National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Innovation Research 2002 Program Solicitations
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A8.01 Revolutionary Aerospace Vehicle Systems Concepts
A8.02 Revolutionary Flight Concepts
The Enabling Concepts and Technology (ECT) Program will identify, develop, verify, transfer and apply those high-payoff aerospace technologies applicable across a broad spectrum of systems needed to accomplish NASA's missions. The ECT program will enable the technology pipeline feeding focused technology development programs of NASA's Enterprises. ECT will perform fundamental research and development of high-risk, high-payoff technologies that are unique to NASA needs. The ECT Program objectives: (1) Explore revolutionary aerospace system concepts to enable the grand challenges and strategic visions of the NASA Enterprises, and to expand the possibilities for future NASA missions; (2) Develop advanced technology for sensing and spacecraft systems to enable bold new missions of exploration, and to provide increased scientific return at lower cost; (3) Develop advanced energetics technology to provide low-cost power and propulsion for enhanced mission capabilities, and to enable missions beyond current horizons; and (4) Perform fundamental research in high-payoff emerging technologies such as advanced materials, microelectronics and mechanical systems, and nanotechnology to stimulate breakthroughs that could enable new system concepts.
The emphasis in this subtopic is on advanced aerospace vehicle concepts for both military and civil applications that accelerate the exploration of high risk, breakthrough configurations in order to enable revolutionary departures from traditional approaches to air vehicle design. Concepts must contribute to improving safety, performance, capacity, reduced emissions and/or noise, and development, production, or operations cost of future air vehicles. The scope includes advanced aerospace vehicle concepts and airframe systems such as wing, fuselage, propulsion/airframe integration, and design tools enabling the above. Specific technical areas of interest include the following:
A8.02 Revolutionary Flight Concepts
Lead Center: DFRC
This subtopic solicits innovative flight test experiments that demonstrate breakthrough vehicle or system concepts, technologies, and operations in the real flight environment. The emphasis of this subtopic is the feasibility, development, and maturation of advanced flight experiments that demonstrate advanced or revolutionary methodologies, technologies, and concepts. It seeks advanced flight techniques, operations, and experiments that promise significant leaps in vehicle performance, operation, safety, cost, and capability; and require a demonstration in the actual flight environment to fully characterize or validate.
The scope of this sub-topic is broad and includes advanced flight experiments that accelerate the understanding and development of advanced technologies and unconventional operational concepts. Examples extend to (but are not limited to) such things as inflatable aero-structures (new designs or innovative applications, new manufacturing methods, new materials, new inflight inflation methods, new methods for analysis of inflation dynamics), innovative control surface effectors (micro surfaces, embedded boundary layer control effectors, micro actuators), innovative engine designs for UAV aircraft, innovative approaches to structures, stability, control, and aerodynamics integration schemes, and innovative approaches to incorporation of UAV operations into commercial airspace. This subtopic is intended to advance and demonstrate revolutionary concepts and is not intended to support evolutionary steps required in normal product development. Proposals should emphasize the need of flight testing a concept or technology as a necessary means of verifying or proving its worth. The benefit of this effort will ultimately be more efficient aerospace vehicles, increased flight safety (particularly during flight tests), and an increased understanding of the complex interactions between the vehicle or technology concept and the flight environment.
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