NASA
industry.
Performing these flight demonstrations is intended to advance the readiness of the selected systems, provide tangible products capable of rapid infusion to NASA missions, and capture significant public interest and awareness. Furthermore, executing these engaging and technically challenging space flight demonstrations, including designing the flight test program, building the flight hardware and performing/operating the flight demonstration is an outstanding means for developing the current NASA and industry workforce to handle more challenging and more sustainable space missions and operations in the future.
Technical risk, technology maturity, mission risk, customer interest, and proposed cost are discriminators used in the selection process. For infusion purposes, NASA-industry teams are required to have a sponsor (or sponsors) willing to cost share a minimum of 25% of the proposed development effort. Total Office of Chief Technologist (OCT) funding for a capability demonstration mission under the TDM Program may range from $10 million to approximately $150 million. In rare cases, Life Cycle Costs greater than $150 million may be considered by OCT if the proposed effort presents a compelling new technological capability and warrants a higher funding level. Costs include all elements of the flight test demonstration including test planning, flight hardware, launch costs, ground operations, and post testing assessment/ reporting. In addition to the above criteria, for selection as a Crosscutting Capability Demonstration project, the candidate technology must be relatively mature (TRL of 4 or above), and if successful must raise the TRL of the candidate technology to a TRL of 6 or higher, such that it may be infused into the critical path for future NASA missions, or demonstrate a significant new industry capability. Competed flight test demonstration opportunities are open to teams involving NASA centers, industry, other Government agencies and academia. TDM projects will be governed by tailored versions of NPR 7120.5D (Space Flight Programs/Projects); tailoring is encouraged for projects.
