OpportunityTitle: Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) &#8211; 2015  Flight Research Opportunity
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Proposers must be affiliated with an institution at nspires.nasaprs.com/ and, in general, NASA provides funding only to US institutions.  Organizations outside the U.S. that propose on the basis of a policy of no-exchange-of-funds; consult Appendix B Section (l) of the guidebook for proposers (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/) for specific details.  Also ref. Sections 2.3.10(c)(vii) of the guidebook for proposers for special instructions for proposals from non-U.S. organizations that involve U.S. personnel for whom NASA support is requested.
Description: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration&#8217;s (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD), in collaboration with the Office of Education (OE) National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) will release the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) Student Flight Research Opportunity (SFRO) on or about August 21. USIP-2015 solicits proposals from U.S. institutions of higher education to develop an undergraduate-led Project Team that will fly a science and/or technology payload relevant to NASA strategic goals and objectives on a sounding rocket, balloon, aircraft, suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV), or CubeSat launched on an orbital launch vehicle (hereafter referred to collectively as suborbital-class platforms). The cost cap for an investigation awarded by OE is $200K, including the design, development, integration, and testing of the payload; student internships; and research on key innovative technologies. OE funding is limited to consortia of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant). See Appendix E for proposal conditions and guidelines for Space Grant consortia. The cost cap for an investigation awarded by SMD is $100K, including the design, development, integration, testing of the payload; and student internships. SMD funding is available to all U.S. institutions of higher education. Funding by NASA may be supplemented with contributions by the implementing institution (no limit); however, there are no expectations as to the amount of the institutional contribution and such contributions will not be considered in the evaluation of proposals. The selected projects must be launch-ready within 18 months of project initiation. SMD and OE estimate total funding available for award at $6.0M, and expect to select at least 30 projects for implementation, subject to available funding. The launch/flight services are provided by NASA at no cost to the project. Proposals to the USIP 2017 Solar Eclipse solicitation are not eligible for award under USIP-2015. The two goals of this USIP SFRO are: &#8226; To provide a hands-on flight project experience to enhance the science, technical, leadership, and project skills for the selected undergraduate student team. &#8226; To fly a science and/or technology investigation relevant to NASA strategic goals and objectives on a suborbital-class platform. The key dates of this solicitation are: SFRO RELEASE DATE AUGUST 21, 2015 QUESTION AND ANSWER TELECON SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 (2:00 PM) NOTICE OF INTENT DEADLINE OCTOBER 1, 2015 (11:59 PM) PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL DEADLINE NOVEMBER 20, 2015 (11:59 PM) SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED (TARGET) DECEMBER, 2015 LAUNCH READINESS AUGUST 1, 2017 The solicitation may be found on NSPIRES at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/solicitations.do?method=open by searching on NNH15ZDA010C General questions concerning this solicitation may be directed to: David Pierce Senior Program Executive for Suborbital Research Science Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters Phone: (202) 358-3808 E-mail: david.l.pierce@nasa.gov Questions specifically concerning the Space Grant component of this solicitation may be directed to: Dr. Lenell Allen Director, Aerospace Research and Career Development (ARCD) Office of Education NASA Headquarters Phone: (202) 358-1762 E-mail: hq-space-grant@mail.nasa.gov
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Point of contact:
GrantorContactText: David Pierce &lt;br/&gt;Senior Program Executive for Suborbital Research &lt;br/&gt;Science Mission Directorate &lt;br/&gt;NASA Headquarters &lt;br/&gt;Phone: (202) 358-3808