLICE project 

principal investigator, NASA’s Johnson 

Space Center 

MATURING LIFE-SAVING MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR ON-ORBIT EMERGENCIES

On May 2, 2019, Blue Origin 

conducted a successful suborbital 

flight of its New Shepard rocket with 

38 payloads on board, including nine 

that were developed or sponsored 

by NASA. The payloads included 

a gravity-independent chest tube 

drainage system from Orbital 

Medicine that could be used to 

treat a collapsed lung in space (a 

potentially fatal injury likely to occur 

during a decompression event). This 

technology could also be applied in 

military or civilian medevac or other 

emergency medical situations where 

current gravity-dependent systems 

are in danger of being knocked over.

Orbital Medicine’s Evolved Medical Microgravity 

Suction Device is prepared for a flight test to 

help mature the technology aboard Blue Origin’s 

New Shepard rocket. Credit: Blue Origin
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Technology Transitions

As technologies are 

matured through flight 

tests, they climb the 

technology readiness 

ladder, often transitioning 

to orbital testing 

opportunities or inclusion 

in NASA missions. In 

FY2019, several Flight 

Opportunities–supported 

technologies realized 

such success. 

ARTEMIS AND COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOAD 

SERVICES SELECTIONS

In FY2019, NASA selected science and technology experiments to fly to 

the Moon on future NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) 

flights in support of the Artemis program. The technologies highlighted 

below* were matured in part through commercial flight tests facilitated by 

Flight Opportunities. 

In addition, three Flight Opportunities participants are eligible to bid on 

NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through CLPS contracts: 

Astrobotic Technology, Blue Origin, and Masten Space Systems. 

SwRI investigators tested methods for conducting electric and magnetic field measurements of 

planetary interiors on commercial flights, including the one shown here on a World View Enterprises 

balloon. These tests helped the SwRI team develop a new instrument that was selected for Artemis. 

Credit: Earth Science Systems

Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) (PI: Robert Grimm)

Based on technology tested through the Flight Opportunities program, SwRI’s 

sounder is designed to characterize the structure and composition of the 

Moon’s mantle by studying its electric and magnetic fields. Selected by NASA 

for a lunar investigation, the sounder will employ a flight-spare magnetometer, 

originally made for the MAVEN spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Mars. 

*Draper’s Navigation Doppler Lidar technology was also selected for a future CLPS flight. 

See story on page 4.

Successful Flight Opportunities–supported tests of PlanetVac, which is 

designed to attach to the leg of a lander vehicle (as shown here), helped the 

technology be selected for Artemis as part of a CLPS mission. 

Credit: Honeybee Robotics

PlanetVac

Honeybee Robotics (PI: Kris Zacny)

PlanetVac—a pneumatic suction device designed to 

collect regolith for subsequent analysis—will be used 

on one of the landers being developed under the CLPS 

contracts. The device’s ability to quickly and efficiently 

gather regolith was well demonstrated on flights 

facilitated by Flight Opportunities. 

Flights facilitated by Flight Opportunities, including on high-altitude balloons 

and rockets, helped mature the RadSat technology (shown at the recovery 

stage after a World View Enterprises balloon flight) for Artemis selection. 

Credit: World View Enterprises

Reconfigurable, Radiation-Tolerant 

Computer System

Montana State University (PI: Brock LaMeres)

Radiation-tolerant computing will be needed on the 

Moon, where the lack of atmosphere as well as the 

magnetic field and radiation from the Sun will be a 

challenge for most terrestrial electronics. This lunar 

demonstration will further test the computer system 

matured in part through Flight Opportunities and will 

also help characterize the radiation effects on the 

Moon’s surface—a critical need for understanding 

long-term impact on human explorers and equipment.

Read more about the selections online

Visit https://go.usa.gov/xdBRK and https://go.usa.gov/xdBR5
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Technology Transitions

MATERIALS INTERNATIONAL SPACE 

STATION EXPERIMENT SELECTIONS

The Structural Health Monitoring for Commercial Space 

Vehicles technology from the New Mexico Institute 

of Mining and Technology (Andrei Zagrai and Anders 

Jorgensen, co-investigators) was selected for NASA’s 

next Materials International Space Station Experiment 

(MISSE) mission. MISSE sends material samples to the 

International Space Station for a minimum research 

period of one year, enabling materials under investigation 

for long-term use in space to be exposed to the harsh 

space environment for testing and evaluation. This 

selected technology is designed to provide an integral 

part of a flight information recorder (commonly known 

as the black box), gathering and storing data on its 

structural integrity during all stages of spaceflight.

The Structural Health Monitoring for Commercial Space Vehicles technology 

was matured in part by flights facilitated by Flight Opportunities, including on 

UP Aerospace’s SpaceLoft rocket, as shown here. Credit: UP Aerospace

OTHER MISSIONS AND 

COLLABORATIVE EXPERIMENTS

Several technologies matured through Flight 

Opportunities received additional NASA funding for 

further suborbital or orbital testing beyond the program, 

including experiments on the International Space Station, 

and on both NASA and commercial vehicles. Recent 

highlights of these types of infusions include: 

Flights on commercial vehicles, including ZERO-G’s parabolic aircraft, 

helped prepare this thermal management experiment for an International 

Space Station mission. Credit: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Investigation of Gravity Effects on 

Electrically Driven Liquid Film Boiling 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (PI: Jamal Yagoobi)

Data from multiple commercial suborbital flights is 

helping inform the experiment design for a NASA-funded 

long-term investigation on the International Space 

Station as early as 2021. Researchers are hoping to 

develop enhanced thermal management capabilities by 

investigating the effects of gravity on the electric forces 

governing heat flux acquisition and fluid management. 

University of Florida investigators 

have been conducting biological 

investigations on plants in 

microgravity for 20 years, 

including on many parabolic 

flights such as the one shown 

here. Credit: NASA

Fluorescent imaging hardware tested on plants is now 

being used in other collaborative science studies. 

Credit: University of Florida 

Telemetric Hardware for Biological Imaging in 

Suborbital Applications

University of Florida (PI: Robert Ferl)

University of Florida investigators received NASA funding 

to use their imaging hardware on a biological sciences 

experiment from the University of Wisconsin. The 

collaboration is funded by NASA’s Division of Space Life

and Physical Sciences Research and Applications 

through a Research Opportunities in Space Biology 

award. The experiment is funded for one test flight on a 

commercial vehicle, slated for 2020.

Parabolic flights have helped ready this advanced solar technology for an 

orbital mission. Credit: NeXolve Corporation

Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and 

Antenna (LISA-T) 

NeXolve Corporation (PI: Brandon Farmer) 

LISA-T provides power to CubeSats with specific power 

generating and stowage requirements. The technology 

was selected for demonstration in 2021 as part of NASA’s 

Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator project, which 

will test the operation of a variety of novel CubeSat 

technologies in low-Earth orbit. 
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Technologies Tested in FY2019

Flight Date Flight Provider and Vehicle Principal Investigator Organization Technology

October 15, 2018 Near Space Corporation ››› Small Balloon System Andres Martinez NASA’s Ames Research Center T0199 - Animal Tracker Ground Station - Tag Testing

November 13, 2018 Zero Gravity Corporation ››› G-FORCE ONE Josh Colwell University of Central Florida T0154 - Miniaturized and Reusable Asteroid Regolith Microgravity Experiment

Jacob Chung University of Florida - Gainesville T0189 - Optimal Chilldown Methods for Cryogenic Propellant Tanks

Jungho Kim University of Maryland T0190 - Gravity Effects on Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Using Temperature-Sensitive Paints

Kevin Crosby Carthage College T0191 - Microgravity Propellant Gauging Using Modal Analysis: Phase III

Karen Daniels North Carolina State University T0197 - Ejecta-Minimizing Protocols for Applications Needing Anchoring or Digging on Asteroids

Mark Pankow North Carolina State University T0205 - Lightweight Strain-Energy Deployed Spacecraft Booms

Steven Collicott Purdue University T0206 - Small-sat Propellant Management Technology

November 18, 2018 Near Space Corporation ››› Small Balloon System Russell Dewey GSSL, Inc. T0099 - Satellite-Based ADS-B

December 13, 2018 Virgin Galactic ››› SpaceShipTwo Kathryn Hurlbert NASA’s Johnson Space Center T0020 - Microgravity Multi-Phase Flow Experiment for Suborbital Testing

Josh Colwell University of Central Florida T0036 - Collisions Into Dust Experiment

Robert Ferl University of Florida - Gainesville T0053 - Telemetric Hardware for Biological Imaging

Scott Green Controlled Dynamics, Inc. T0077 - Facility for Microgravity Research and Submicroradian Stabilization Using sRLVs

January 23, 2019 Blue Origin ››› New Shepard H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins University T0015 - Electromagnetic Field Measurements on sRLVs

Josh Colwell University of Central Florida T0036 - Collisions Into Dust Experiment

Josh Colwell University of Central Florida T0052 - Collection of Regolith Experiment

Robert Ferl University of Florida - Gainesville T0053 - Telemetric Hardware for Biological Imaging

Scott Green Controlled Dynamics, Inc. T0077 - Facility for Microgravity Research and Submicroradian Stabilization Using sRLVs

Kevin Crosby Carthage College T0123 - Microgravity Propellant Gauging Using Modal Analysis

Steven Collicott Purdue University T0128 - Zero-gravity Green Propellant Management Technology

Franklin Robinson NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center T0173 - Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers - Embedded Thermal Management

January 29, 2019 Black Sky Justin Lee The Aerospace Corporation T0177 - Rapid Calibration of Space Solar Cells

February 22, 2019 Virgin Galactic ››› SpaceShipTwo H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins University T0015 - Electromagnetic Field Measurements on sRLVs

Kathryn Hurlbert NASA’s Johnson Space Center T0020 - Microgravity Multi-Phase Flow Experiment for Suborbital Testing

Josh Colwell University of Central Florida T0036 - Collisions Into Dust Experiment

Scott Green Controlled Dynamics, Inc. T0077 - Facility for Microgravity Research and Submicroradian Stabilization Using sRLVs

April 9, 2019 World View Enterprises ››› Tycho-20 Garrett Dunker Airborne Systems North America T0186 - Guided Parafoil High Altitude Research II

Brett Streetman Draper T0195 - Draper Multi-Environment Navigator

May 2, 2019 Blue Origin ››› New Shepard C. Marsh Cuttino Orbital Medicine T0162 - Evolved Medical Microgravity Suction Device

Kathryn Hurlbert NASA’s Johnson Space Center T0168 - Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2

Franklin Robinson NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center T0173 - Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers - Embedded Thermal Management

Suzanne Smith University of Kentucky T0178 - Characterization of 3D Printing Processes Under Microgravity Conditions

Sam Wald Nanoracks T0180 - Developing a Centrifuge for New Shepard

Daniel O’Connell HNU Photonics T0181 - BioChip SubOrbitalLab: Microfluidic Imaging Platform for Live-Cell Investigations

Adrienne Dove University of Central Florida T0182 - Strata-S1 - Testbed to Evaluate Regolith Behavior

Steven Collicott Purdue University T0192 - Cryogenic Gauging Technology Geometry Development

Elizabeth Kennick Teachers in Space T0193 - Stratospheric and Suborbital Flight Experiments and Equipment

August 29, 2019 Raven Aerostar Marcus Murbach NASA’s Ames Research Center T0075 - Exo-atmospheric Aerobrake

September 11, 2019 Masten Space Systems ››› Xodiac Matt Fritz Draper T0198 - Terrain Relative Navigation System for Landing Applications

September 22, 2019 World View Enterprises ››› Tycho-20 Garrett Dunker Airborne Systems North America T0186 - Guided Parafoil High Altitude Research II

Brett Streetman Draper T0195 - Draper Multi-Environment Navigator

Brock LaMeres Montana State University T0210 - Using Single Event Effects to Generate Truly Random Numbers for Encryption Keys
[ 12 ] [ 13 ]

New Technology Selections

The Flight Opportunities 

“Tech Flights 2019” 

solicitation was released 

on February 19, 2019, 

to provide funding to 

industry and academia 

for the suborbital testing 

and demonstration 

of technologies that 

address two topic areas 

in line with current NASA 

priorities. The program 

selected 25 promising 

space technologies 

for testing aboard 

parabolic aircraft, highaltitude balloons, and 

suborbital rockets.

TOPIC 1: SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE LUNAR 

EXPLORATION AND THE EXPANSION OF ECONOMIC 

ACTIVITY INTO CISLUNAR SPACE 

Carthage College 

Advancements that address the 

need for accurately measuring 

propellant levels on spacecraft 

during dynamic events in zero 

gravity, such as engine burns 

Draper 

A navigation system designed 

to give crewed missions precise 

location and navigation data needed 

for safe and accurate lunar and 

planetary landings

Honeybee Robotics 

A planetary sample capture device 

featuring a footpad-integrated 

sampling tube and sample sorting 

station to collect surface soil, or 

regolith, on another planetary body 

that could be returned to Earth 

for analysis 

IMEC USA Nanoelectronics 

Design Center

A diagnostic and bioanalytical 

monitoring solution for 

astronauts aboard deep space 

exploration missions

Johns Hopkins University 

A complete lunar radiation 

hazard characterization and 

monitoring system 

Masten Space Systems 

l A commercialized terrestrial 

version of a NASA navigation 

system that has been adapted 

for space with lower size, 

mass, and power consumption 

than the previous versions

l A laser instrument that measures 

density and particle size of 

lunar lander plume ejecta

l A high-fidelity landing simulator 

combined with a regolith 

sample collection device

Montana State University 

A computer technology based 

on cost-effective, off-theshelf parts that is designed to 

recover in the event of a system 

failure caused by radiation 

North Carolina State University 

Large-scale deployable solar arrays 

constructed with a hinge mechanism 

that allows folding into origamilike shapes for improved packing 

Southwest Research Institute 

A device to improve the transfer 

and delivery of cryogenic fluids by 

reliably removing vapor bubbles

University of Central Florida 

An experiment to characterize 

the charging behavior of dust 

in lunar-like environments to 

understand how dust interacts 

with other particles and surfaces 

University of Colorado 

Testing of a 3D printer to determine 

the effect of reduced gravity on the 

fabrication of components, including 

elements of life support systems that 

could be required to remove carbon 

dioxide from a crew-occupied cabin

University of Florida 

l Enhancement of a flight-proven 

imaging concept and hardware 

system to characterize biological 

responses to changes in gravity 

levels during spaceflight

l A cryogenic boil-off experiment 

to collect information and 

advance the long-term storage 

of propellant in space 

TOPIC 2: FOSTERING THE COMMERCIALIZATION 

OF LOW-EARTH ORBIT AND UTILIZATION OF 

SUBORBITAL SPACE

GSSL

A modified drone shuttle system 

designed to return large amounts 

of data from high-altitude balloons, 

allowing unprocessed science 

data to be retrieved before 

the end of a balloon flight 

Johns Hopkins University

l An ultraviolet remote imaging 

system that can fly externally 

on suborbital rockets, enabling 

new science measurements 

at altitudes of up to 100 km 

in the absence of ozone

l Deployment and re-entry of 

miniaturized satellites, known 

as ChipSats, to evaluate the 

capability of the technology to 

enable inexpensive study of 

difficult-to-explore regions of 

Earth’s upper atmosphere as well 

as the atmospheres and surfaces 

of other planets or moons

Mayo Clinic 

Real-time testing of biological 

changes during suborbital 

launch and landing conditions 

and hyper/microgravity 

Night Crew Labs 

Adaptation of a satellite remote 

sensing technique that detects 

changes in Global Navigation 

Satellite System radio signals 

as they pass through Earth’s 

atmosphere to a balloon-based 

system that provides on-demand 

and persistent coverage over 

regions of strong interest during 

high-impact weather events 

Purdue University 

A payload designed to observe 

fuel behavior and its effect 

on spacecraft pointing 

Southwest Research Institute

A novel anchoring and sampling 

architecture for the surfaces of 

small asteroids, enabling regolith 

collection from multiple sites 

Space Environment Technologies 

Long-duration regional monitoring 

and identification of harmful 

radiation sources 

University of Kentucky 

Lightweight, compact, and lowcost instrumentation designed 

to examine potential long-range 

gust and turbulence detection at 

high altitudes, with benefits for 

suborbital and low-Earth orbit 

vehicles as well as general aviation 

Vanderbilt University 

Testing of a small system designed 

to enable complex biological 

and chemical experiments as 

well as new capabilities for 

synthesizing chemicals, including 

pharmaceuticals 

Learn more about 

these technologies

Visit https://go.usa.gov/xdBGA
[ 14 ] [ 15 ]

Flight Providers

Flight Opportunities 

supports the testing 

of technologies in a 

wide variety of relevant 

environments. Flights 

from commercial 

providers offer access 

to many vehicle types, 

each with its own 

unique environment and 

capabilities for testing. 

The following information 

highlights the general 

categories of vehicles 

available for testing and 

the commercial providers 

that were active 

in FY2019.

A high-altitude balloon is prepared for flight. 

Credit: Near Space Corporation 

HIGH-ALTITUDE 

BALLOONS

Large balloon systems reach 

altitudes of 30 km and beyond 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.

l BlackSky Aerospace

l Near Space Corporation

l Raven Aerostar

l World View Enterprises

A spacecraft boom is deployed during a 

parabolic flight. Credit: North Carolina 

State University

PARABOLIC AIRCRAFT

These specialized airplanes achieve 

brief periods of variable gravity 

through a series of maneuvers called 

parabolas. They can be used for 

demonstrating technologies that 

need to operate in the absence 

of gravity. 

l Zero Gravity Corporation

ROCKET-POWERED VEHICLES

These vehicles include both suborbital reusable launch 

vehicles that reach high altitudes as well as lander 

vehicles that specialize in entry, descent, and landing 

technologies. Both of these classes of vehicles are 

typically recoverable and reusable after launch. 

l Blue Origin

l EXOS Aerospace

l Masten Space Systems

l UP Aerospace

l Virgin Galactic

The Xodiac rocket lifts off the launchpad at the Mojave Air and Space Port 

in California. Credit: Masten Space Systems

UP Aerospace’s SpaceLoft rocket, prepared for launch. Credit: NASA

Learn more about available vehicles

Visit Flight Opportunities online to view information about all currently active commercial flight providers for 

the program: https://go.usa.gov/xdBPY
[ 16 ] [ 17 ]

CURRENT TECHNOLOGY PORTFOLIO

Number PI Organization Title NASA TX Number

T0003 Sathya 

Gangadharan

Embry-Riddle 

Aeronautical 

University

Determining Rotational Stability of On-Orbit Propellant 

Storage and Transfer Systems TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0024 Gregory A. Zimmerli NASA GRC Radio Frequency Gauging of the Liquid Oxygen Tank on 

an sRLV TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0191 Kevin Crosby Carthage College Microgravity Propellant Gauging Using Modal Analysis: 

Phase III TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0192 Steven Collicott Purdue University Cryogenic Gauging Technology Geometry Development TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0202 Kevin Supak Southwest Research 

Institute

Liquid Acquisition Devices for Cryogenic 

Fluid Management TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0206 Steven Collicott Purdue University Small-sat Propellant Management Technology TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0215 Alina Alexeenko Purdue University FEMTA Micropropulsion System for Interplanetary Smallsat TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0216 Steven Collicott Purdue University Zero g Slosh Model Technology TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0218 Kevin Crosby Carthage College Magneto-Active Slosh Control System TX01: Propulsion Systems

T0200 Austin Williams Tyvak Nano-Satellite 

Systems LLC Micro-Avionics Multipurpose Platform TX02: Flight Computing and Avionics

T0177 Justin Lee The Aerospace 

Corporation

Rapid Calibration of Space Solar Cells in 

Suborbital Environments

TX03: Aerospace Power and 

Energy Storage

T0203 Greg Laue NeXolve Corporation Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and Antenna TX03: Aerospace Power and 

Energy Storage

T0222 Meyya Meyyappan NASA ARC Triboelectric Nano Generator (TENG) for Mars Exploration 

and High Altitude Power Generation on Earth

TX03: Aerospace Power and

Energy Storage

T0197 Karen Daniels North Carolina 

State University

Ejecta-Minimizing Protocols for Applications Needing 

Anchoring or Digging on Asteroids TX04: Robotic Systems

T0053 Rob Ferl University of Florida 

- Gainesville

Telemetric Imaging Hardware for Suborbital 

Biological Imaging

TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0155 George Pantalos University of 

Louisville Aqueous Immersion Surgical System for Reduced Gravity TX06: Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems

T0181 Daniel O'Connell HNU Photonics LLC BioChip SubOrbitalLab: Microfluidic Imaging Platform for 

Live-Cell Investigations

TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0187 Peter Lee Ohio State 

University

Gravity Sensing Mechanisms in Tissue-Engineered 

Skeletal Muscle

TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0188 Meghan Downs NASA JSC Novel Muskuloskeletal Loading System TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0201 Rob Ferl University of Florida 

- Gainesville

Human Tended Space Biology: Enabling Suborbital 

Genomics and Gene Expression

TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0209 Michael Menze University of 

Louisville

Preserved Blood for Transfusion Therapy in 

Reduced Gravity

TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0219 Amir Hirsa Rensselaer 

Polytechnic Institute Adapting Ring-sheared Drop Technology As a Bioreactor TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0221 Kent Tobiska Space Environment 

Technologies

Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety 

- Suborbital

TX06: Human Health, Life Support, 

and Habitation Systems

T0220 Christine Escibar Space Lab 

Technologies Microgravity Investigation for Thin Film Hydroponics TX06: Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems

T0052 Josh Colwell University of 

Central Florida Collection of Regolith Experiment TX07: Exploration Destination Systems

Number PI Organization Title NASA TX Number

T0036 Josh Colwell University of 

Central Florida Collisions Into Dust Experiment TX07: Exploration Destination Systems

T0015 H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins 

University Electromagnetic Field Measurements on sRLVs TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0022 H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins 

University Environment Monitoring Suite on sRLVs TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0023 Sean Casey Silicon Valley 

Space Center

Measurement of the Atmospheric Background in 

the Mesosphere TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0085 Craig DeForest Southwest Research 

Institute Solar Instrument Pointing Platform TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0114 H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins 

University

Graphene Ion Membranes for Earth and 

Space Applications TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0196 H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins 

University External Environment Payload Accommodation TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0204 Julie Brisset University of 

Central Florida Dust In-situ Manipulation System TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0217 Karl Hibbitts Johns Hopkins 

University Integrated Remote Imaging System TX08: Sensors and Instruments

T0156 Julie Brisset University of 

Central Florida

Suborbital Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment 2 

(SPACE-2)

TX11: Software, Modeling, Simulation, 

and Information Processing

T0182 Adrienne Dove University of 

Central Florida Strata-S1 - Testbed to Evaluate Regolith Behavior TX11: Software, Modeling, Simulation, and Information Processing

T0076 H. Todd Smith Johns Hopkins 

University

Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes for Earth Climate 

Remote Sensing

TX12: Materials, Structures, Mechanical 

Systems & Manufacturing

T0178 Suzanne Smith University of 

Kentucky

Characterization of 3D Printing Processes Under 

Microgravity Conditions

TX12: Materials, Structures, Mechanical 

Systems & Manufacturing

T0205 Mark Pankow North Carolina 

State University Lightweight Strain-Energy Deployed Spacecraft Booms TX12: Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems & Manufacturing

T0207 David Miles University of Iowa - 

Iowa City

CubeSat Articulated Boom Option Optimization 

in Microgravity

TX12: Materials, Structures, Mechanical 

Systems & Manufacturing

T0212 Konstantinos 

Sierros

West Virginia 

University 3D Printing of Hierarchical Foams in Microgravity TX12: Materials, Structures, Mechanical 

Systems & Manufacturing

T0159 Nick Demidovich FAA 1090 MHz ADS-B Demo TX13: Ground, Test, and 

Surface Systems

T0173 Franklin Robinson NASA GSFC Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers - Embedded Thermal 

Management for Space Applications TX14: Thermal Management Systems

T0189 Jacob Chung University of Florida 

- Gainesville Optimal Chilldown Methods for Cryogenic Propellant Tanks TX14: Thermal Management Systems

T0208 Jamal Yagoobi Worcester 

Polytechnic Institute

Investigation of Gravity Effects on Electrically Driven Liquid 

Film Boiling TX14: Thermal Management Systems

T0213 Richard Banish University of 

Alabama Transport Properties of Fluids for Exploration TX14: Thermal Management Systems

T0165 Lisa Valencia NASA KSC Autonomous Flight Termination System TX15: Flight Vehicle Systems

T0194 Thomas Lambot NASA ARC Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-3 TX15: Flight Vehicle Systems

T0214 Alexandre Martin University of 

Kentucky KRUPS Capsule for Heat Shield Validation TX16: Air Traffic Management and 

Range Tracking Systems
Flight Opportunities 

Rapid Demonstration of 

Promising Space Technologies

Credit: Airborne Systems

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Armstrong Flight Research Center 

Edwards, California 93523

www.nasa.gov/flightopportunities

www.nasa.gov

Cover image credits:

Main: NASA

Inset, top to bottom: University of Central 

Florida, NASA, North Carolina State University